The East End of Fawkon Walk

The Fawkon Walk shopping precinct dates from 1967. The name, a corruption of ‘falcon’, the bird of prey, comes from an inn on the site called the Fawkon on the Hoop, Hoddesdon’s earliest known inn. A later inn, the George or St George, was demolished for the building of the Congregational Church. William Ellis, who as a young man had been a missionary in the South Seas and Hawaii, moved to Hoddesdon in 1841. Ellis became pastor of the Congregationalists and set about fund-raising for the building of a new church, which opened in 1847. Although Hoddesdon remained his family home, Ellis returned to missionary work for some years later in life. He was a skilled gardener and orchid grower, discovering rare specimens during missions to Madagascar. The Congregational Church was demolished along with other buildings for the construction of Fawkon Walk.

Continue north to reach Lord Street.