It includes land on both sides of the (now buried) River Fleet and part of its northern boundary was formed by the Fagswell Brook,[6] which ran east to west along a line approximating to Charterhouse Street, before joining the Fleet which runs north to south under Farringdon Road and Farringdon Street.

The term Bars refers to the historic boundary marks the city established when its rights or jurisdiction came to extend beyond the walls.

Early charters show that the western boundary of the City and Westminster was pushed back[clarification needed] to approximately its current position in around 1000, though the area outside the walls is thought to have been sparsely populated, if at all, at this time.

London was one of the first cities in Europe to develop segregated quarters and extramural suburbs, and the growth, west of the wall of its first 'West End' was well underway in the twelfth century.

This early 'West End' suburb, heavily influenced by the proximity of the seat of government in Westminster, was based around large houses spread along the Thames, the Strand and the Holborn road.

As the City became more populous, these trades were banished to the suburbs and by the 18th century the River Fleet had been culverted and built over.

The modern Farringdon Street was built over it, with the Fleet Market opening for the sale of meat, fish and vegetables in 1737.

They were jumbled together in a most unsightly fashion, in the middle of the road; to the great obstruction of the thoroughfare and the annoyance of passengers, who were fain to make their way, as they best could, among carts, baskets, barrows, trucks, casks, bulks, and benches, and to jostle with porters, hucksters, waggoners, and a motley crowd of buyers, sellers, pick–pockets, vagrants, and idlers.

The air was perfumed with the stench of rotten leaves and faded fruit; the refuse of the butchers' stalls, and offal and garbage of a hundred kinds.

Typefounder Vincent Figgins was a Common Councilman for the ward in the 1820s and 1830s,[20] winning election against Henry Hunt in 1828.