Place Name
Directional, it is the road that leads to Farringdon. Named after Sir William de Farnedon or de Faringdon or de Farndon, or even de Farringdone, a 13thCentury goldsmith, alderman and a sheriff of London in 1281 who purchased the rights to the ward two years earlier. They were passed to his son-in-law Nicholas and down the family line for 82 years. Despite its central location, this is a comparatively new addition to the City’s road network, having only been formed in 1737 when the River Fleet, which by then was little more than a ditch, was paved over. The name itself means a fern covered hill. The area around here was previously called Ludgate-Newgate.
