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Our statement on Fabric

9th September 2016

Like so many others we’re really sad to hear this week’s news about Fabric. Plans to close it down came as a surprise to us and the decision has nothing do with the Museum of London. We have no plans at all to take over Fabric and we have never discussed the matter with Islington Council. Our new museum site is not actually in the borough of Islington but within the neighboring City of London. All of our negotiations are with the Corporation of the City London rather than Islington Council. Our new site is next to Farringdon Road and actually not that near Fabric’s current site on Charterhouse Street.

The Museum of London has always relished the idea of living and working with Fabric. It’s been a cornerstone of a great neighbourhood and we’ve got to know the team there quite well. We featured Fabric in the film we made recently (see below) and we’ve been tweeting messages of support. We want Fabric - and all of London's nightlife - to survive and to thrive.

7th September 2016

Night and day, London is the vibrant, buzzing, world city. Dickens explored London at night to take inspiration for his writing. Today the Night Tube will enable many more people to explore London around the clock, to see the capital in its night time glory.

Nowhere is London, as a 24 hour city, more evident than in Smithfield. By night the historic meat market operates comfortably next door to some of London’s best nightlife, including Fabric. By day, Smithfield is an area of creativity and commerce, where some of the most talented Londoners come to work. With St Bartholomew's Hospital operating around the clock. This is wonderful mix has been true of Smithfield for many years and is exactly why the Museum of London is excited about relocating there. Fabric is as much part of Smithfield as the meat market and the hospital, and, in the future we hope, a museum. Were Fabric to close its doors for good, the Smithfield area and London would be poorer for it.

We are proud to have featured Fabric in our documentary series on the history of Smithfield. Over the past few weeks we have been in touch with Cameron Leslie from Fabric to offer our support. Our aspiration has been to talk to work with Fabric, and other Smithfield businesses, so that Smithfield can continue to be a 24 hour destination.