Living Archives: How Markets Curate Stories of Home

Hi there, my name is Nompumelelo (Nom), a photojournalist and public historian and Havering London’s Unearthed Producer. I would like to introduce you to a concept that sprung to mind when I was facilitating a heritage workshop. Markets hold countless memories for me – I see them as living archives, spaces where we shape, make, curate, and preserve our experiences.

My work with the King’s College London LITAID team on their Archives in Action project fundamentally shifted how I understand community archiving. Through LITAID, I learned that archives aren’t just dusty repositories in institutions – they’re alive in our markets, our homes, our everyday interactions. The project showed me how communities naturally create and maintain their own archives through storytelling, objects, and shared spaces. This revelation opened my perspective on community archiving that embeds itself seamlessly in our daily lives.

Reflecting on how my community – the African diaspora – brings pieces of home to our adopted spaces, I realised the significant role market traders play in curating feelings and experiences that capture belonging. They become inadvertent archivists, preserving cultural practices, tastes, and connections across continents.

I think of my first time in the business district on the bustling streets of Gauteng, where I was met with the tantalising aroma of home-made chips cooking at a local vendor by the taxi rank. I remember the artisanal spirit that illuminated conversations with local designers at Rosebank Art & Craft Market, discussing the intricate design of newly discovered earrings that screamed Afrofuturism. There was the cultural resilience and innovation I witnessed across the street of City Hall in Bulawayo, where I learned about my roots as a Ndebele woman through traditional attire and intricate beadwork. I recall witnessing my Kikuyu friend’s smile as we dug through piles of beaded bracelets in a Nairobi market, searching for a Zimbabwean rendition of the infamous Kenyan bracelet.

In the medina in Marrakech, my mum discovered eucalyptus crystals from a vendor eager to showcase the beauty of natural and herbal remedies that are part of Moroccan lifestyle. That bottle of crystals became our new Vicks.

I can now add Romford Market to this cherished list of memories. While searching for the Teapot Café, I had the pleasure of receiving a mini-tour from a local who narrated the market’s brief history and as we walked past Wickendens Meats, she affirmed it was the best butcher in town and, according to Havering’s visual histories, one of the market’s most consistent visual motifs, backing her claim. Why else would it appear so many times in the local archive and stock images? I have had the pleasure of hearing stories from my colleagues about the notorious fountain in the town centre and seeing one of our partners’ face brighten up at the phrase ‘meet me by the fountain’ as she reminisced on her memories of this public installation that once sat in the market.

Just one of the reasons why Romford Market will feature in several new Havering London projects that champion its heritage through a 21st-century lens.