Upper Street, running roughly north from Islington High Street to Highbury Corner, is the main shopping street of Islington, and dates back to at least the 12th century. Livestock herded along the Great North Road for Smithfield Market, would – when passing through what was mainly fields and farmland – pause at lairs built between Upper Street and Liverpool Road by an enterprising farmer, Richard Laycock; Laycock's lairs would be used in 1861 for the site of the Royal Agricultural Hall, and a number of pubs and shops existed along the street to serve farmers and travellers headed for Smithfield. In the 18th century, Upper Street began to develop from an agricultural to a residential area. Ten houses were built in 1768 (later named Hornsey Row), and a further group built immediately south of Hornsey Row in 1792. Liverpool Road, originally called Back Road, was used as an alternative to Upper Street for the Smithfield herders, and both streets have a "high pavement" constructed to protect pedestrians from being splashed by the passing animals; in places, the pavement is approximately 1 m above the road surface.