Smithfield

Site of a meat market from 1868 and poultry and provision market from 1889, in the City of London, England. The market now handles fruit and fish in addition to meat and poultry. Formerly an open space used as a tournament ground and cattle market, it was the scene of the murder of Wat Tyler, leader of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, and the execution of many Protestant martyrs in the 16th century under Mary I.

The annual Bartholomew Fair, a major London market, was held here from 1614 to 1855.

Smithfield

Town in northern Rhode Island, 16 km/10 mi northwest of Providence, on the Woonasquatucket River; population (1990) 19,200. There is apple, dairy, and poultry farming. Factories manufacture blankets and yarns and finish textiles.

Settled by Quakers in the early 18th century, it includes the villages of Esmond, Georgiaville (the governmental centre), Greenville, Spragueville, and Stillwater. Bryant College (1863) is in the northern part.

Smithfield

Town in Virginia, on the estuary of the James River, 21 km/13 mi west of Newport News; population (1990) 4,700. It is known especially for its hams. The area also produces peanuts and timber.

Smithfield was a tobacco port in the 1630s.