Residents and shoppers braved the rain to get into the party at East Ham Market as it celebrated its 90th birthday on Saturday.

The celebrations included a free circus workshop provided by Roger Arney, facepainting and Newham travelling farm which brought bunnies, ferrets and chickens.

The Market Hall, which provides the traditional fresh food as well as High Street fashion, began its life in 1922 and was started by the Sunnucks family who rented pitches to ex-servicemen to sell their wares from barrows. Now there are more than 75 trading units under one roof in the centre of East Ham.

East Ham Market Hall has become an important asset to the local community. When it opened in 1922 it filled the gap between street markets and high street shops.

One of its most well known stops is the East Ham Market Caf� which, in January 2002, was the location for the shooting of ‘Pure’, an uplifting British-made film about a family’s struggle to survive London. The filming brought a number of actors – including Lord of the Rings and Moulin Rouge star David Wenham.