Place Name
It takes its name from Sir Richard Furnival, who possessed two Messuages and 13 shops here during the reign of Richard II. Sometime around 1388 Sir William Furnival, who was said to be a descendant of the Fournyvals who rode to Palestine with Richard Coeur de Lion, built his mansion here. This was later leased, as many such properties were, to law students, and in 1547 Lincoln’s Inn purchased it for £140. When it was sold again in 1853 its value was £55,000. The Prudential Assurance Company, the red brick building at Holborn Bars, is sprawled over what was once Furnival’s Inn, the name only survives in the little street opposite.
