Kingston Council’s leader has spoken of his shock and sadness after a serious fire tore through the historic Kingston Market Place in the early hours of Tuesday morning, vowing that the council will stand behind the traders, businesses and residents caught up in the blaze.
Andreas Kirsch, leader of Kingston Council, said the Ancient Market “sits at the heart of the community” as he reacted to the fire, which broke out shortly after 4.30am on Tuesday, October 6, damaging several market stalls and nearby buildings.
“I am shocked and saddened by the serious fire that has affected Kingston’s market place,” Mr Kirsch said. “The Ancient Market sits at the heart of the community and my thoughts are with the traders, business owners and residents who have been impacted by this incident.”
Firefighters were first alerted to the blaze at 4.33am, the first of six separate emergency calls made to the London Fire Brigade. Crews were scrambled to the Market Place, where flames had taken hold among the stalls and threatened adjoining premises.
The Metropolitan Police has launched an investigation into the fire, with the area around the market cordoned off while officers and fire investigators carry out their enquiries. Read more about the police investigation into the overnight blaze here.
Eight people were evacuated from the area by the Metropolitan Police Service in the early hours, but thankfully there were no reports of injuries. Businesses inside the cordon remain unable to trade while the investigation continues, and the cause of the fire has not yet been established.
“I want to reassure you that the council is working with partners to support all those affected,” Mr Kirsch said. “We are working with the London Fire Brigade and the Met Police to support their enquiries, ensure the immediate safety of the area, and prioritise the recovery of our much-loved market.”
The fire has struck at the heart of one of London’s oldest and best-loved trading sites. Kingston’s Ancient Market has been a fixture of the town for some 800 years, its stalls lining the Market Place through centuries of change. Generations of traders have done business on the same cobbles, and the market remains a linchpin of the town centre, drawing shoppers for fresh produce, flowers, street food and everyday goods, as well as the steady stream of visitors who come simply to browse.
Photographs from the scene show the scale of the damage, with charred stalls and twisted frames left standing where traders had set out their goods the day before. See the morning-after photographs of the aftermath here. Clean-up crews now face the task of clearing the debris before the market can begin to recover, and for stallholders whose livelihoods depend on a pitch in the square, the coming days will be an anxious wait.
The council leader’s pledge of support will come as a relief to traders left unable to work. With the closed zone still in force, stallholders and neighbouring shopkeepers face lost income on top of the shock of the fire itself. Mr Kirsch has promised that recovering the market is a priority for the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, and the council says it is working with partners to help those affected get back on their feet.
For now, residents are being asked to avoid the area around the Market Place while the investigation continues. The council is expected to provide further updates on the clean-up operation and on when traders might be able to return to the square.
The Ancient Market is more than a place to shop. For many in Kingston it is a daily ritual: the first stop for fruit and vegetables, a meeting point in the middle of town, and a reminder of the borough’s long history as a market town. Traders here have weathered recessions, roadworks and the rise of online shopping; the fire is the cruellest blow yet, and the hope now is that the square can be made safe and brought back to life as quickly as possible.
