London Street Names

Loretta reports:

ORIGIN OF THE NAMES OF THE PRINCIPAL BUILDINGS, STREETS, &c. IN LONDON AND WESTMINSTER, FROM STOW, SPEED, MAITLAND, &c.

ADDLE-STREET is in old records called King Adel-street, from King Adelstan the Saxon.

Ald-gate, i. e. Old-gate, was one of the four original gates of the city, being mentioned in King Edgar's reign, in 967. The late gate was re-built in 1609. [pictured at left]

Ave-Mary-lane was so called in the Popish times, from text-writers and bead-makers who dwelt there.

Barbican took its name from a watch tower, or burkenning, which stood there, and destroyed by Henry III. in 1267.

Bloomsbury was anciently a village named Lomsbury, in which were the King's stables, till they were burnt in 1354.

Blossom's-Inn, Lawrence-lane, was so called from having for its sign St. Lawrence, the deacon, in a border of blossoms, or flowers.

Bridewell, so called from its being near a spring called St. Bridget's, or St. Bride's Well, was formerly the King's palace, till, in 1533, Edward VI. gave it to the city as a workhouse for the poor. It was burnt in 1666, and rebuilt in 1682.

Change (Old) was so called from the King's Exchange kept there for the coining of bullion, 6th Henry III.

Cannon-row, from the Canons of St. Stephen's, Westminster, who dwelt there.

Charing-cross was so called from a cross set up by Edward I., in memory of the Queen, on the spot where King Charles's statue now stands. Charing was then a village.  [at right is the pillory at Charing Cross, from The Microcosm of London]

Charter House, or more properly Chartreux (so called from the monastery which stood there, and was dissolved by Henry VIII.) was founded and endowed at the sole cost of Thomas Sutton, Esq. who purchased the house of the Earl of Suffolk, for 13,000l. It was opened in October, 1614. The estate is now above 6000l. per annum.

Cheapside derives its name from there being a market there, which in Saxon is a cheap.

This came from an entertaining volume, whose title speaks for itself:  The Spirit of the public journals for the year 1825: being an impartial selection of the most exquisite essays and jeux d'esprits, principally prose, that appear in the newspapers and other publications, Volume 3.  Authors George Cruikshank, Robert Cruikshank.