Piccadilly, Pall Mall, Old Bailey, Houndsditch and Crutched Friars are some of the unusual London street names that must puzzle those who use them daily as much as they puzzle the tourist. How did they arise, and what do they mean?
This book explains these and over 750 others in London. The origin of a street name often reveals unsuspected facts about the history of the area. Many names date back to Saxon times. Straightforward-looking names are not always what they seem. Cannon Street was once Candlewick Street, where the candlemakers dwelt, and Bunhill Row is 'bone hill' where human remains from Old St Paul's were reinterred when the cathedral was destroyed by the Great Fire.
Dull sounding names may expose an interesting fact: Brook Street indicates the course of Tyburn Brook and Mount Street the site of a mound built by Cromwell to guard the approach to London.
Many streets have been names after people, some of whom, like Baker, Bond and Downing, would have been long forgotten but for the celebrated streets that bear their names.
Contents:
Introduction
London Street Names
Index
