Does anywhere else in London do this?
You might well have wandered along Muriel Street. It's the leafy residential road you're forced to join, if you follow the Regent's Canal east of King's Cross (the canal heads into its Islington tunnel at this point).
Head north along Muriel Street and pass through a pedestrianised cutting, and you'll emerge onto Leirum Street. It surely cannot be a coincidence that Leirum is Muriel backwards. What's going on?
Turns out that both streets were once part of a united Muriel Street. However, the 'pedestrian bit' in the middle was causing confusion, and could lead to potential delays for emergency vehicles attending the wrong section.
In 2013, the Barnsbury Estate's Tenant Management Association wrote to Islington Council requesting a change. Rather than invoking a new name, however, it was decided to simply run the letters backwards. The northern stretch thus became Leirum Street.
"It is ridiculous and it looks like a big balls up," long-term resident Kath Wardely told the Evening Standard at the time. "I think they got the stencil the wrong way round and now they are trying to cover it up."
The tenant association probably wanted to say: "That's not how stencils work, Kath", but instead responded to say that residents had been consulted in advance. Islington Council also chimed in to confirm that "Some residents thought it was a cock-up, but it was a quite deliberate decision."
"Muriel is in delirium," wrote the Daily Telegraph, suggesting their cryptic crossword compiler was working the subs desk.
None of this explains why the backwards name was chosen. It's not all that unusual to rename a street, or part of one, but to engage in wordplay rather than select a new moniker is extremely rare and possibly unique.
Still, perhaps similar tactics could be applied elsewhere. I reckon NEWARK Street in Whitechapel could also be distinguished into parts with an anagram. If only we could think of one.
With thanks to the wonderful London Remembers for the tip-off.
