 It takes its name from a John Friday who held land there in the fifteenth century; prior to this, it was known as Jackatt Hill.Friday Hill House, on the crest of the hill, designed by the architect Lewis Vulliamy (1791–1871), was built in 1839.It served as the manor house of the Heathcote family, replacing an earlier Jacobean house on the site (built in 1608).