Historically the district corresponded to southernClerkenwell and the small parish ofSt Sepulchre Middlesex. The area's name is a back-formation: It takes its name from the station, which was in turn named afterFarringdon Street.
To the south lie theCity of Londonwards ofFarringdon Within andFarringdon Without. The City Wards, which were once a single unit, are unconnected to the distinct area of Farringdon to their north, though there is an etymological connection.
There are numerous places in England called Farringdon; all meaningfern covered hill. William andNicholasde Faringdon, whose name is likely to have originated from one of these places, were two related prominent citizens andAldermen in the early 13th century.[1] Nicholas purchased the area of the Farringdon ward of the City of London in 1279 and became its Alderman in 1281.[2] In 1394 the ward was split into the still extant Farringdon Within[3] and Farringdon Without.[4]
Farringdon Street was built by covering part of theRiver Fleet in the Farringdon Without Ward of the city. The street was named after either the Ward[2] or after the Nicholas de Faringdon.[1]Farringdon Road was an extension ofFarringdon Street, also built over the River Fleet, but lying northward, beyond the city.
Farringdon Station was built close to Farringdon Road, and originally namedFarringdon Street Station.[5] The presence of the railway station has led to the surrounding areas of southern Clerkenwell being referred to asFarringdon.
When theMetropolitan Borough of Finsbury was formed in 1900, Clerkenwell and the other areas were absorbed into the new borough.[6][7] In 1965 the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury became part of the new London Borough of Islington.[8][9]
Albion Place – thought to be simply a suitably patriotic name; formerly George Court[10][11]
Aldersgate Street – the nameAldersgate is first recorded around 1000 in the formEaldredesgate, i.e. "gate associated with a man named Ealdrād". The gate, constructed by the Romans in the 2nd or 3rd centuries whenLondon Wall was constructed, probably acquired its name in the late Saxon period.[12][13][14]
Benjamin Street – unknown; thought to probably be for a local landowner/builder[10][15]
Briset Street – after Jordan de Briset, local 12th-century landowner who gave land to the Order of St John for their headquarters here[16][17]
Britton Street – afterThomas Britton, local coal seller and prominent patron of the arts, who lived nearby in the 17th – 18th century; it was formerly known as Red Lion Street, after a local inn[16][18]
Glasshouse Yard – after a 17th-century glass factory on this site[30][31]
Goswell Road – There is dispute over the origins of the name, with some sources claiming the road was named after a nearby garden called 'Goswelle' or 'Goderell' which belonged toRobert de Ufford, 1st Earl of Suffolk, and others a well called the Gode Well[32] whilst others state it derives from "God's Well", and the traditional pagan practice of well-worship.[33][34]
Greenhill's Rents – after John Greenhill, local 18th-century property owner[35][36]
Hat and Mitre Court – after an 18th-century tavern of this name[37]
Passing Alley – altered from the descriptive Pissing Alley, renamed at some point prior to the 1790s[38][39]
Peter's Lane – after the former St Peter's Key pub on this site[40][41]
Rutland Place – after the Manners family, earls of Rutland, local property owners of the 17th century[42][20]
St John's Lane, St John's Path, St John's Place, St John's Square andSt John Street – after the Monastic Order of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem, who set up their English headquarters here in the 12th century[43][25]
Smokehouse Yard – after the bacon stoves formerly located here[44]
Farringdon has no formally defined boundaries, but can be approximated as extending to Clerkenwell Road to the north, Goswell Road and Aldersgate Street to the east, Charterhouse Street, Charterhouse Square and Carthusian Street to the south and Farringdon Road to the west.Central District Alliance BID is the Business Improvement District representing Farringdon.
A map based on Stowc 1600[49] shows theFagswell Brook south ofCowcross Street as the northern boundary of the city. At Long Lane, by the brook, were the now lost ornamental boundary markers known asWest Smithfield Bars, first documented in 1170[50] and 1197.[51]
Until 1993, a small triangle of land south of Cowcross Street was within the City of London and formed part of the Farringdon Without ward.[52][53] The boundary between the City of London and the London Borough of Islington was locally realigned in 1993 with small exchanges of land between each; in this area the boundary was moved slightly south to align withCharterhouse Street.[54][55]
The redevelopment and expansion ofFarringdon station has had a significant effect on the local area. The station is served by theThameslink north–south rail route and since May 2022 the east–westElizabeth line service which required the construction of additional station entrances.[56][57] TheCrossrail project to construct the Elizabeth line was delayed by a number of years, having been due to open in December 2018.[58] A proposedupgrade of the Thameslink route would also affect the local area, including the construction of further station entrances, the pedestrianisation of Cowcross Street and the demolition of several buildings.[59]
^Rose, Douglas (1999).The London Underground: A diagrammatic history. Capital Transport Publishing.ISBN1-85414-219-4.
^Youngs, Frederic A. (1979).Guide to the local administrative units of England. London: Offices of the Royal Historical Society.ISBN0-901050-67-9.OCLC6742142.
^Islington London Borough Council,Islington development plan (1978)
^Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Frederic A Youngs Jr, Volume 1: Southern England,ISBN0-901050-67-9, Published by the Royal Historical Society
^Ekwall, E.,Street-names of the City of London (1954)
^'St John Street: Introduction; west side', in Survey of London: Volume 46, South and East Clerkenwell, ed. Philip Temple (London, 2008), pp. 203-221. British History Onlinehttp://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol46/pp203-221 [accessed 27 July 2020].
