A hamlet since Norman times, Farthing Street is a quiet echo of Downe, which lies three-quarters of a mile to the south. The name was first recorded in 1332, although ‘street’ was added later. ‘Farthing’ probably referred to land that made up a quarter of a larger estate, while ‘street’ would indicate that this was a row of dwellings, rather than just an empty cart-track. Nineteenth-century flint-faced houses with red brick dressings are hidden away on a single-track lane with tall hedgerows, but high tension wires strung across the village detract from its appeal. Farthing Street Farm was once noted for its strawberries, picked at dawn and delivered to the shops of Bromley by 9am.