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A Market Built, Then Beaten By Its Own Rivals
Locksmith Faringdon Street: Watercress, Tunnels And A Direct Hit From The Sky
Watercress sellers once dominated trade on this exact spot, and a Victorian railway tunnel has carried trains beneath the area without interruption since 1866. Dial 020 8534 4949 for a locksmith genuinely familiar with this part of the City.
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Covering Faringdon Street near Smithfield and Holborn Viaduct. Open in Google Maps
Why Faringdon Street Is Different
A market that lost to its own competition
In 1829, a substantial new market opened directly on this street. Workers built it specifically to replace an earlier one, cleared away to make room for widening the road itself. The new market covered a full acre and a half, a genuinely significant investment for its time, and quickly developed a particular reputation. More than anything else it traded, this market became known as London's own premier spot for watercress, a detail that says something charming about Victorian shopping habits now largely forgotten.
Success didn't follow, though. Stiff competition from Borough Market and Covent Garden steadily ate into its trade. The venture never quite recovered from that. By the late 1870s, the City Corporation had decided enough was enough, relocating the whole operation to a purpose-built hall at nearby Smithfield, a move completed by 1883. The original market building's own moment in the spotlight, briefly intense, had already passed.
Trains Below, Tragedy From Above
Beneath this entire stretch runs a piece of genuine Victorian engineering few people above ever think about. A railway tunnel opened here on the first day of 1866, built using a method where engineers simply dug an open trench and covered it back over once the tracks were laid. That tunnel still carries trains today. It passes directly beneath Smithfield's own market buildings nearby.
Those same buildings carry a far darker memory too. On the 8th of March 1945, a German V2 rocket struck the market directly. It hit at roughly ten past eleven that morning, one of the war's final, bitter strikes on this part of the City. We're concerned with something considerably less dramatic ourselves. A lock on Faringdon Street gets fixed properly, whatever market or memory happens to sit nearby.
Pressed for time? sort a lockout fast, line up a repair for a calmer moment, or ring us past midnight if needed.
What Faringdon Street Businesses & Residents Call About
What this street brings us
Offices Near The Old Market Site
Ground that once hosted a bustling Victorian market now holds modern commercial buildings instead. Security gets fitted to that current layout, never applied generically.
Book aheadPeriod Buildings Toward The Viaduct
Along parts of this street, older architecture survives with genuine character intact. We treat each on its own terms, never as interchangeable doors.
Book aheadShops Serving Steady Commuter Footfall
People passing through toward nearby stations and Smithfield itself keep trade here steady. Swift lock replacement protects that custom when a unit jams.
Same-day priorityFlats Tucked Among The Offices
Commercial buildings here still hold a handful of genuine residential entrances. Each gets its own individual look, distinct from the units surrounding it.
Book aheadBroken Or Snapped Keys
A broken key doesn't always release easily from the older locks here. Our guide explains how we free one carefully.
Call nowEvening Lockouts
Quiet settles over this street fast once the working day finishes. Our turnaround stays the same whatever the hour.
Call nowWorth stating plainly: we don't duplicate keys, and we don't wire up card or intercom systems. Those stay with the building's own managing agent.
Locked Out On Faringdon Street
Busy by day, genuinely still by night
A steady trickle of people heads toward Smithfield and the surrounding stations throughout the day.
That movement dries up almost entirely once evening sets in, leaving genuine calm behind.
Our method stays fixed regardless. Gentle, careful techniques always get tried first, with force saved strictly for when nothing else will do.
A snapped key and a vanished one need entirely different fixes. Our broken keys page and lost keys page cover each in turn.
Around Faringdon Street
What this street connects to
The ward's own naming story, in full.
North, towards the Viaduct.
The river this street was built above.
East of this street.
South-east of here.
North of this stretch.
What We Do
Services across Faringdon Street
What A Street Carries Underneath And Behind It
A market's rise and fall, a tunnel still running silently below
Few streets can claim both a failed Victorian market and an active railway tunnel running beneath them, let alone a documented wartime strike close by too. This one manages all three.
Farringdon Market's own rise and eventual relocation are detailed by this record of the market itself. The Snow Hill tunnel's construction and history are covered by this account of the line beneath Smithfield.
Legacy matters less to us than condition. A lock near Faringdon Street gets judged purely on how it's actually performing, old market or new.
Unsure what your own lock actually needs? Tell us the symptoms and we'll give you a direct, honest read.
The Process
Booking a locksmith Faringdon Street callout
- Call usExplain the address, flat or unit number, and the problem.
- Entry gets arrangedWe liaise with building management beforehand where needed.
- Engineer attendsPricing follows only once the door's been examined in person.
- Job confirmed workingWe test everything ourselves rather than taking it on faith.
Access & Traffic
Getting to you along Faringdon Street
This street carries steady traffic near Holborn Viaduct and Smithfield, with loading restrictions in force throughout.
Farringdon and City Thameslink stations both lie within easy walking distance, often the quicker option when surface roads are congested.
Weekday daytime hours bring the street's main activity. Evenings settle into real quiet. We plan each visit around whichever applies.
Why People Call Us
What Faringdon Street tenants and residents rely on us for
- Condition guides us, not legend. Whatever a building once housed changes nothing about today's fix.
- We hold force back deliberately. Every gentler method gets tried first, without exception.
- Busy junctions don't faze us. Steady commuter crowds are simply routine here.
- Residential jobs aren't an afterthought. A flat gets the same care as an office.
- We're upfront about what we don't do. Spare keys and card systems go elsewhere.
- Time of day isn't a factor. We answer just as readily at 3am as at 3pm.
Nearby
Areas around Faringdon Street
Common Questions
A Market Built On Watercress
Did a genuine market once stand directly on this street?
Yes, built specifically to replace an earlier one cleared away for road widening.
Was this market known for anything particular?
Yes, it became especially associated with watercress trading.
Did the market actually succeed commercially?
No, competition from larger markets eventually forced it to relocate entirely.
Tunnels Below, Tragedy Above
Does a railway tunnel genuinely run beneath this area?
Yes, opened in 1866 and still carrying trains today.
How was that tunnel actually built?
Using a method where engineers dug a trench, then covered it back over.
Did this area suffer directly during the Second World War?
Yes, a nearby market building took a direct hit from a German rocket in 1945.
Booking On Faringdon Street
Which stretch does this page actually cover?
Faringdon Street itself, near Smithfield and Holborn Viaduct.
Do you work on period buildings as well as modern offices here?
We do. This street has a genuine mix, and each building gets assessed on its own terms.
Can you reach a lockout during a busy weekday?
We can, though finishing on foot often works out faster once this stretch gets congested.
Is weekend cover realistic in a mostly commercial area?
Yes, every day, regardless of how quiet the street is.
Do you handle residential premises as well as offices here?
Yes, though commercial work accounts for most of what we're called out for on this street.
What if my building has its own security procedures?
Let us know what they involve beforehand and we'll plan the visit around them.
A market here lost to its own rivals, and a tunnel still runs quietly below. We'd rather your lock gave us nothing so eventful.
Office, shop or flat on Faringdon Street — get in touch, and we'll send the right engineer.