Leadenhall Market is an architecturally stunning shopping plaza located in the historic financial district of London. The ornate roof structure painted green, burgundy, and cream, along with the cobblestone floors, make Leadenhall a major tourist destination. Pedestrians can enter the market from multiple narrow footpaths, but the main entrance can be found on Gracechurch Street. This grand gateway sets the stage for the rest of the market with its tall, gabled brick pillars. Leadenhall is open during business hours Monday through Friday is a popular destination for the working person to grab a bite to eat, order a pint at the pub, or pick up some fashionable business attire. Unlike many of London’s other markets, Leadenhall is an indoor structure that houses permanent sellers and vendors. It is overrun by restaurants, pubs, and stores that appeal to the wealthier business person. Therefore, if a shopper is looking for cheap food and attire, Leadenhall is not the place to go. However, it’s beautiful atmosphere and “magical” history make it worth the look.
Fans of the Harry Potter franchise may or may not recognize bits of Leadenhall from the various times it was featured in the film series. It was the location for some of the original scenes of Diagon Alley, the enchanted shopping plaza of the wizarding world where Hogwarts students are able to purchase spell books, school robes, and wands. Today, shoppers who find themselves wandering down Bull’s Head Passage within the market will notice a dark blue door on the right side of the pathway. This door was used as the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron in the fourth film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In the series, witches and wizards gain access to Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron, an unassuming pub next to a music store.
Potterhead or not, visitors to Leadenhall Market will find something to admire or enjoy. Shoppers can stop by to see a vision of London’s past or purchase some moderately expensive food. Business folk thrive in Leadenhall, as they are able to eat, shop, and get their shoes shined all in one convenient location. Even if not in the market to buy anything, pedestrians should make it a point to see Leadenhall for the sheer “magical” experience.
- Emilie Booth
Leadenhall Market is located in Gracechurch St, London, England. Leadenhall Market is an indoor, covered market. This market is fairly easy to get to by tube. There is a transfer or two, but the tube is the quickest way to get there. Leadenhall Market is where a lot of financial people work, thus it is a very rich place. Leadenhall Market is a quite beautiful market, the archways are particularly stunning. Leadenhall Market was burned down in Great Fire of London in 1666 and it has been rebuilt. A lot of people who go to Leadenhall Market are dressed in very fancy attire. Leadenhall Market has a variety of places to eat such as taverns, pubs, a healthy fast food place, etc. Leadenhall Market is not at all similar to any other market out there. At Leadenhall Market, there are no stalls with cultural food and this is because it is inside and it is a place where mostly rich people go to enjoy sitting down for an expensive meal. An interesting fact about Leadenhall Market is that it was used as the setting for Diagon Alley in the film of J.K Rowling’s first book, Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone. I give Leadenhall Market a four out of ten. Leadenhall Market was not my favorite at all, but I do recommend going once when visiting London just to see how beautiful it is. I may possibly go back to Leadenhall Market in the future, but it is not somewhere I am dying to go back to.
- Caroline Kothari
Muggles know it as The Glass House, address 2-3 Bull’s Head Passage, Leadenhall Market, London. Witches and wizards know it as the Leaky Cauldron, a popular pub that serves as the entrance from the muggle world to Diagon Alley, and incidentally, for some, Knockturn Alley.
On July 31st, 1991, a crowd roars with delight as they see an 11-year-old Harry Potter walk through the entrance at the side of Rubeus Hagrid. Every witch and wizard eager to shake the hand of the boy who lived, especially Quirinus Quirrell, first-year Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Early that day, Quirrell attempted to rob Gringotts Wizarding Bank to procure the Philosopher’s stone for Voldemort. He believed that he could track down the Dark Lord and learn skills from him to be sure his fragile ego was never criticized again.
Harry returns to the Leaky Cauldron in 1992 where he meets and departs with the Weasley’s to the Burrow, the home of the gingers, but not before things take a turn for the worse. He mispronounces Diagon Alley during his first time using Floo Powder and ends up in Knockturn Alley’s Borgin and Burkes. He finds Draco Malfoy and his father, Lucius, talking about Harry Potter, Quidditch, broomsticks, and Dark Objects.
The Leaky Cauldron welcomes Harry for the third time in August of 1993. Marjorie “Marge” Dursley visits her brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and Harry at Privet Drive. Thirteen-year-old Harry can’t control his anger when Marge insults his deceased mother and father. He accidentally turns her into a giant balloon and watches her float around the house before he packs his bags and runs away to the Leaky Cauldron, where he meets Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, for the first time.
In the summer of 1996, the Second Wizarding War begins. Because Voldemort and his Death Eaters are scavenging and killing everyone in their path. This means that public places, such as the Leaky Cauldron are avoided at all costs. When Harry, Hagrid, and the Weasley family pass the pub, they see that the only person inside is Tom, the landlord of the Leaky Cauldron.
During the peak of the war, Harry and his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger break into Gringotts to steal a Horcrux from the vault of the Lestrange family, as Hermione is disguised as Bellatrix Lestrange. When the trio passes the pub on their way to the bank, they note that Tom is alone. The landlord bows in fear to Hermione, disguised as Bellatrix before they take off once again.
Tom passes away after the war, and Hannah Abbott becomes the landlady. She and her husband Neville Longbottom live above the pub. Though none of this is visible to muggle eyes, it still remains standing. Witches and wizards are enjoying a pint of butterbeer without you at this very moment.
- Cortney Lesovoy
Leadenhall is a classy covered market in London’s business district. Inside the tall, intricately designed red structure and beneath a gorgeous glass ceiling, Leadenhall is reminiscent of a shopping mall in that its long, wide hallways are lined with fancy indoor stores and restaurants. Partially used in the filming of the first Harry Potter movie, Leadenhall is more of a tourist attraction to visitors other than the local businessmen, and affordable options are small and few. To escape the cold, you can wander inside some of the posh, preppy clothing stores and pretend to examine the wracks of clothes, but one look at the 134-pound price tag on a Barbor flannel will have you a bit too self-conscious to stay long. If you’re a writer forever afraid of being poor, The Pen Shop will be a bit of confusing experience, as you’ll be able to gaze longingly at a 120-pound pen while pushing your dollar store Bic pen deeper into your purse.
Once lunchtime hits, Leadenhall floods with thousands of businessmen and women looking to grab a bite to eat or a glass of wine on their break. In addition to a convenience store and some small, affordable eateries, Leadenhall has a pretty big offering in the way of wine bars and pubs. There were more than a few bars selling only a variety of wines, as well as pubs with more beer options than food ones. What little meals were available in these establishments were well over 20 pounds, and thought it was fun to laugh and dream, Leadenhall is not the place for your everyday lunch run.
- Jamie Myre
Words cannot express the joy I felt when I heard that Leadenhall was an indoor market, and if you’re staying in London during January’s tundra-like weather, I guarantee you will understand the feeling. However, indoor does not exactly describe the experience. While the shops were enclosed, it was still necessary to brave the cold to get from shop to shop. Shopkeepers will squint their eyes at you momentarily, trying to ascertain whether you’re a customer or merely popping in to quickly warm up. This brings me to my first piece of advice for Leadenhall— don’t put all your eggs in the “indoor market” basket, and dress appropriately for the frigid temperatures.
My next piece of advice is more of a warning. Visiting Leadenhall can be done at a wide variety of times any day of the week as most shops open around ten, though missing the lunch rush is highly advisable. If you do choose to attend, beware of prices. Leadenhall is an intimidating mass of beautiful brick buildings with items so expensive you’ll think you’ve misread the price tag. One store sold jackets that were upwards of 150 pounds, and an amazing pen shop had one pen that went for over 400 pounds. Every restaurant and tavern seemed too nice to sit in, which made faster places like Leon’s and Pizza Express seem that much more enticing. I also found a shop selling white chocolate M&M’s which were a definite must!
Leadenhall provides posh, chic clothes, jewelry, shoes, and accessories. There were interesting taverns and wine bars, but this is not the place to come to for a quick lunch with friends. If your wallet is deep enough to thoroughly enjoy Leadenhall, you will walk away with some of the nicest clothes you’ve ever owned. If not, just looking around was a relatively fun experience, so go for a quick jaunt around the block and leave as fast as you came before you lie to yourself and pretend you can afford anything.
- Will Dismukes
Though minuscule in official size, Leadenhall is a cross of mid-tier stores and restaurants swarmed by small shops in side streets. In the middle of what appears to be a business district, Leadenhall is a supremely beautiful bit of gilded architecture, and the arched open halls that house the stores is reason enough to go. But perhaps another reason is the existence of those side streets, they show the reality of Leadenhall beyond those arches. Small barbers use simple niceness to bring in customers and happily discuss life and dole out advice like we used to see them. Leadenhall has the ability to mix small and big, indie and bougie, and it really gives you a high reward for taking the risk of going off the beaten path.
Leadenhall, like all of London, mixes the old and the new, and though it's smaller than many of the markets London has to offer, is well worth the trip just to be able to experience it. Up a small flight of stairs in the near center of the market, arches is a Spanish restaurant that makes the trip worth it nearly by itself, the fresh fish offered melt in your mouth. There's a lot to do packed into this small space, such as going to a butcher and deli and trying their fresh meats that hang outside the shop as it opens, right next door to the Spanish restaurant that offers similar.
Leadenhall looks and often times runs expensive, but if you're willing to explore, it can have a perfectly affordable gem just right around the corner.
- Marius Black
Fans of the Harry Potter franchise may or may not recognize bits of Leadenhall from the various times it was featured in the film series. It was the location for some of the original scenes of Diagon Alley, the enchanted shopping plaza of the wizarding world where Hogwarts students are able to purchase spell books, school robes, and wands. Today, shoppers who find themselves wandering down Bull’s Head Passage within the market will notice a dark blue door on the right side of the pathway. This door was used as the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron in the fourth film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In the series, witches and wizards gain access to Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron, an unassuming pub next to a music store.
Potterhead or not, visitors to Leadenhall Market will find something to admire or enjoy. Shoppers can stop by to see a vision of London’s past or purchase some moderately expensive food. Business folk thrive in Leadenhall, as they are able to eat, shop, and get their shoes shined all in one convenient location. Even if not in the market to buy anything, pedestrians should make it a point to see Leadenhall for the sheer “magical” experience.
- Emilie Booth
Leadenhall Market is located in Gracechurch St, London, England. Leadenhall Market is an indoor, covered market. This market is fairly easy to get to by tube. There is a transfer or two, but the tube is the quickest way to get there. Leadenhall Market is where a lot of financial people work, thus it is a very rich place. Leadenhall Market is a quite beautiful market, the archways are particularly stunning. Leadenhall Market was burned down in Great Fire of London in 1666 and it has been rebuilt. A lot of people who go to Leadenhall Market are dressed in very fancy attire. Leadenhall Market has a variety of places to eat such as taverns, pubs, a healthy fast food place, etc. Leadenhall Market is not at all similar to any other market out there. At Leadenhall Market, there are no stalls with cultural food and this is because it is inside and it is a place where mostly rich people go to enjoy sitting down for an expensive meal. An interesting fact about Leadenhall Market is that it was used as the setting for Diagon Alley in the film of J.K Rowling’s first book, Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone. I give Leadenhall Market a four out of ten. Leadenhall Market was not my favorite at all, but I do recommend going once when visiting London just to see how beautiful it is. I may possibly go back to Leadenhall Market in the future, but it is not somewhere I am dying to go back to.
- Caroline Kothari
Muggles know it as The Glass House, address 2-3 Bull’s Head Passage, Leadenhall Market, London. Witches and wizards know it as the Leaky Cauldron, a popular pub that serves as the entrance from the muggle world to Diagon Alley, and incidentally, for some, Knockturn Alley.
On July 31st, 1991, a crowd roars with delight as they see an 11-year-old Harry Potter walk through the entrance at the side of Rubeus Hagrid. Every witch and wizard eager to shake the hand of the boy who lived, especially Quirinus Quirrell, first-year Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Early that day, Quirrell attempted to rob Gringotts Wizarding Bank to procure the Philosopher’s stone for Voldemort. He believed that he could track down the Dark Lord and learn skills from him to be sure his fragile ego was never criticized again.
Harry returns to the Leaky Cauldron in 1992 where he meets and departs with the Weasley’s to the Burrow, the home of the gingers, but not before things take a turn for the worse. He mispronounces Diagon Alley during his first time using Floo Powder and ends up in Knockturn Alley’s Borgin and Burkes. He finds Draco Malfoy and his father, Lucius, talking about Harry Potter, Quidditch, broomsticks, and Dark Objects.
The Leaky Cauldron welcomes Harry for the third time in August of 1993. Marjorie “Marge” Dursley visits her brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and Harry at Privet Drive. Thirteen-year-old Harry can’t control his anger when Marge insults his deceased mother and father. He accidentally turns her into a giant balloon and watches her float around the house before he packs his bags and runs away to the Leaky Cauldron, where he meets Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, for the first time.
In the summer of 1996, the Second Wizarding War begins. Because Voldemort and his Death Eaters are scavenging and killing everyone in their path. This means that public places, such as the Leaky Cauldron are avoided at all costs. When Harry, Hagrid, and the Weasley family pass the pub, they see that the only person inside is Tom, the landlord of the Leaky Cauldron.
During the peak of the war, Harry and his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger break into Gringotts to steal a Horcrux from the vault of the Lestrange family, as Hermione is disguised as Bellatrix Lestrange. When the trio passes the pub on their way to the bank, they note that Tom is alone. The landlord bows in fear to Hermione, disguised as Bellatrix before they take off once again.
Tom passes away after the war, and Hannah Abbott becomes the landlady. She and her husband Neville Longbottom live above the pub. Though none of this is visible to muggle eyes, it still remains standing. Witches and wizards are enjoying a pint of butterbeer without you at this very moment.
- Cortney Lesovoy
Leadenhall is a classy covered market in London’s business district. Inside the tall, intricately designed red structure and beneath a gorgeous glass ceiling, Leadenhall is reminiscent of a shopping mall in that its long, wide hallways are lined with fancy indoor stores and restaurants. Partially used in the filming of the first Harry Potter movie, Leadenhall is more of a tourist attraction to visitors other than the local businessmen, and affordable options are small and few. To escape the cold, you can wander inside some of the posh, preppy clothing stores and pretend to examine the wracks of clothes, but one look at the 134-pound price tag on a Barbor flannel will have you a bit too self-conscious to stay long. If you’re a writer forever afraid of being poor, The Pen Shop will be a bit of confusing experience, as you’ll be able to gaze longingly at a 120-pound pen while pushing your dollar store Bic pen deeper into your purse.
Once lunchtime hits, Leadenhall floods with thousands of businessmen and women looking to grab a bite to eat or a glass of wine on their break. In addition to a convenience store and some small, affordable eateries, Leadenhall has a pretty big offering in the way of wine bars and pubs. There were more than a few bars selling only a variety of wines, as well as pubs with more beer options than food ones. What little meals were available in these establishments were well over 20 pounds, and thought it was fun to laugh and dream, Leadenhall is not the place for your everyday lunch run.
- Jamie Myre
Words cannot express the joy I felt when I heard that Leadenhall was an indoor market, and if you’re staying in London during January’s tundra-like weather, I guarantee you will understand the feeling. However, indoor does not exactly describe the experience. While the shops were enclosed, it was still necessary to brave the cold to get from shop to shop. Shopkeepers will squint their eyes at you momentarily, trying to ascertain whether you’re a customer or merely popping in to quickly warm up. This brings me to my first piece of advice for Leadenhall— don’t put all your eggs in the “indoor market” basket, and dress appropriately for the frigid temperatures.
My next piece of advice is more of a warning. Visiting Leadenhall can be done at a wide variety of times any day of the week as most shops open around ten, though missing the lunch rush is highly advisable. If you do choose to attend, beware of prices. Leadenhall is an intimidating mass of beautiful brick buildings with items so expensive you’ll think you’ve misread the price tag. One store sold jackets that were upwards of 150 pounds, and an amazing pen shop had one pen that went for over 400 pounds. Every restaurant and tavern seemed too nice to sit in, which made faster places like Leon’s and Pizza Express seem that much more enticing. I also found a shop selling white chocolate M&M’s which were a definite must!
Leadenhall provides posh, chic clothes, jewelry, shoes, and accessories. There were interesting taverns and wine bars, but this is not the place to come to for a quick lunch with friends. If your wallet is deep enough to thoroughly enjoy Leadenhall, you will walk away with some of the nicest clothes you’ve ever owned. If not, just looking around was a relatively fun experience, so go for a quick jaunt around the block and leave as fast as you came before you lie to yourself and pretend you can afford anything.
- Will Dismukes
Though minuscule in official size, Leadenhall is a cross of mid-tier stores and restaurants swarmed by small shops in side streets. In the middle of what appears to be a business district, Leadenhall is a supremely beautiful bit of gilded architecture, and the arched open halls that house the stores is reason enough to go. But perhaps another reason is the existence of those side streets, they show the reality of Leadenhall beyond those arches. Small barbers use simple niceness to bring in customers and happily discuss life and dole out advice like we used to see them. Leadenhall has the ability to mix small and big, indie and bougie, and it really gives you a high reward for taking the risk of going off the beaten path.
Leadenhall, like all of London, mixes the old and the new, and though it's smaller than many of the markets London has to offer, is well worth the trip just to be able to experience it. Up a small flight of stairs in the near center of the market, arches is a Spanish restaurant that makes the trip worth it nearly by itself, the fresh fish offered melt in your mouth. There's a lot to do packed into this small space, such as going to a butcher and deli and trying their fresh meats that hang outside the shop as it opens, right next door to the Spanish restaurant that offers similar.
Leadenhall looks and often times runs expensive, but if you're willing to explore, it can have a perfectly affordable gem just right around the corner.
- Marius Black