Street names of the City of London

This is a list of the etymology of street names in the City of London.

A Abchurch Lane and Abchurch Yard – after the adjacent St Mary Abchurch Adam's Court – thought to be for Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet, master of the Worshipful Company of Drapers and later Lord Mayor of London Addle Hill – from an Old English word for prince () Addle Street – from an Old English word for filth/dung, presumably descriptive, though also may be the same etymology as Addle Hill above Alban Highwalk and St Albans Court – after the adjacent St Alban, Wood Street church, of which only the tower now remains Albion Place (off London Wall) Albion Way Aldermanbury and Aldermanbury Square – the site of a burgh (enclosed settlement) of a Saxon-era alderman Alderman's Walk – formerly Dashwood's Walk, for Francis Dashwood, who lived here in the 18th century; it was changed when he became an alderman Aldersgate Court and Aldersgate Street – the name Aldersgate is first recorded around 1000 in the form Ealdredesgate, i.e. 'gate associated with a man named Ealdrād'. The gate, constructed by the Romans in the 2nd or 3rd centuries when London Wall was constructed, probably acquired its name in the late Saxon period Aldgate, Aldgate Avenue and Aldgate High Street – thought to be an alteration of Old Gate; others think it stems from Ale Gate (after a local inn) or All Gate (as it was open to all)Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert (1983) The London Encyclopedia. London, BCA:14Gillian Bebbington (1972) Street Names of London. London, Batsford: 21 'Aldermary Churchyard – Aldgate Ward', A Dictionary of London (1918), accessed: 21 May 2007 Allhallows Lane – after the church of All-Hallows-the-Great and Less, both destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666; the Great was rebuilt by Christopher Wren, but was demolished in 1894 Amen Corner and Amen Court – by association with the nearby St Paul's Cathedral America Square – laid out in 1767–1770 by George Dance the Younger and named in honour of the American colonies Andrewes Highwalk – presumably after Lancelot Andrewes, rector of the nearby St Giles-without-Cripplegate Church Angel Court – named after a long demolished inn of this name Angel Lane Angel Street – after a demolished inn of this name; formerly Angle Alley Apothecary Street – after the nearby Worshipful Society of Apothecaries Appold Street The Arcade (Liverpool Street) – presumably descriptive Arthur Street – unknown Artillery Lane – this formerly led to the Tasel Close Artillery Yard, which stood here in the 17th–18th centuries Artizan Street Ashentree Court – after the ashen trees formerly located here at the Whitefriars' monastery Athene Place Austin Friars and Austin Friars Passage and Austin Friars Square – after Austin Friars, a medieval friary which stood here in the medieval period Ave Maria Lane – after the Hail Mary (Ave Maria), by association with the nearby St Paul's Cathedral The Avenue (Cutlers Gardens) – presumably descriptive

B Back Alley – presumably descriptive Back Passage – presumably descriptive Bakers Hall Court – after the nearby hall of the Worshipful Company of Bakers Ball Court Baltic Street West – the streets here were built by a timber merchant circa 1810 who named them after trade-related activities; Baltic refers to the Baltic softwood trade Barbon Alley – after Nicholas Barbon, 17th-century economist Barley Mow Passage – after a former inn here of this name, possibly by reference to alcohol, or else a corruption of the nearby St Bartholomew's church and hospital Barnard's Inn – named after Lionel Barnard, owner of a town house (or 'inn') here in the mid-15th century Bartholomew Close and Bartholomew Place – after St Bartholomew's Priory, which stood here and is remembered in the names of the local hospital and two churches Bartholomew Lane – after the former St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange church, demolished in 1840 Bartlett Court, Bartlett Street and Bartletts Passage – after Thomas Bartlett, court printer to Edward VI, who owned property here Basinghall Avenue and Basinghall Street – thought to be after land owned here by the people of Basa or Basing (in Old Basing, Hampshire), or possibly after a mansion house of the Bassing (or Basing) family, who were prominent in the City beginning in the 13th century Book 2, Ch. 6: Bassishaw Ward, A New History of London: Including Westminster and Southwark (1773), pp. 549–51 accessed: 21 May 2007 Bassishaw Highwalk – after the Bassishaw ward in which it is located Bastion Highwalk – presumably after the adjacent Roman bastion ruins Bear Alley – thought to be after a former inn of this name Beech Gardens and Beech Street – after beech trees which formerly stood here; the name is an old one, recorded as Bechestrete in the 13th century Beehive Passage – after a former tavern here of this name Bengal Court – presumably after the former British colony of Bengal Bell Court Bell Inn Yard – after a former inn of this name Bell Wharf Lane – unknown, possibly after a former tavern of this name; formerly Emperor's Head Lane, after an inn here Ben Jonson Place – after Ben Jonson, 17th-century playwright and poet Bennet's Hill – after the adjacent St Benet's church Bevis Marks – corruption of Bury Marks, after a former house on this site given to Bury St Edmunds Abbey in the 1100s; mark is thought to note a boundary here Billiter Court and Billiter Street – after former belzeter (bell foundry) located here Birchin Lane – unknown, though suggested to come from the Old English ('beard carver' i.e. a barber's); it has had several variations on this name in the past, including Berchervere, Berchenes and Birchen Bishop's Court Bishopsgate, Bishopsgate Arcade and Bishopsgate Churchyard – after one of the city gates that formerly stood here, thought to commemorate Saint Earconwald, Bishop of London in the 7th century Blackfriars Bridge, Blackfriars Court, Blackfriars Lane, Blackfriars Passage and Blackfriars Underpass – after the former Dominican (or Black friars, after their robes) friary that stood here 1276–1538 Blomfield Street – after Charles James Blomfield, Bishop of London 1828–1856 Bloomberg Arcade – after its owners/developers Bloomberg L.P. Bolt Court – thought to be after a former tavern called the Bolt-in-Tun Bond Court – after a 17th-century property developer of this name Booth Lane Botolph Alley and Botolph Lane – after the St Botolph Billingsgate church which stood near here, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 Bouverie Street – after William Bouverie, 1st Earl of Radnor Bow Churchyard and Bow Lane – after the adjacent St Mary-le-Bow church; it was formerly known as Hosier Lane (after the local stocking making trade), and prior to that Cordewanere Street (meaning 'leather-workers') Brabant Court – thought to be after the Dutch/Belgian province of this name, though possibly a corruption of a personal name (prior to the 18th century it was known as Braben Court, and before that Brovens Court) Brackley Street – after the Earls of Bridgewater, also called the Viscounts Brackley, who owned a house near here Braidwood Passage – presumably after 19th-century fireman James Braidwood Brandon Mews - after Robert Brandon (d.1369), granted the lordship of the manor Barbican in 1336 by Edward III Bread Street – after the bakery trade that formerly took place here Bream's Buildings – thought to be named for its 18th-century builder Breton Highwalk – presumably after the 16th–17th-century poet Nicholas Breton Brewer's Hall Gardens – after the adjacent Worshipful Company of Brewers hall Brick Court – as this was home to the first set of brick buildings in the area Bride Court, Bride Lane, St Bride's Avenue, St Bride's Passage and St Bride Street – after the adjacent St Bride's Church Bridewell Place – after the adjacent St Bride's Church and a well that was formerly located here in the early Middle Ages; the name was later given to Bridewell Palace (demolished in the 1860s) Bridgewater Highwalk, Bridgewater Square and Bridgewater Street – after the Earls of Bridgewater, also called the Viscounts Brackley, who owned a house near here Britannic Highwalk Broadgate and Broadgate Circle – developed in the late 1980s, presumably named for the former Broad Street station on this site and the adjacent Bishopsgate Broad Lane, Broad Street Avenue, New Broad Street and Old Broad Street – simply a descriptive name, dating to the early Middle Ages; the northernmost section was formerly 'New Broad Street'; however, this has now switched onto an adjacent side street Broken Wharf – this wharf fell into disrepair owing to a property dispute in the 14th century Brown's Buildings Brushfield Street – after Thomas Brushfield, Victorian-era representative for this area at the Metropolitan Board of Works; the westernmost section, here forming the boundary with Tower Hamlets, was formerly called Union Street Bucklersbury and Bucklersbury Passage – after the Buckerel/Bucherel family who owned land here in the 1100s Budge Row – formerly home to the drapery trade; a budge/boge was a type of lamb's wool Bull's Head Passage – thought to be after an inn or shop of this name Bunyan Court – after the author John Bunyan, who attended the nearby St Giles-without-Cripplegate church Burgon Street – after Dean Burgon of St Paul's Cathedral; prior to 1885 it was called New Street Bury Court and Bury Street – after a former house on this site given to Bury St Edmunds Abbey in the 1100s Bush Lane – thought to be after a former inn of this name Byward Street – after the adjacent Byward Tower of the Tower of London

C Camomile Street – after the camomile formerly grown here for medicine Canon Alley – presumably in reference to the adjacent St Paul's Cathedral Cannon Street – a contraction of the 14th-century Candlewick Street, meaning a street where candle-makers were based Capel Court – after William Capel, Lord Mayor of London in the early 16th century Carlisle Avenue – unknown Carmelite Street – after the Carmelite order (known as the White friars), who were granted land here by Edward I Carter Court and Carter Lane – after the cratering trade that formerly took place here, or possibly also after someone with this name Carthusian Street – after the Carthusian monks who lived near here in the Middle AgesFairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p60 Castle Baynard Street – after Castle Baynard which formerly stood here Castle Court – after a former inn of this name Catherine Wheel Alley – after a former inn of this name, which was named for the Catherine wheel on the coat of arms of the Worshipful Company of Turners Cavendish Court – after the Cavendish family, Dukes of Devonshire, who owed a house near here in the 1600s Chancery Lane – the former site of Edward III's office of the Master of the Rolls of Chancery Change Alley – after the nearby Royal Exchange Charterhouse Square and Charterhouse Street – Anglicisation of Chartreuse, from Grande Chartreuse, head monastery of the Carthusians in France; a nearby abbey was founded by monks of this order in 1371 Cheapside and Cheapside Passage – from , an Old English word meaning 'market'; this was the western end of a market that stretched over the Eastcheap Cheshire Court – after the adjacent Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub Chiswell Street – either for old term meaning 'stony/gravelly earth', or a corruption of 'Choice Well', denoting a source of clean water Church Cloisters – after the adjacent St Mary-at-Hill church; Church Passage till 1938 Church Court – after the adjacent Temple Church Church Entry – after the former St Ann Blackfriars church which burned down in the 1666 fire Circus Place – after the adjacent Finsbury Circus Clements Lane and St Clement's Court – after the adjacent St Clement's, Eastcheap church Clerk's Place