"There will always be a place to buy fish from in London. It might not be here and it probably won't be called Billingsgate but it will continue." The news that London's oldest fish market is facing permanent closure has shocked and saddened the tenants at Billingsgate Fish Market.

Two of London’s oldest markets, Billingsgate and Smithfield, will cease operations by 2028, marking the end of traditions dating back to the 11th century. The City of London Corporation announced Wednesday it will relinquish its responsibilities for the markets and compensate traders as they transition to independent operations.

Two of London’s most famous markets — one selling fish, the other meat — are set to close in the coming years, bringing an end to traditions stretching back to medieval times.

Two of London's oldest markets, Billingsgate Market and Smithfield Market, are facing closure after a move to Dagenham was abandoned

The Smithfield site is particularly historic. Meat has been traded from the same spot since the 14th century. Billingsgate boasts similar antiquity, but its ancient home near London Bridge was closed in 1982 in favour of a larger site in the Docklands.

A market has existed in Smithfield since the medieval period. It was revamped as a wholesale meat market in the 1860s and is today the largest of its kind in the UK. Billingsgate meanwhile moved from the City to its current site by Canary Wharf in the early 1980s and is the country's biggest inland fish market.

The City of London Corporation has shelved plans to relocate Smithfield and Billingsgate fish markets to a £1 billion development in Dagenham. | ITV News London

Smithfield meat market, near St Paul's Cathedral, and Billingsgate fish market in Canary Wharf are to be closed after the City of London Corporation voted to withdraw support for them. The Corporation said it would now work with traders to help them find alternative premises.