The Stables Market, Camden: how to find your way round

Chalk Farm Road, NW1 8AH. Free to wander. Allow two hours, go on a weekday if you can, and check opening hours before you set off. Hours for the market are listed differently by different sources (most say roughly 10:00 to 18:00 or 19:00), and individual traders keep their own times. Camden Market's own site is the place to check.

What the Stables actually is

The Stables Market is one of the three areas of Camden Market, alongside Camden Lock and Hawley Wharf, according to Visit London. It is also one of the oldest parts, with cobbled yards and historic buildings. Camden Market's own journal calls it a labyrinth of cultures and subcultures, and describes a former network of saddlers’ workshops, tack rooms, a horse hospital and stables.

Camden Council’s directory lists the site as Camden Market at Stables Market, and says it includes Stables Antiques Market and the Camden Catacombs, with arts and crafts, vintage, gothic and designer clothing, plus cafés, bars, shops and galleries.

Nearest Underground is Camden Town. Camden Market’s contact details are 020 3763 9900 and info@camdenmarket.com.

The history, briefly

Londonist says that before the Second World War the stable blocks, horse tunnels, tack rooms, saddlers’ workshops and horse hospital served 700 to 800 horses working at the Camden Goods Depot. London Walks puts it at about 800 horses and calls the Stables the biggest remaining complex of Victorian industrial heritage buildings in London, which is the tour company’s own claim.

A local history site notes that sling hooks for injured horses can still be seen in the roof of the 1855 stables along the Chalk Farm Road vaults, and that the Horse Hospital walls change to a buttress up to 6ft 9in thick. Look up when you are inside.

One myth to bin: the Camden Catacombs were never burial places. They were stables and tunnels for railway horses. Do not expect to wander the tunnels either. Subterranea Britannica says parts were demolished in redevelopment and other sections belong to Camden Market, which discourages access.

Finding your way round

• The entrance. Time Out says leaping bronze horses decorate the entrance, a tribute to the beasts of burden that pulled narrowboats.
• West Yard. The canal-side cobbled yard, home to trending food traders, says Camden Market.
• North Yard. Cobbles and original 1800s architecture, with artisan cheese and British food, per Camden Market’s spring 2025 guide.
• The cobbled courts between. A maze, so expect to double back. The market sits beside Regent’s Canal, which helps with orientation.

What to look for

For shops, Visit London lists Dr Martens, Cyberdog and Modfather at the Stables. Cyberdog is the loud one, and you will hear it before you see it.

For vintage and furniture, the niche directory Fleamapket says the horse hospital buildings hold one of London’s most serious concentrations of vintage and antiques, leaning toward furniture, curiosities and era-specific vintage clothing. Our advice: head for the old buildings rather than the outer stalls, and go in with a measuring tape if a sofa is on your mind. Do not confuse this with Camden Passage, which is the antiques area in Islington.

Eating and drinking

Be honest about the food: The Infatuation tells readers to skip the Stables for a proper meal and use Kerb in Camden Lock instead. Fair, but Visit London names Humble Crumble as a dessert spot in the Stables, so pudding is covered.

For a pint, Hardens reported in January 2025 that The Dark Horse was opening in the Grade II listed former horse hospital and stables, from the people behind Le Bab and Kebab Queen. It was billed as a no-nonsense music pub with old-school pub food, replacing The Farrier. Check it is open when you go, as market venues change.

Tips

• The Infatuation says the Stables is still completely mobbed at weekends. Weekday mornings are the sensible bet.
• Trader hours vary, so go before 17:00 if you want everything open.
• Wear shoes for cobbles.

More on the market itself at Camden Market’s Stables page, with orientation from Visit London and the history at Londonist.