FETTER LANE

   South out of Holborn, at No. 31, to 179 Fleet Street, in Farringdon Ward Without (P.O. Directory).

   First mention: 1612 (Ct. H.W. II. 736).

   Former names and forms of name : "Faytureslane," 20 Ed. I. (Hust. Roll 21, No. 20). " Faitereslane," 1312 (Ct. H.W. I. 230). "Faytoreslane," 1315 (ib. 252). "Fayturlane," 1329-30 (ib. p. 357). "New lane called Faitereslane," 11 Ed. III. (Hust. Roll 56 (31)). "Le Newestrete called Faytoreslane," 17 Ed. III. (ib. 70 (41)). "Faytourlane," 1345 (Ct. H.W. I. 481). "Faitourslane," 1361 (Ct. H.W. II. 44). "Faytereslane," 41 Ed. III. (Chancery I. p.m.). "The new lane called Faiturlane," 1357 (Ct. H.W. I. 698). "Faterlane," 1536 (L. and P. H. VIII. xi. 378). "Fewtars lane" (S.375).

   Widened 1841.

   Stow derives the name from Fewters or idle people. But the form of this word given in Halliwell is "Faitour," which is nearer to the earlier forms of the name of the street as set out above.

   In Skeat and Mayhew's M.E. dictionary the word is "Faitour" = pretender, impostor, vagabond.

   It has also been suggested that the original name was "Viteri," "Viter," found in the Ct. of Hustings Wills in the 14th century (I. 119 and 139). But this does not seem to be possible, for the property mentioned in these Wills as lying in this street was situated in the parish of St. Sepulchre without Newgate.