Vampires, actors, and plaques

December 2, 2013

Vampires, actors, and plaques

On 1 December 1918, Transylvania united with the Kingdom of Romania. The region became forever firmly fixed as a set of vampire activity following the publication in May 1897 of Bram Stoker’s book Dracula.

Bram Stoker The Irish-born Abraham Stoker worked as a freelance journalist and drama critic, in which capacity he met both the famous actor Henry Irving and an actress called Florence Balcombe. Stoker married Florence and moved to England in the role of personal secretary to Irving; they lived for a time at 18 St Leonard’s Terrace in Chelsea.

The terrace takes its name from Upton St Leonard’s, a town in Gloucestershire and the former home of John Tombs, a builder and bricklayer who built both this terrace and the nearby Cheltenham Terrace.

Stoker plaque — The plaque in St Leonard’s Terrace. [Photo: openplaques.org]

People, Street name

Bram Stoker, Dracula, Henry Irving, London

Posted by:

thestreetnames

Exploring and sharing the weird and wonderful stories behind London streets, their names, their history, and their famous (and infamous) residents, visitors, and buildings. Tangents and coincidences a speciality.

WHAT’S SO FUNNY ABOUT
HA HA ROAD?

What is so funny about Ha Ha Road, and whose heart bled in Bleeding Heart Yard? Why did Broken Wharf break? Who was unfortunate enough to head off down Wild Goose Drive?

Beware: you wouldn’t make wine from the grapes of Grape Street, put the stew of Stew Lane on a menu, or finish off with the pudding from Pudding Lane.

Nothing is what it seems: London streets and their names provide an endless source of entertainment and information mixed in with political intrigue, bloody murder and celebrity scandals.

Come in and sample the wonders of the city’s A-Z: the legends, the history – and the theories – behind the streets, their names, and their residents.

About Me (and my Obsession)

My obsession with London street names began in the early 90s when I worked in the Smithfield area and happened upon Bleeding Heart Yard. In my wanderings around London, I kept adding to my store of weird and wonderful street names. Eventually it was time to share – hence my blog. I hope you enjoy these names as much as I do.
– Elizabeth