The Square Mile has a wealth of unusual, colourful and deceptive street names.
Many of London's most curious and unlikely street names are to be found in the City of London. This is not surprising, given that the City is the oldest part of London.
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There are well over 600 streets, lanes, alleys and courts in the City, including many whose names do not mean what we think and many that indicate trades and inns of the past.
There are also a number of coincidental juxtapositions of names that might bring a wry smile to the modern observer.
Here are a dozen of my favourites (in alphabetical order).
Apothecary Street
Apothecary Street is one of a number of streets in the City whose names derive from Livery Companies. It leads from New Bridge Street to the 17th century hall of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, which has a long history of involvement in medicine and pharmacy.
A serendipitous twist of fate has placed a branch of Superdrug at the entrance to the street.
Cannon Street
Cannon Street has nothing to do with military hardware. The name is a corruption of Candlewick Street, historically a centre of candle making. Further reminders of this area’s involvement in this trade include the hall of the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers (who made candles from tallow, or animal fat) on Dowgate Hall, just off Cannon Street.
Cheapside
For centuries the City of London’s main commercial high street, Cheapside's name does not necessarily mean that shopping here was inexpensive. In fact it derives from the Old English word ‘chepe’, meaning a market or shop.
A number of streets off Cheapside indicate the commercial history of this part of the City and the trades that once clustered here, including Wood Street, Milk Street, Bread Street and Honey Lane.
Cock Lane
Possibly once a venue for the barbaric sport of cock-fighting, Cock Lane is thought more likely to be a reference to the brothels located here in medieval times.
(For more about the statue of the Golden Boy, pictured above, at the corner of Cock Lane and Giltspur Street, please look at my short video: Pudding & Pie: The Great Fire Punished London's Gluttony?)
Fetter Lane
Not a reference to chains, Fetter Lane is another of the many examples of street names corrupted from words with a very different meaning.
Here, 'fetter' derives from the Old French ‘faitour’, meaning a lawyer, and this area has for centuries been London's legal district. By the 14th century the term, also written as ‘fewter’ in medieval English, had come to mean an idler. I wonder if lawyers working here today are aware of this defamation?
Huggin Hill
Yes, this is spelt correctly and no, it has nothing to do with hugging (unlike Cock Lane). Rather, Huggin Hill was once called Hoggen Lane, where hogs were kept.
Knightrider Street
Knightrider Street was part of the medieval route from the Tower of London to Smithfield, which was an open field and used for jousting tournaments.
Knights rode their horses along the route to take part in the jousts. (None of combatants are known to have been named David Hasselhof.)
Mincing Lane
Whatever you think of when you hear the word 'mincing', it does not mean that here, so banish those images from your mind! It is a corruption of ‘minchens’, ‘mynchens’ or ‘mynecen’, a reference to the nuns of nearby St Helen’s Bishopsgate who once lived here.
Russia Row
Today, this very short lane near Cheapside is little more than the back of commercial buildings.
Russia Row is thought to have taken its name in 1805, when Russia entered the Napoleonic Wars on Britain’s side. However, it may be a reference to the historic trade in goods with Russia.
Stationers Hall Court
This is another name directly referring to a City Livery Company, in this case the Worshipful Company of Stationers.
The branch of Cards Galore at the junction of Stationers Hall Court and Ludgate Hill seems very appropriately located.
Trump Street
Trump Street may be named after a builder or property owner, but is thought more likely to refer to the trumpet-makers that were once here. Trumpets were used by watchmen, to signal the hours of the watch, and by heralds and masters of tournaments, before their use for playing music.
It is another curious City juxtaposition that the area just north of Cheapside brings us Russia and Trump in close proximity. Russia Row (see above) leads directly into Trump Street, which is also very short.
Turnagain Lane
When, in centuries past, the Fleet River flowed openly above ground, anyone entering this little lane would soon meet the waterway and then have to turn again and go back. It served as a small dock when the Fleet was still navigable by boats.
Successive waves of redevelopment in the City have preserved many of the old street names, even after radical changes to the buildings. Some of the smaller lanes and alleys are now simply access spaces to the service bays of modern office blocks, but at least the names are kept alive.
Until recently, Turnagain Lane lane could still be seen between offices off Farringdon Road. Sadly, however, it seems that a large new development now underway may prevent it from having its turn again.
I took all of the above photos between May and July 2020, during the early lockdown months of the covid-19 pandemic. At that time, wandering the empty streets of the City of London became my regular pastime.
For me, the street names - even when attached to modern buildings - provided a reassuring connection to the City's long history. They still do.
Walks available for booking
For a schedule of forthcoming London On The Ground guided walks, please click here.
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