BRIEF HISTORY DURING THE SNOW ERA (1813-58)

The Copenhagen House was thought to have originally been built in in 1606 as a hostelry for visiting Danes when the King of Denmark came to visit King James I in 1606.  Situated on a hill, it had a magnificent view over London and was popular at various times as a tea-garden, bar, card playing, and bulldog fights.   It was also a popular place for mass protest meetings.

In 1834, the Copenhagen Fields next to Copenhagen House was the site of large-scale demonstrations, protesting the jailing of six persons (the Tolpuddle Martyrs) who were unionizing agricultural workers (see figure). The picture shows trade unionists at Copenhagen Fields carrying a petition to the King to free the Tolpuddle Martyrs. 

Louis Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot, addressed a meeting here in 1851.  A year later the area was acquired for the new Metropolitan Cattle Market and in 1853 the Copenhagen House was demolished. 

Source: Weinreb B, Hibbert C (eds). The London Encyclopaedia, 1993.