Fish Market

The Fish Market, situated on the Barbican, was built in 1896 as part of the Sutton Harbour Improvement Company's work, which included widening the quay and constructing the market on reclaimed land above new sewage tanks. Designed by Sir James Inglis, engineer to the Great Western Railway, it is a cast-iron and steel structure with slate or lead roofs, with a former clearstorey now enclosed by asbestos cement sheeting. Rainwater is discharged down the cast-iron columns that support the canopy. The building has a rectangular plan, with a central solid and glazed structure housing an office and refrigeration unit, fronted by open canopied shelters projecting 2.5 metres from their supporting columns.

The exterior is single-storey, with six pairs of cast-iron columns on each long side. These columns, cast by Millbay Coy Limited in Plymouth, have octagonal bases and stiff-leaf capitals, supporting cambered latticed steel wallplate/purlins that run around the building behind the projecting canopy. Original granite setts remain under the canopy on the street side, with concrete floors elsewhere. Gable ends feature bracket-moulded and pierced barge boards, central finials, and pendants. The lower canopy's outer edge has a continuous fretted valance reminiscent of railway stations, with sweeping curves that accentuate the column positions at the building’s short ends.

A flat-roofed white brick structure with granite dressings is incorporated into three bays of the street side. Iron gates provide access to a central throughway. The street side includes three-light transomed casements, while the harbour side has a row of single-light casements set within cambered voussoir heads, alongside a series of doors. The interior features softwood lining beneath the roof. This is a well-preserved example of a characteristic Victorian fish market, prominently located within a historically significant area.