A blue plaque at Tommyfield Market commemorates what it calls a "disputed distinction": the claim that Britain's first fish and chip shop opened at this Oldham site. The assertion has long been a source of local pride, yet historians and food scholars remain unconvinced, pointing to competing claims from elsewhere in England.
What Tommyfield Market Claims
The market, which has stood at the heart of Oldham since 1788, displays a sign suggesting it was home to the nation's inaugural fish and chip shop. According to local accounts, Lever's Chippy once operated at the site and bore signage proclaiming it the first of its kind. The blue plaque now serves as both a commemoration of this heritage and an acknowledgment that the claim remains contested.
The Competing Claims
Three locations vie for the title of Britain's first fish and chip shop, each with its own historical narrative.
Joseph Malin, an Eastern European Jewish immigrant, is widely credited with opening the first recorded combined fish and chip shop in Bow, East London, circa 1860. The National Federation of Fish Friers presented a plaque to Malin's acknowledging it as the world's first such establishment. The shop continued operating until the early 1970s.
In the North of England, John Lees is said to have pioneered the concept in Mossley, Lancashire, in 1863, just three years after Malin's claimed opening. Lees reportedly adorned his premises with the slogan: "This is the first fish and chip shop in the world." Mossley lies within the same Greater Manchester borough as Oldham, adding a particularly local dimension to the rivalry.
Further north, Dundee City Council maintains that chips were first sold by Belgian immigrant Edward De Gernier in the city's Greenmarket during the 1870s.
The Historical Context
The difficulty in establishing a definitive origin lies in the nature of the dish itself. Fried fish and fried potatoes existed separately in Britain for decades before being combined. Spanish and Portuguese Jewish immigrants introduced fried fish to London, with Charles Dickens referencing "fried fish warehouses" in Oliver Twist in 1838. Alexis Soyer mentioned "fried fish, Jewish fashion" in his 1845 publication A Shilling Cookery for the People.
Chips, meanwhile, appear in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities in 1859: "husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil."
The combination likely emerged gradually from street food culture rather than through a single moment of invention. This evolutionary nature makes pinpointing a "first" establishment particularly challenging.
What the Historians Say
Academic sources remain cautious. The location of the first fish and chip shop is described as "unclear" in historical accounts. Professor John Walton, author of Fish and Chips and the British Working Class, has documented the dish's significance to the working class, particularly during the First World War, but stops short of endorsing any specific origin claim.
What Remains Unclear
- No primary sources, such as council records or newspaper advertisements from the 1860s, have been located to definitively prove any single claim.
- Whether Lever's Chippy at Tommyfield Market predates or postdates the Malin and Lees establishments.
- The exact date, if any, when a fish and chip shop first opened at Tommyfield Market.
Why the Claim Matters to Oldham
Beyond historical accuracy, the blue plaque at Tommyfield Market represents something significant: a connection to a dish that became a cornerstone of British working class culture. Fish and chips gained popularity during the Industrial Revolution, fuelled by railway networks that transported fresh fish inland and by developments in trawl fishing that made the dish affordable.
As Oldham prepares for the market's relocation to the redeveloped Spindles shopping centre in 2026, the plaque serves as a reminder of the town's role in the broader story of British food culture, whether or not it can definitively claim the title of first.