Like characters from a Dickens novel, many of the people that frequented Covent Garden Market were colourful individuals. Costermongers especially were the market's heartbeat. Though “costermonger” refers literally to people who bought fruits and vegetables wholesale and sold them retail, the costermongers of Covent Garden sold anything from fresh produce to silk-worms to fried eels, hawking their wares at passers by. They trundled in and out of the market in droves, very few of them actually having fixed stalls in the marketplace, and were generally assisted by aides known as barra boys (a term originating from the Cockney "barrow boy," so called for being commonly seen pushing around wheelbarrows).
Some of the more interesting people were the porters, especially the Irish basket-women, female porters in the market known for being just as strong, alcoholic and rude as their male equivalents. They were a common sight, carting loads on their backs - and heads – for considerable distances, often for customers who could not afford carts or donkeys themselves.
So impressive were they, that one such porter-woman wagered that she could carry a fat man from the market to Elephant and Castle in under twenty-five minutes. Halfway there, she was allowed to drink a glass of gin, and when the man got restless, she pacified him by threatening to throw him into the ditch. She arrived with time to spare, and was greeted by a cheering crowd that showered her with presents.