Names: and Their Meaning

Cheapside properly denotes that side of the Cheap where the rich goldsmiths had their shops. The term cheap is Saxon for a market, derived from ceapan, to buy. The Old English spelling of the name of this locality was Chepe. Ironmonger Lane was the regular habitation of the artificers in iron in the reign of Edward I.; Bread Street of the bakers; and Friday Street of the fishmongers who supplied the fast-day markets. Milk Street was the ancient milk market. Gutter Lane is a corruption of “Guthurun Lane,” so called after a wealthy Danish burgher. Foster Lane contains the Church of St. Vedast (otherwise St. Foster), Bishop of Arras in the French province of Artois, in the time of Clovis. Wood Street was anciently inhabited by turners and makers of wooden cups and dishes and measures. Lawrence Lane received its name from the Church of St. Lawrence in Gresham Street, which perpetuates the memory of Sir Thomas Gresham, merchant and founder of the Royal Exchange (born 1519, died 1579), because Gresham College, established by him in his own mansion, on the site of the present Gresham House, Old Broad Street, was removed here in 1843. Lad Lane, now absorbed in Gresham Street, was a corruption of “Our Lady Lane,” so called from a statue of the Virgin. Aldermanbury was so called from the original Guildhall that stood on its east side. The approach to the present Guildhall received the name of King Street in honour of Henry IV., in whose reign the edifice was opened. In Basinghall Street stood the mansion of Solomon Basing, Lord Mayor in 1216. Coleman Street preserves the memory of the first builder upon the land. The Old Jewry was the privileged quarter of the Jews, whose first synagogue was erected here in 1262. The Poultry comprised the shops of the scorchers and stuffers, who afterwards settled down in the Stocks Market (so called from the old stocks for public offenders that stood there), displaced by the building of the Mansion House in 1739. Bucklersbury was originally the property of a wealthy grocer named Buckle who owned a manor-house here; the Anglo-Saxon word bury being applicable either to a town or to an inhabited enclosure. King William Street was named soon after William IV. opened the present London Bridge, on August 1, 1831. Queen Victoria Street was cut through in the reign of her present Majesty.

Cannon Street is a corruption of Candlewick Street, colloquially styled “Can’lwick Street,” from the candlemakers who congregated in it. Budge Row received its name from the sellers of budge, or lambskin-fur, which at one time was greatly used as an ornamentation to their attire by scholars and civic dignitaries. London Stone marked the centre of the City during its occupation by the Romans in the year 15 b.c. Watling Street is a mispronunciation of “Vitellina strata,” meaning the street of Vitellius, who at the time it was constructed occupied the Imperial throne. This was the great highway of the Romans, running from Dover, through Canterbury and London, direct to Cardigan in Wales. Walbrook, formerly written “Wall-brook,” reminds us of the pleasant stream of clear water that once ran along the west side of this street and emptied itself into the Thames. Crooked Lane was so called from its winding character. Swan Alley, in Upper Thames Street, derived its title from an ancient mansion of the Beauchamps whose crest was a swan. Boss Alley calls attention to the fact that the executors of Sir Richard Whittington erected a boss, or conduit, hereabouts in the long, long ago. College Hill is all that remains to remind us of the College of St. Spirit and St. Mary founded on its site by the same generous Lord Mayor and benefactor of the public. Fye Foot Lane is properly “five-foot lane,” the actual width of this thoroughfare at one end; while Duck’s Foot Lane is a corruption of “Duke’s Foot Lane,” signifying the private path leading from the manor-house of the Dukes of Suffolk in what is now Suffolk Lane down to the water-side. Queenhithe was so called because the tolls collected at this hithe, or wharf, were claimed as pin-money by Eleanor, queen of Henry II. Dowgate is a modern spelling of “Dwrgate” (dwr being Celtic for water), where, in the absence of bridges, the Romans had a ferry across the river to the continuation of Watling Street towards Dover. The Steelyard was the place where the King’s beam, or Steel yard, for weighing merchandise was set up. Foreigners who landed goods here were, between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, known as The Steelyard Merchants.

Gracechurch Street, formerly corrupted into “Gracious Street,” received its name from an old church standing in a grass market hereabouts. Fenchurch Street recalls the church in the fens, or marshy land, on the north bank of the Thames. Eastcheap was the eastern cheap or market, as distinguished from Chepe or Cheapside. Mincing Lane is a corruption of “Mynchen Lane,” denoting the tenements held by the minichery, a Saxon name for a nunnery, of St. Helen’s, Bishopsgate Street. Mark Lane was originally styled “Mart Lane,” from a fair held here from the earliest times. Blind Chapel Court, situated at the north-east corner of Mark Lane, carries the imagination back to “Blanch Appleton,” the documentary description of a white stone manor belonging to a knight named Appleton, in the reign of Richard II. In Rood Lane stood an ancient rood, or cross, representing the dying Saviour. Seething Lane is a corruption of Sidon Lane; and Billiter Street of Belzetti Street, commemorating the names of the original owners of, and builders upon, the land. The Minories marks the site of the Priory of the Minoresses, or Nuns of St. Clare (the Order founded in Italy, by St. Clare in 1212); corresponding to the Minims, or Lesser Friars, founded by St. Francis de Paula in 1453. Crutched Friars was the Priory of the Crutched, or Crossed, Friars of the Holy Trinity [see Religious Orders]. Aldgate received its name from the Ald Gate, the oldest of the City gates, taken down in 1760. Aldgate Pump, which stood beside the gate, still remains. George Yard was formerly the inn yard of “The George.” Duke’s Place preserves the memory of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, beheaded in 1572, who had inherited the property of the Crutched Friars by marriage.

Leadenhall Street derived its title from the Leadenhall Market, a corruption of “Leather Hall,” the leather-sellers’ market of olden times. St. Mary-Axe owes its name to the Church of St. Mary-Axe which stood in it [see the article “London Churches and Buildings”]. Throgmorton Street and Nicholas Lane were both named after Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, a wealthy London banker, and the head of an ancient Warwickshire family, said to have been poisoned by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in 1571. Threadneedle Street is a corruption of “Three-Needle-Street,” so called from the arms of the Needle Makers’ Company. Bartholomew Lane was designated after the Church of St. Bartholomew, at the back of the Royal Exchange. Lothbury was originally “Lattenbury,” inhabited by the workers in latten, a fine kind of brass or bronze, which formed an important industry in the Middle Ages. Cornhill was the ancient corn market. St. Michael’s Alley, where the first English coffee-house was opened, took its name from the neighbouring church. Finch Lane is properly “Finke Lane,” in honour of Sir Robert Finke, who built the Church of St. Bennet Finke, pulled down to enlarge Gresham’s Royal Exchange. Change Alley, a contraction of “Exchange Alley,” was in the year 1720 the busy centre of the South Sea Bubble. Birchin Lane is a corruption of “Birchover Lane,” named after the builder.

Lombard Street constituted the colony of the Jews of Lombardy sent over to England by Pope Gregory IX. for the purpose of advancing money to those who were unable to pay the taxes so rigorously demanded throughout the country in 1229. Austin Friars contained the Priory of the Austin, or Augustin Friars. Bishopsgate Street was designated after the strong gate built by the good Bishop Erkenwald, son of Offa, King of the Saxons; and repaired by Bishop William in the reign of William I. Great St. Helen’s comprises the ground anciently held by the Nuns of the Order of St. Helen. Devonshire Square, in this neighbourhood, marks the situation of the mansion of William Cavendish, second Earl of Devonshire, who died under its roof in 1628. Artillery Lane stands upon the old practising ground of the Tower Gunners prior to the seventeenth century. Houndsditch was the old ditch beyond the city wall, anciently considered by the inhabitants to be the proper depository for dead dogs. Bevis Marks is a corruption of “Bury’s Marks,” where stood the mansion and grounds of the Abbots of Bury. Petticoat Lane, also known as Rag Fair, is the central old clothes mart of the Jewish inhabitants of the metropolis. Wormwood Street and Camomile Street were so called on account of the herbs found growing among the Roman stones. London Wall defines the ancient boundary of Roman London. Barbican, a continuation of the old Roman Wall, is an English form of the Saxon burgh kennin, or postern tower. Here it was that the Romans placed sentinels by night and day to give notice of conflagrations in the City or of dangers from outside quarters. In Great Winchester Street stood the original Winchester House, built by the first Marquis of Winchester. Old Broad Street was in Elizabeth’s reign the most fashionable thoroughfare in London, containing the mansions of the wealthiest city merchants. Moorgate Street was so called from the gate that divided the City from the moor, comprising the borough of Finsbury. Beech Lane was designated after Nicholas de la Beech, Lieutenant of the Tower during the reign of Edward III. Cripplegate is the narrow thoroughfare anciently graced (or disgraced) by a stone gate which received its name from the beggars and cripples who congregated around it. This affection for the old gate on the part of the cripples may be explained by the circumstance that the neighbouring church was dedicated to St. Giles, the patron of cripples. Whitecross Street and Red Cross Street were respectively denominated from a white and a red cross of stone, which defined the boundaries of the land belonging to the Knights Templars and the Knights Hospitallers. Playhouse Yard reminds us that the old “Fortune Theatre” stood here. Jewin Street was for centuries the only burying-ground permitted to the Jews of London. Aldersgate Street took its name from the old City gate, distinguished for several alder-trees that grew beside it. In Bridgewater Square stood the mansion, destroyed by fire in 1687, of the Egertons, Earls of Bridgewater. Bartholomew Close marks the situation of the cloisters of St. Bartholomew’s Priory, of which the church still remains. Cloth Fair comprised the ancient rendezvous of the Flemish and Italian merchants for the annual sale of cloths. This was the real Fair, to which “Bartholomew Fair” was merely an adjunct designed for the amusement of the populace who came from all accessible parts of the country. Duke Street and Little Britain were so called because in olden times the Dukes of Brittany resided here. Newgate Street received its name from the latest of the City gates, which also lent its title to the gloomy prison hard by. Bath Street contained one of the Turkish Bagnios, or Baths, introduced in London as early as the year 1679. King Edward Street serves to remind us that the neighbouring Grammar School known as Christ’s Hospital was established by Edward VI. Giltspur Street, formerly styled Knightrider Street, was so called from the Knights, distinguished by their gilt spurs, who passed through it on their way to the tournaments in Smithfield. Pie Corner, where the great Fire of London ceased its ravages in 1666, derived its name from an eating-house that rejoiced in the sign of “The Magpie.” Farringdon Street and Farringdon Road perpetuate the memory of William Farrindon, citizen and goldsmith, who purchased the Aldermanry of the Ward still known by his name for twenty marks in 1279, and became Sheriff two years later. Saffron Hill owes its designation to the rich crops of saffron that grew on its site at the time when it formed the eastern portion of the grounds attached to Ely House, the London residence of the Bishops of Ely, which stood on the spot now marked by Ely Place, and bounded on the west by Hatton Garden; so called because, when the property became demised to the Crown, it was presented by Queen Elizabeth to Sir Christopher Hatton, who literally danced himself into Her Majesty’s favour. Snow Hill was formerly described as “Snore Hill,” from the fact that the stage-coach passengers intended for “The Saracen’s Head” were generally fast asleep when they arrived at their destination.

Holborn is a contraction of “The Hollow Bourne,” indicative of a stream in a hollow. In Domesday Book the name appears as “Holebourne.” Holborn Bars marks the City boundary on its western side. Leather Lane was the recognized colony of the leather-sellers. Fetter Lane is a perversion of “Fewtor’s Lane”—in other words, a lane infested by vagabonds in the days when it led to some pleasure gardens. The term was derived from the Norman-French faitour, signifying an evil-doer. Brooke Street (in which Chatterton, the boy-poet, ended his life by poison), and Greville Street preserve the name of Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke, Councillor to James I., whose house stood in the latter thoroughfare. Gray’s Inn Road forms the eastern boundary of Gray’s Inn. Verulam Buildings, Gray’s Inn, facing Gray’s Inn Road, received this title in honour of Lord Bacon, who was created Baron Verulam and Viscount St. Albans. Furnival Street, on the east side of Holborn Bars, owes its name to Furnival’s Inn, which it faces. Until quite recently this street was designated Castle Street, from the old “Castle Inn,” whose site it covers. The name of Dyers’ Buildings memorializes the one-time existence of some almshouse erected hereabouts by the Dyers’ Company. Cursitor Street received its title from the Cursitors’ Office founded in this vicinity by the father of the great Lord Bacon. The Cursitors were those who issued writs in the name of the Court of Chancery. The word cursitor is a corruption of chorister. Anciently all the officers of the Court of Chancery were divines; and the Lord High Chancellor himself was the Ecclesiastical Keeper of the King’s Conscience. Chancery Lane is a corruption of “Chancellor’s Lane,” originally containing the court and official residence of the Lord High Chancellor. Southampton Buildings occupy the site of Southampton House, which witnessed the death of Thomas, the last Earl of Southampton, Lord Treasurer of Charles II. Those sorry tenements, Chichester Rents supply the place of the old town mansion of the Bishops of Chichester. Lincoln’s Inn Fields are situated on the east side of the Inn, or mansion, of Henry de Lacey, Earl of Lincoln, in the fourteenth century [see Inns of Court]. Sardinia Street takes its name from the Sardinian Chapel, the oldest Roman Catholic chapel in London, dating back to the year 1648, and originally the residence of the Sardinian ambassador. Great Turnstile and Little Turnstile are pleasant-sounding names, eminently suggestive of the rural character of this neighbourhood in bygone days. The turnstiles were set up to prevent sheep and cattle from straying out of Lincoln’s Inn Fields into the public highway. Great Queen Street was so called in compliment to Queen Elizabeth, in whose reign it was first formed into a footway for pedestrians plodding westwards from Lincoln’s Inn towards the narrow path, anciently designated, as the modern street still is, Long Acre. The word Acre, derived from the Greek agros, Latin ager, and Anglo-Saxon acer, means a ploughed or sown field. Drury Lane derived its name from Drury House, the town residence of Sir William Drury, K.G., one of our most able commanders in quelling the wars with Ireland. The house was situated where the Olympic Theatre now stands. Denzil Street and Holles Street were so designated by Gilbert, Earl of Clare, whose house occupied the site of Clare Market, in memory of his uncle Denzil, Lord Holles, one of the five members of the House of Commons whose persons Charles I. made an ineffectual attempt to seize. Hart Street and White Hart Street both owe their titles to “The White Hart” Inn, demolished in the time of George I. Catherine Street, Strand, and Portugal Street, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, were designated in honour of Catherine of Braganza, queen of Charles II. Serle Street received its name from Henry Serle, a bencher of Lincoln’s Inn, who left considerable property in the parish of St. Clement-Danes when he died in 1690. Wych Street was known in early times as Aldwyche, denoting the road leading directly from the Strand and the church just mentioned to the “Old town,” now known as Broad Street, St. Giles’s parish. Holywell Street took its title from the Holy Well discovered on the eastern side of St. Clement-Danes.

The Strand literally means the strand of the Thames. At one time Somerset House and a few other princely mansions only occupied its southern side. Thanet Place, a secluded cul de sac comprising ten houses, opposite the Law Courts, was named after the Earl of Thanet, to whom, previous to 1780, the property belonged. Palsgrave Place was so called in compliment to the Palsgrave Frederick, King of Bohemia, who married the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I., in 1612. Devereaux Court received its title from Essex House, which also gave its name to Essex Street, the residence of Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex, the Parliamentary General. Milford Lane was in olden times characterized by a rustic mill; and the lane itself led down to a ford across the river. Arundel Street, Norfolk Street, Surrey Street, and Howard Street, stand upon the site of the town house and grounds of the Howards, Dukes of Norfolk, and Earls of Arundel and Surrey. Savoy Street leads to the Chapel Royal, the only remaining portion of the ancient Savoy Palace [see Savoy Chapel]. Wellington Street, constructed in 1829-30, was named to complete the compliment partially bestowed upon the Duke of Wellington by the designation of Waterloo Bridge, opened June 18, 1817, or two years after the famous victory. Bow Street was so called on account of its bent shape when it was first laid out to connect the Strand with Oxford Street in 1637. Covent Garden is a corruption of Convent Garden, or the garden belonging to St. Paul’s Convent. York Street and James Street were both named in honour of the Duke of York, afterwards James II. King Street, constructed in his reign, was designated after Charles I., and Henrietta Street after his queen, Henrietta Maria. In Tavistock Street, Russell Street, Bedford Street, and Southampton Street, we trace some of the family titles of one of the ancestors of the present ground landlord, viz., Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, Marquis of Tavistock, Duke of Bedford, whose daughter is known in history as the celebrated Rachel, the wife of Lord William Russell, the patriot, beheaded in 1683. Southampton House, in which Lady Russell was born, stood in the street named after it. Bedfordbury originally denoted the enclosed property of the Bedford family. Maiden Lane was so styled on account of a statue of the Virgin that stood at the corner of this thoroughfare at the time when it skirted the south wall of the Convent Garden. Chandos Street received its name from James Bridges, Lord Chandos, the ancestor of the “Princely Duke of Chandos.” Exeter Street marks the situation of Exeter House and its grounds, the property of a lineal descendant of the great Lord Burleigh, after whom Burleigh Street was designated. Cecil Street and Salisbury Street, on the opposite side of the Strand, remind us that here stood Salisbury House, the residence of Robert Cecil, first Earl of Salisbury, one of the sons of Lord Burleigh just alluded to.

Adelphi is the Greek word for brothers. This collective title was chosen for the pleasantly situated little district which comprises Adelphi Terrace, Adam Street, John Street, Robert Street, and James Street, the work of the brothers Adam, after whose Christian names three of the streets were designated. Similarly, George Street, Villiers Street, Duke Street, and Buckingham Street preserve the memory of George Villiers, second Duke of Buckingham, of whose mansion the old gate built by Inigo Jones may still be seen. Charing Cross is a perversion of “Chère Reine Cross,” so named from the memorial cross erected upon the spot where the body of Eleanor, the dear queen of Edward I., was last set down while on its way to Westminster Abbey. The present cross is merely a model of the original demolished by the Puritans in 1647. Craven Street is the property of Lord Craven. Northumberland Street and Northumberland Avenue owe their names to Northumberland House, the town mansion of the Dukes of Northumberland, taken down in 1874.

Trafalgar Square received its title from the Nelson Column, set up in 1843, two years before the Square itself was completed. St. Martin’s Lane was named after the parish church of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields. King William Street was built upon in the reign of William IV. The name of Seven Dials arose from a column set up at the diverging point of seven streets, and displaying as many clock faces. Its object was to mark the limits of St. Giles’s and St. Martin’s parishes. Cranbourne Street marks the course of a long, narrow bourne, or stream, that formerly ran from Tyburn by way of Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, and across Leicester Fields into Long Acre, and thence emptied itself into the Thames at the bottom of Milford Lane. The first portion of the name was in allusion to the long, slender neck and legs of the crane. Leicester Square (formerly denominated Leicester Fields) derived its name from Leicester House, the noble mansion built on its east side by Robert Sidney, Earl of Leicester, in 1636. On the site of Coventry Street stood the mansion of Henry Coventry, Secretary of State in the reign of Charles II. Great Windmill Street reminds us of the old windmill that stood hereabouts a couple of centuries ago. It was not until January, 1831, that the hay market, properly so called, was removed from the spacious thoroughfare still known as the Haymarket. Jermyn Street was named after Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans, whose residence, St. Alban’s House, stood on its north side. In Arundel Street we have one of the family titles of the ground landlord, Lord Arundel of Wardour. Orange Street was designated in honour of the Prince of Orange, afterwards William III. Panton Street perpetuates the memory of Colonel Thomas Panton, a notorious gamester, whose daughter married into the Arundel family. Suffolk Street marks the situation of the old town mansion of the Earl of Suffolk.