Londonist Maps...Ye Olde London

M@
By M@ Last edited 197 months ago

Last Updated 29 July 2008

Londonist Maps...Ye Olde London

Fulla, Padda and Waendel were three wealthy Saxons. No one has the slightest clue what they looked like or what they were up to; whether they died young or lived to a grand old age. None can say if they exchanged farming tips, fisticuffs or bodily fluids with other notable Saxons Gisla, Wynman and Putta. They are murky names in crumbling Anglo-Saxon chronicles. Yet we recall them every day, whenever we mention Fulham, Paddington or Wandsworth; Islington, Wimbledon or Putney.

This is why we all love London. We can't escape our 2000 year history of Celts, Romans, Saxons, Angles, Normans, and all who followed. Nor do we want to. Their echoes are coded into the modern gazetteer as surely as Churchill, Nelson, Wellington and Gladstone. In 100 years, might our descendants be hovering down Livingstone Corridor or skating along Boris Glissade?

In this post, we attempt to map the names of London that have fallen out of service. Areas and districts are marked with purple pointers, whereas street names are indicated in blue.

It's only a starting point. London shifts and changes like the hallways of Hogwarts and their are no doubt many other forgotten names missed off. Please give generously in the comments, and we'll add them to the map.

Two books were key to starting off this map. Cyril M. Harris' excellent, if predictably titled, book 'What's in a Name?' gives much more detail about the origins of places linked to Tube stations. The Times History of London fills in the gaps with street names and areas not served by the Tube. Both books are highly recommended.