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Skinners Lane

Faringdon Streets SkinnerslaneSkinners Lane 1953Skinners Lane or Alley is a short passage-way linking London Street with Ferndale Street and directly opposite Swan Lane. It was originally known as Colliers Lane or Row and as such was referred to in deeds of 1689. The family name of Collier was in the town during the 16th C. and 17th C. so presumably they had a business there or owned the land. The name was changed in the late 19th C. or early 20th C. and called Skinners Lane after Skinner’s Bakery which was located along the alley.

Also see our house by house tour of Skinners Lane in the Year 2000.

See Faringdon Streets for an indexed list of all streets in Faringdon.

Views of Skinners Lane

Skinners Bakery 1914Skinners Bakery 20001914 & 2000. W. Skinner’s bakery is or was the white building shown in both photographs. In the older photograph is Mrs Skinner holding her 2 year old son, Norman. Daniel Skinner, recorded as a journeyman baker at this address (relation unconfirmed) later died in 1919 in WW1. Mr Legge, the delivery boy holding the bicycle, was also killed in WWI. They were still trading in 1953 but gave their address as London Street in an advert at that time. Note that the shop front in the photo says Union Street (now Ferndale Street), which is visible at the end of the alley in the second photograph, with the recently closed pub called the Bakers Arms on the corner. The National Trust used these premises after the bakery closed and tried to revive the old name of Colliers Lane or Row, but the Post Office would not recognise it. The single floor building shown in both photos has since been demolished and by 2008 had become a two-story house.

Skinners Lane 20002000. Entrance to Skinners Lane from Ferndale Street. The two large buildings on the right can be seen from the opposite direction in the newer of the two photographs above. The white bakery building is out of sight here, just behind the red brick building. The Bakers Arms is just off photo to the right, next door to the first building. The photo at the top of the page looking up the alley from London Street in 1953 shows a sign to the Bakers Arms where the gap is between these two buildings. This was presumably a back entrance to the pub. The pub closed down during the 1990s and is now a private house.

Skinners Lane 20222022. Looking at the end of Skinners Lane with a view across London Street to Swan Lane.


Reference:

The Changing Faces of Faringdon and Surrounding Villages – Bk 1 p43. By Rosemary Church, Jim Brown, Millie Bryan and Beryl Newman. Robert Boyd Publications. Now out of print.

Researched by Ian Lee, April 2020.


Page first published 05-04-2020 | Last updated 04-12-2023 | Copyright © 2018-2024 Ian Lee | All rights reserved.