Will Cutteridge Archives

Traders and customers have been gathering at Brussels Wharf each Saturday for half a decade to sell, shop, eat, drink, make merry and meet

Wapping Docklands Market founder Will Cutteridge - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life — Wapping Docklands Market founder Will Cutteridge – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

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“The best thing about running Wapping Docklands Market is being able to connect people in a world that’s more and more isolated,” said Will Cutteridge, founder of The Market Network.

“It’s also having the ability to offer grassroots enterprises access to audiences and to get that instant feedback.”

Brussels Wharf was, in 2020, a disused car park – an irregular pentagon of earth, cobbles and quayside jutting out into Shadwell Basin, nominally described as a park.

But Will, having spent half a decade learning the ropes of commercial real estate before leaving that world to sell cheese on a market stall, saw an opportunity – a site that might be put to better use.

Wapping Docklands Market opened in 2021 and is now set to celebrate its fifth birthday in April, 2026.

There might even be a cake.

Wapping Docklands Market hosts a wide range of hot food traders throughout the year - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life — Wapping Docklands Market hosts a wide range of hot food traders throughout the year – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

creating a community

“The thing that’s really great is the community we’ve got here – the regular customers who come back week to week– that’s what really keeps us afloat,” said Will.

“They just happen to be lovely people, and it’s a nice place to be every Saturday.

“We have evolved over the years but hot food – which has always been the primary driver for us – has become more popular and we have live music and a pop-up pub.”

As we talk, pleasant jazz wafts over the assembled crowd played by gentlemen in attractive woollen hats.

Tables and benches are full despite the 6ºC February weather, with visitors keeping out the chill with toasty dishes from the food traders and mulled cider from the bar.

On the lower level of the site, traders sell fresh produce, plants and crafts, adding to the mix.

“It’s morphed over the years – we have up to 12 hot food vendors in the summer months and eight in winter,” said Will.

“One of our mission statements is to empower new and small food enterprises and, as we move towards spring, we typically get a lot of new businesses applying for pitches.

“Firstly what we’re looking for is passion – a reason that someone is doing what they’re doing that isn’t the money.

“Our newest food trader is Tito Vito serving Bocadillos, filled baguettes from the Canary Islands.

“Vito was persuaded by his partner because of his passion for cooking – she’s good with graphic design and created a brand for the business – and you could tell from day one that the food was amazing, that this was something he’d always wanted to do.

“That’s what we’re looking for.

“Then there’s Bahaa, a Syrian refugee who, along with his mother, runs Sojok.

“He serves up toasties filled with spiced minced meat and a savoury yoghurt drink called ayran on the side, which is made with water and salt.

“When he first started, he wasn’t doing so well but he’s evolved his product over time because he knew the market was busy so it was something he was doing that needed changing.

“Now when he’s not at the market, people ask where he is because the stall is so popular.

“My advice is to dunk the toastie in the drink – you won’t regret it.

“It’s also always a good tip, if you’re struggling to decide what to have, to know what the staff on the market enjoy for breakfast.”

Musicians entertain the crowds at the market - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life — Musicians entertain the crowds at the market – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

access to the Wapping Docklands Market audience

Community is really at the heart of everything Will does, ably supported by long-term operations coordinator Fabiana Da Cunha.

Together, they provide the foundation, marketing, support and curation that allows Wapping Docklands Market to continue, providing a platform for commerce, employment and interaction.

“It’s such a good feeling when you’re able to offer people with passion a way to get access to an audience,” said Will.

“I’ve learnt over the last five years that it’s unbelievably hard to run a business but also not to get so stressed and that everything will be fine.

“It’s really great when we see familiar faces coming here or when you spot people who meet at the market and then are back three weeks later having a beer together.

“We’re giving people the chance to get out of their houses and talk to each other.

“These are things that are important in the world and I wish we could do this more, in more places.

“We’re generating opportunities for new businesses, with our traders often living locally and we’re employing people.

“We have a 17-year-old working for us who lives locally and gets the London Living Wage because we believe that’s the right thing to do.

“We also pay our musicians, who need opportunities to play because venues are cutting live entertainment at the moment.”

Will’s journey has not been without its headwinds.

Operating markets can be a precarious business with limited security on short licences, predicated on the whims of landowners.

Wapping’s sister operations at Tower Hill and Canada Water have both closed, the former in favour of a Padel Tennis court and the latter due to a licensing dispute.

With the late winter sun beating down through the bare branches of the trees, finely crafted improvisation stealing over the crowd and traders serving queues of eager diners, it seems perverse not to support such endeavours.

The market is open weekly at Brussels Wharf - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life — The market is open weekly at Brussels Wharf – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

key details: Wapping Docklands Market

Wapping Docklands Market is open on Saturdays from 10am-4pm at Brussels Wharf on the edge of Shadwell Basin.

The location is around seven minutes’ walk from Wapping station on the Windrush Line or about 10 minutes from Shadwell DLR.

Wapping Docklands Market offers people the opportunity to support its operations by becoming a patron.

Friends pay £18 per month, which includes a number of perks including reserved seating at the market.

Members can pay £30 per month, getting all the same perks plus 10% discounts at The Market Tavern and Wapping Roots And Fruits grocery stall.

Find out more about the market here

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Company behind Wapping Docklands Market expands to Deal Porter Square, south of the Thames

Canada Water Market on its very first day of trading

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Not to be confused with South Korean ultraviolent Netflix phenomenon Squid Game, Squid Markets has reached a milestone.

On the first birthday of its first successful project – Wapping Docklands Market at Brussels Wharf – it unveiled a second, this time south of the Thames.

Even for its first iteration on Easter Sunday (April 17, 2022), it was clear Canada Water Market is the right thing in the right place.

Despite hordes of Londoners heading off to see families, the traders, street food vendors and refreshment stalls were doing brisk business at Deal Porter Square – something that will doubtless continue as the market is set to run every Sunday outside the library from 10am until 4pm.

It offers visitors a heady blend of live music, cuisines from around the world, German beer, wine, baked goods, fresh produce, crafts and art – a place to shop, but also to meet, eat, drink and be merry as the sun sparkles on the waters of the nearby dock.

The divide created by the Thames itself was indirectly the inspiration for Squid’s latest venture – a physical obstacle that Londoners have been working to overcome (somewhat unsuccessfully) for hundreds of years.

While previous generations have tried tunnelling to connect Wapping and Rotherhithe, for Squid founder Will Cutteridge the solution was simpler – take what already works in one location and replicate it in another.

“We know at Wapping Docklands Market that the majority of our customers come from north of the river,” he said.

“So I thought we should have a market south of the Thames but in relatively close proximity to our first operation.

“That way we’re able to start to grow the brand both in east and south-east London. That’s when I started looking for sites – literally on Google Maps, zooming into open spaces.

“Because London is so densely packed, if there’s a large open space it’s pretty obvious and I began looking in Rotherhithe and Deal Porter Square seemed the obvious place to do it – it was the right sort of area for what we’re offering.”

Art by Ed J Bucknall on sale at the market – more here

With swathes of regeneration already completed – and a great deal more in pipeline – the peninsula has seen a steady increase in population with new businesses and ventures arriving in the area. So what is Squid bringing to that mix?

“Canada Water is, like Wapping, primarily a food market,” said Will.

“We want people to come and do their weekly shop with us, get all their fruit and veg, their bread and all the standard items, while also grabbing a coffee and catching up with their neighbours.

“One of the most exciting things that we’ve seen at Wapping is that it has brought the local community together.

“People who live in the same building, right across the corridor from each other and have never spoken, have met at the market, and I think that’s the joy of something like this.

“That’s exactly what we want to create at Canada Water – something that brings people together in an old-fashioned way.

“I think that’s important in this day and age, because people don’t talk to each other in London very much and the market provides a friendly environment where they can.

Produce from Chegworth Valley is also available – more here

“You go to the supermarket, pick up a bunch of carrots and put them in your basket, and it’s not very immersive or interactive.

“If you buy a bunch of carrots from our Chegworth Valley stall, the team running it all live and work on the farm – they pick the fruit, plant the seeds, and you’re meeting the people who grow your food – you have a dialogue with them, come back every week and it’s always the same people.

“We also have a small craft section in all our markets, because we tend to find that there’s a lot of local people who have a side gig making things.

“For example, we have a a guy who hand-makes all his terrariums – Plant And Person – which is quite cool.

“Hosting those pitches is a great way to get local businesses to the market, and it provides a bit of variety in addition to the food itself.

“We also have a local artist – Ed Bucknall – who sells his works, and one lady who takes all of our empty bottles from the wine stall at the end of the day and uses them to make candles.

Cheese from The French Comte – more here

“Street food is, of course, a critical part of our operation – visitors to the market can do their shopping and then listen to some live music, have a beer or a glass of wine and then grab a pizza, some curry, steak or a wide variety of Asian food.

“There’s also a guy selling Portuguese sandwiches and vegan Caribbean food from Joy’s Caribbean Fusion, so there’s a lot to choose from.

“Our plan is to have a total of 35 traders here, which is enough to provide a really good mix of food, produce and services – we’re always on the look out for new traders, so anyone interested should get in touch.

“We might have re-branded, but we remain hugely passionate about sustainability – it’s incredibly challenging but it’s something we remain focused on.

“One of the ways in which Squid does this is to find small businesses through its markets and help them build their brands nationally – we’re always seeking really interesting food producers that we can go into partnership with.”

Spinach rolls for £4 from Rodgis – more here