Neighbourhood Know-How: Farringdon & Clerkenwell

The sun threatened to finally make an appearance last weekend, so we decided to take our camera down to our home and stomping ground, Farringdon and Clerkenwell.

Soul Spaces HQ has been based out of Bleeding Heart Yard in Farringdon for over two years now and we’ve loved every minute of our time here. Not only is the area incredibly well connected, it’s also a buzzy place to work with its own rich history. We can’t recommend Farringdon and Clerkenwell highly enough.

In this post we’ve highlighted a few of the neighbourhood’s more storied office locations, as well as some of our favourite local haunts. If you feel inspired to seek out your own Farringdon office space, just get in touch.

Fora, 24 Greville Street

Just around the corner from our office, you’ll find Fora on Greville Street. Sitting in a converted Victorian warehouse, 24 Greville Street was, according to Charles Dickens, the exact location for Fagin’s den in Oliver Twist. “…a dirty and more wretched place he [Oliver] had never seen”. It’s improved a bit since then.

Scotti’s Snack Bar: This family-run Italian caff on Clerkenwell Green has been open since 1967 and is a bit of a local institution. The made-to-order chicken escalope sandwich is a real lunchtime treat.

Second Home, Clerkenwell Green

Designed by F. Boreham & Sons and constructed in 1906, this Edwardian warehouse is now home to one of London’s coolest looking workspace interiors, thanks to coworking specialists Second Home.

Clerkenwell Workshops, 27-31 Clerkenwell Close

Clerkenwell Workshops are the only buildings of their type in the capital. Still with their original Victorian facade, these former artisan workshops were home to the London School Board, signs of which can still be found on the building’s exterior and detailing.

The Farmiloe Building, St. John Street

The Farmiloe Building was completed by Browne & Robinson in 1868 and became Grade II listed in 1991. IT was home to Lead and glass merchants George Farmiloe & Sons until 1999, before it became a popular filming location. Scenes from major blockbusters such as The Dark Knight and Inception were shot here. The building was transformed into offices in 2014.

St. John: Two doors down from The Farmiloe is St John. Michelin-starred and consistently voted one of the world’s 50 best restaurants, St John specialises in “nose to tail eating.” It’s set on the premises of a former bacon smoke-house. Other well regarded and well reviewed restaurants in the area include Brutto, Session Arts Club, Quality Chop House and Bouchon Racine.

Clerkenwell Kiosk: This excellent coffee stand sits in an old park ranger’s hut within the grounds of Saint James Church Garden. A peaceful spot to get away from the hustle and bustle of the office.

The Buckley Building, 49 Clerkenwell Green

This 1930s factory block on Clerkenwell Green was converted into offices in the 80s. Its recent modish redevelopment by BuckleyGrayYeoman has picked up multiple architecture awards.

Wren House at 43 Hatton Garden was originally a church. It was built after the Great Fire of London in around 1670 and later converted into a charity school at the end of the seventeenth century. The statues of two pupils in blue are a neighbourhood curiosity that were added above the door in the eighteenth century. They managed to survive heavy bombing that flattened the rest of the building during World War II because, like many real London children, they were evacuated to the countryside for safe-keeping at the beginning of the conflict.

And finally, after a hard week’s graft, it’s always good to catch up with colleagues over a post-work pint. You’re never short of a decent local in Farringdon and our team are often found spilling out onto the road outside The One Tun on Saffron Hill during the warmer months. Farringdon’s also home to one of the oldest and hardest to find pubs in London. Ye Old Mitre is positioned down a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it side lane off Hatton Garden. There’s been a pub on site since 1546.

That concludes our tour of Farringdon. If this has inspired you to look for office space in the area or are keen to kick start a Central London office search, get in touch today and our office broker team will reach out to you.