history

Fred Cooke started selling jellied eels on Broadway Market in 1900. He opened the restaurant (left) to feed the crowds thronging the street’s first market. It grew to serve shepherds driving their flocks to the City of London. It was a bawdy, drunken, vibrant street, the heart of an East London community that was to survive social turmoil and the bombs of two world wars. But by the nineties, the community was crumbling: those who could, moved to Essex. Then in 2004, volunteers from the Broadway Market Traders’ and Residents’ Association revived the community. It has grown beyond expectations. It is now described as the most successful community market in London. And Fred Cooke’s grandson, Bob, is introducing a new generation to pie, mash, liquor - and jellied eels.