Place Name
There are two possible origins, neither directly connected with the nearby St Paul’s Cathedral or, as some have suggested, the preaching of sermons in the Middle Ages. The first is that it is named after Adam la Sarmoner or Adam Sermoncinarius, a landowner recorded in 1228. The second is that it comes from a corruption of sheremongers – who were employed to shear (cut) and round the silver discs used in the minting of coins. The road was known as Sheremoniers’ lane and according to John Stow there was a 13thCentury property called Blake Loft, where silver was melted down before it went to the King’s bullion store.
