There are numerous places in England called Farringdon; all meaning fern covered hill. William and Nicholasde Faringdon, whose name is likely to have originated from one of these places, were two related prominent citizens and Aldermen in the early 13th century. Nicholas purchased the area of the Farringdon ward of the City of London in 1279 and became its Alderman in 1281. In 1394 the ward was split into the still extant Farringdon Within and Farringdon Without. Farringdon Street was built by covering part of the River Fleet in the Farringdon Without Ward of the City. The street was named after either the Ward or after the Nicholas de Faringdon. Farringdon Road was an extension of Farringdon Street, also built over the River Fleet, but lying northward, beyond the City. Farringdon Station was built close to Farringdon Road, and originally named Farringdon Street Station. The presence of the railway station has led to the surrounding areas of southern Clerkenwell being referred to as Farringdon. under British Rail with a Network SouthEast livery British Rail Class 319 on a Thameslink service
Geography
The station and its immediate environs are located in southern Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington very close to the northern boundary of the City of London and the eastern boundary of the London Borough of Camden.
A map based on Stow c 1600 shows the Fagswell Brook south of Cowcross Street as the northern boundary of the City. At Long Lane, by the brook, were the now lost ornamental boundary markers known as West Smithfield Bars, first documented in 1170 and 1197. 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. 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 with Charterhouse Street.
History
Administration
Farringdon Station and its environs were previously within the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury and are now within the London Borough of Islington.
Street name etymologies
Albion Place – thought to be simply a suitably patriotic name; formerly George Court
Aldersgate Street – the name Aldersgate is first recorded around 1000 in the form Ealdredesgate, i.e. "gate associated with a man named Ealdrād". The gate, constructed by the Romans in the 2nd or 3rd centuries when London Wall was constructed, probably acquired its name in the late Saxon period.
Benjamin Street – unknown; thought to probably be for a local landowner/builder
Briset Street – after Jordan de Briset, local 12th-century landowner who gave land to the Order of St John for their headquarters here
Britton Street – after Thomas 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
Broad Yard
Carthusian Street – after the Carthusian monks who lived near here in the Middle Ages
Charterhouse Buildings, Charterhouse Mews, Charterhouse Square and Charterhouse Street – Anglicisation of Chartreuse, from Grande Chartreuse, head monastery of the Carthusians in France; a nearby abbey was founded by monks of this order in 1371
Cowcross Street – this street was path for cattle being taken to nearby Smithfield market
Dickens Mews – presumably after Victorian author Charles Dickens
Glasshouse Yard – after a 17th-century glass factory on this site
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 to Robert de Ufford, 1st Earl of Suffolk, and others a well called the Gode Well whilst others state it derives from "God's Well", and the traditional pagan practice of well-worship.
Greenhill's Rents – after John Greenhill, local 18th-century property owner
Hat and Mitre Court – after an 18th-century tavern of this name
Passing Alley – altered from the descriptive Pissing Alley, renamed at some point prior to the 1790s
Peter's Lane – after the former St Peter's Key pub on this site
Rutland Place – after the Manners family, earls of Rutland, local property owners of the 17th century
Smokehouse Yard – after the bacon stoves formerly located here
Stable Court
Turk's Head Yard – after an 18th-century tavern of this name here
Turnmill Street – originally 13th-century ‘Trimullstrete’ or ‘Three Mills Street’, after three mills that stood near here by the river Fleet
White Horse Alley
Transport Improvements
Planned redevelopment and expansion of Farringdon Station is expected to have a significant effect on the local area. The station is currently served by the Thameslink north-south rail route; it is planned that this will be supplemented by a future east-west Crossrail service which will require the construction of additional station entrances. This will be part of the Elizabeth line, and was due to open in December 2018 but will now be in 2021. A proposed upgrade 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.
