This week’s ‘culture’ day was all about unusual street names that are scattered around the City of London – and ‘how’ those names originated. I have literally walked miles today in my quest to locate some of the more interesting ones – and I’ve been up so many peoples passages and alleys, its a wonder I haven’t been arrested
I have provided some background info as to how these particular street names were derived, to each individual photo – and of course I ended the day with the customary ‘cheeky’ lager.
Hope you find all this as interesting as I did
This street took its name, because 2 centuries ago it was the location of numerous ironwork type shops
In medieval times, the use of a Catherine Wheel was common practice to celebrate a military achievement or a Royal occasion.
An ancient pub called the Fox & Anchor stood here for many centuries – and it was a pub that was frequented by sailors
This is the street that William Lamb built in 1577, to lead the locals to the water conduit he had erected near Red Lion Square
This passage takes its name from a William Lamb who built a fresh water conduit in nearby Red Lion Square back in 1577 – and so he built a street and a passage that people could walk down to get to it
This street name derived from a house that stood here which was named “Hanging Sword”
This was originally the site of medieval ‘fly tipping’ . In the early 1700’s the locals used to dump their domestic refuse and cinders here – to such a degree that it created a large ‘mound’ the size of a hill – leaving a constant awful smell in the area. The name of the street is an example of medieval irony
This streets name derived from an old sign of the ‘Pierced Heart of the Virgin’ that was on display many centuries ago. This yard is referred to by Charles Dickens in his book Little Dorritt
A church that stood here held an artifact that was alleged to be an axe used by Attilla the Hun
At the time of William the Conquerer, there were a lot of Jewish immigrants seeking asylum in Britain – and they were assigned their own ‘quarter’ of the City
From the 1300’s onwards, fashionable monarchs used to store all their regalia and finery here – safely away from the castles or Royal estates
Geoff Clements 21 March · Edited · .. This isn’t a reference to David Hassellhoff – it was a road used by knights riding to Smithfield for jousting tournaments back in the 14th/15th centuries
This ancient passage way was constructed to the north of the City for the locals to ‘have a leak’ on their way home from a night at the Inn – to prevent them soiling the more prestigious streets nearer the centre of the City
This lane is famous, as it is where the Great Fire of London started back in 1666. ‘Puddings’ we’re not pudding as we know them – back then they were meat pies.
In the 17th century a French restaurant stood here, which served fixed price meals that were known at the time as “Ordinaries”
Centuries ago an ancient monastery stood on this site which was founded by a load of monks known as the ‘Crossed Friars’
This is “Wardrobe Place’ – and apparently it is still used today to store a lot of the Queens pageantry material
In 1684 Red Lion Square took its name from the nearby Red Lion Inn. It is alleged that Oliver Cromwell was ‘laid out’ in the square for all to see, before his burial.
Funnily enough, I must be so legendary, that they even named a street after me
The ‘Water Poet’ in Folgate Street, Shoreditch (Jack the Ripper country)
After all that walking I treated myself to a ‘cheeky’ lager at the ‘Water Poet’ in Folgate Street, Shoreditch (Jack the Ripper country). This is one of my favourite pubs in the City – but I’m not a fan of their prices (£4:70 for a bottle of lager)
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