Oxford University Press are very good to me and send me loads of gorgeous books for which I am forever grateful. I adore wandering around their website and receiving their catalogues and looking at the huge range of books they publish. I am a great fan of their World Classic paperback series which were relaunched this year with new covers etc etc. Me being a bit of a stick in the mud, I was not altogether happy about this but now that I have seen and got some of them, I have changed my mind.
Last week a little gem of a book from OUP dropped through my letter box - A Dictionary of London Place Names by A D Mills. This is the second edition so obviously this title has been around a while but has passed me by and I am delighted to have this on my reference shelf (most of which consists of OUP publications I can tell you) as it is the kind of book that is not only such fun to dip into, but is a source of knowledge for quiz nights when you can stun your team mates with a bit of esoteric information.
So I am going to give you some examples of what has caught my eye and of course, I turned to streets and places I knew well to see the origins of the names:
- Theobald's Road in Holborn - I worked at the library there for four years. Recorded by this name in 1732 and so named because it was part of the country route along which King James I (1566-1625) rode when journeying from Westminster to the Royal hunting lodge at Theobalds in Cheshunt.
- Russell Square - lived near there for several years. Names from the family name Russell of the Dukes of Bedford, the ground landlords (see also Bedford Square)
- Sadler's Wells - where I saw my first opera. Named after one Thomas Sadler who had a 'Musick House' there and discovered a mineral spring in the garden.
- Highgate - worked in the library there for several years. Heygate that is 'the high toll gate' from Middle English heghe and gate. The reference is to a toll gate set up here in early times on the
Great North Road by the Bishop of London, then lord of the manor and this was one of the highest spots in the county of Middlesex.
- Wimbledon - this name seems to have taken various shapes and forms over the years Wymendon 13th century, Wimeldon 1202, Wimbledon 1211 probably 'hill of a man called Wynnmann 'from English dun and an old English personal name
Now I could go on for hours with loads of examples but instead of that I suggest you nip over and take a gander at the OUP website and buy a copy as you will find it totally fascinating (be warned -looking at this website is injurious to the health of your credit card). There is an intriguing introduction in which the author discusses the Celtic names, Roman Londinium, the Anglo-Saxon Period, the Scandinavian Influence, the Norman French Influence, Middle English Period and up to date.
Then there is a section in the introduction on Hills and Valley as some places take their names from their proximity to a hill or higher ground (Peckham - 'peak' for example, Totteridge - 'ridge') and also names linked to Springs, Pools and Marshalands - 'brook' leading to Aldersbrook, Kidbrooke etc and the Old English word burna meaning stream leading to Holborn, Kilburn and Marylebone.
There is a danger that this book could be regarded as one of those 'gift' books that appear in Christmas stockings or stuck in the toilet for visitors to read and at first glance, but that would be doing it a disservice - this is not only a delightfully interesting and fascinating book, but it can also be regarded as a serious work of reference and, as I said at the beginning of this post, will be taking its place on my shelf of Books to Look up Things In - Googling is well and good but nothing beats a sit down and a read through a book in search of knowledge. I picked this up one morning when retiring back to bed with my first cuppa of the day and thought I would have a quick look and an hour later was still there reading.
So if you want to know the origin of Crutched Friars, Battersea, Gants Hill, Kenwood in Hampstead, Stumpshill Wood or Tottenham Court Road - look no further. This is the book for you.
