thestreetnames

Little slices of London's history

Glitches and gas lamps

We interrupt this programme… we’re experiencing some technical difficulties today so posts are being shuffled, delayed and whisked away into the ether. But in the meantime, we’re working on some new pages for the website, with more snippets about London street names. Starting with the scatological, as in the sewer gas lamp near the Savoy Hotel. (And this page should be under Snippets, not a separate menu item, but that’s just part of today’s fun.)

Hopefully we will resume normal transmission some time today, so please overlook broken links, weird text, and anything else we can blame on technology.

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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

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