In 1893 the London County Council’s Public Control Committee states that the Market had existed since 1883 on the southern end of the Street between Andrew Street and Duncan Road and consisted of 35 stalls selling: vegetables and fruit, flowers, eggs, meat, fish, bacon, earthenware, drapery, iron and tinware, mats and pails, and caps and belts. The report describes a growing market serving a local, over-crowded, working-class community. Of the 35 stalls 10 are recorded as being run by Broadway Market shopkeepers with the remainder being independent street traders. In 1936, whilst calling the marketLondon Fields, Benedetta describes the market as a weekday market with a smaller presence on Sundays and reports that it has almost every kind of stall. Before the late 20th century, it was the site of a busy fruit and vegetable market, but this slowly dwindled over time—in the early 2000s, market activity was limited to a couple of stalls selling produce. On 8 May 2004 a food market was launched on Saturdays which has since become firmly established. Broadway Market is closed to traffic when the market is being held. Thanks largely to the market a number of new restaurants and boutiques have opened in the area. The ongoing development of Broadway Market has sparked a local debate about the perceived gentrification of Hackney and the way Hackney council disposed of some of their commercial property portfolio. In late 2005, a group of local protestors occupied 34 Broadway Market to bring attention to the issue. Despite being evicted on 21 December 2005 the building was successfully reoccupied on 27 December before the protestors were again evicted on 23 February 2006. Ultimately, the battle was lost and the former proprietor of Francesca's cafe now runs the Little Francesca's juice stall on Saturdays in Broadway Market. The battle did not end, however, and local shopkeeper Spirit, whose shop was sold to an overseas developer by Hackney Council, fought several court battles to regain his property after proving that Hackney Council had cashed the cheque for his purchase deposit prior to selling his property to an overseas development company. Ultimately Spirit lost his battle too - winning in court but unable to reverse the transaction.
Broadway Market, and specifically the barber shop, was the location for David Cronenberg's 2007 film, Eastern Promises. The opening scenes of the 1988 movieBuster were shot at the Regent's Canal end of the market. It was also used for filming some scenes in the 1947 filmOdd Man Out. Along with many squares and streets in the East End of London, it is rumoured that the old Broadway Market partly inspired the BBCsoap operaEastEnders.
