Site

This memorial is laid into the paving.  In our photo the person with the baby buggy is standing in front of it.

A 1945 bomb killed 110 people, seriously injured many more and destroyed one of the buildings that made up the Smithfield Market complex. A typical 60s block was then on the site until c.2010 when it was demolished to make way for the current spreadsheety building. This is named after the firm, J. J. Mack & Sons, that occupied the corner of the original building at the time of a photo (c.1900, we'd guess).

The bombed building
We had some trouble researching the bombed building but finally tracked it down. A 2003 English Heritage paper provides details. "A last phase of the market complex, a new fruit and vegetable market to the north of the General Market, was opened in 1892 to designs by Alexander Peebles. This building was destroyed in 1945 and, though rebuilt in 1965-8, is no longer in market use." Peebles (1840-1891) was Horace Jones' successor as City Architect. The interior of the Peebles building was modified in 1897 and it "reopened as the London Central Fish, Fruit and Vegetable Market."

The site
Summary of names for the site: the 1892 Peebles building was briefly the Fruit and Vegetable Market, until it became the London Central Fish, Fruit and Vegetable Market. The 1960's block seems to have had two names: Caxton House and Charter House. This was demolished c.2011 as part of the Crossrail / Elizabeth Line development.  While the site was being marketed it was known as Charterhouse Place - a name designed to attract potential developers. Building consent for the current structure was achieved in 2012. The finished building was named J. J. Mack which ties it back to c.1900.

Hart's Corner
Researching this bombed corner building we were confused by the name Hart's Corner. The memorial is to the north-east of the junction, whereas, from this GLA document, we are certain that Hart's Corner refers to the corner of the building on the south-east corner. This building was the Horace Jones' General Market building of 1886-88 and it still stands, all but Hart's Corner itself which was damaged in the war and rebuilt in the 1950s. Save Britain's Heritage has a photo of the original Hart's Corner, which was architecturally, at least, the main entrance to the building and was quite something. And, to quote: "Harts Corner ... was severely war damaged and later demolished. The damage is recorded in photographs and in a watercolour by Richard George Mathews in 1941, now in the Guildhall Museum." So, the bomb that damaged Hart's Corner landed 3 years before the one referenced by this memorial.  We note also that one of the photos at Warsaw 1948 showing the immediate aftermath of the 1945 bomb has the previously damaged General Market building in the background.

The bomb attack
During the war some fresh produce was in short supply and some was rationed so queuing was often necessary. The V2 rocket landed at 11.03am when the market was busy with the market workers and customers, many of whom were women and children.

Some sources describe a "massive crater" with the building, and the victims, collapsing into the railway tunnels below the building, but we are not convinced.  There certainly were, and are, railway sidings under the main meat market building, the one immediately north of the Smithfield Rotunda, but we don't believe there were any under the Peebles building. There were, and are, railway tunnels running under Farringdon Street so we wondered if those were the tunnels referred to. We are grateful to Warsaw 1948 where there are 6 photos of the immediate aftermath. These tend to confirm that the building did not collapse into any railway tunnels.

Other work by Peebles:
Liberty House 218 St John St, London EC1V 4AT.
Greenwood House 4, Salisbury Court, EC4. See also Sunday Times. 
New Premises, Fleet Street. This link has a short Peebles bio.

Other sources: Flying Bombs and Rockets.

We thank Jan Elson for bringing this not-easy-to-spot memorial to our attention.