CiorGlassFor a long time, I thought it would be super interesting to explain how each area/tube station in #London got its name... Always thought I’d make a website about it... not got round to it... so creating a thread... in no particular order...
Ok first one... It seems #Richmond (previously known as Shene) was named by Henry VII who built #RichmondPalace there, according to Wikipedia “in allusion to his earldom of Richmond and his ancestral honour of Richmond in Yorkshire.”
#KewGardens: the word #Kew might have derived from the word “Cayho”, a combination of the Old French “kai” (landing place) and Old English “hoh” (spur of land). Kai seems to be the origin of “quay”... And, of course, the “Gardens” part is because this station serves the famous botanical gardens there.
According to Wikipedia: #Gunnersbury got its name from a woman called Gunylda, “niece of King Canute who lived there until her banishment from England in 1044”. “Bury” is Middle English for “manor” or “house”. King Canute is also referred to as Cnut (careful not to misspell that)
Apparently there was a Battle of #TurnhamGreen in 1642 (news to me)! The phrase was around beforehand though... the area was recorded as 'Turneham' in 1235 and 'Turnhamgrene' in 1369.
#StamfordBrook was a tributary of the Thames in west London. Historically, it was used as an irrigation ditch and was a boundary between the counties of London and Middlesex. “Stamford” might originate from “stony ford”. By 1900, all strands of the brook had been covered over.
#RavenscourtPark was home to Palingswick Manor (first mentioned 12th century). By the 13th century, this was a mansion with a moat fed by #StamfordBrook. Rebuilt in 1650, it was sold to Thomas Corbett in 1747 and named Ravenscourt (probably due to the raven in his coat of arms).
The words #ShepherdsBush might have originated from common land being used as a resting point for shepherds on their way to Smithfield Market in London. Another theory is it was named after someone called “Sheppard” because, in 1635, there is a record of “Sheppard's Bush Green".
It’s reasonable to guess #Hammersmith was once a place with a hammer smithy or forge...
The original #ChiswickPark was part of the Duke of Devonshire’s Chiswick House estate. “Chiswick” may originate from the Old English “ceswican”meaning "cheese farm”. Wikipedia claims the area of Duke's Meadows may have had an annual cheese fair until the 18th century.
#EalingCommon refers to an area of “common land” in Ealing designated by the 1866 Metropolitan Commons Act. “Ealing” Is thought to come from “Gillingas” (the people of Gilla), possibly Anglo-Saxon settlers. Over the centuries, the name morphed into Yealing, Zelling and Eling.
When it was opened, #EalingBroadway was initially just named 'Ealing'. It was renamed Ealing Broadway in 1875. You can find some history of the word “Ealing” in the tweet above. The “Broadway” bit just refers to the nearby road and basically means it’s quite a wide one...
Not covering #NorthEaling, #SouthEaling or #WestEaling in any meaningful way... because... well... this is not His Dark Materials... a normal compass is a normal compass... 😂
Regarding #ActonTown, #ActonCentral, #ActonMainline, are there more? Possibly... Anyway... The word “Acton” seems to mean “oak town” and is Anglo-Saxon... The first mention of #Acton was in 1181.
#Brentford is named after the River Brent, a tributary of the River Thames. “Brent” is probably from the Celtic word *brigant” (meaning “elevated") and is thought to be connected to the goddess Brigantia (meaning “high one”). “Ford” means river crossing.
According to Wikipedia, the word #Isleworth is likely to have evolved from of a Romano-British settlement called “‘Gislheresuuyrth’, meaning in Old English ‘Enclosure belonging to [a man called] Gīslhere’.” It is first mentioned in 695.
#BaronsCourt is possibly named after the Baronscourt estate in Tyrone. Sir William Palliser CB MP (1830-1882), a politician and inventor, built parts of the area and he was from Ireland (so that might explain the connection).
The name #EarlsCourt might go back to the Norman Conquest, when the area was given to the de Vere family. The de Veres held a court at the manor there and were called the “Earls of Oxford”. But the area was also later owned by the “Rich family”, the “Earls of Warwick”.
#SloaneSquare is named after Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753) who owned the land with some other trustees. He was a famous Anglo-Irish doctor, naturalist and collector, who is also (slightly bizarrely) credited with making “drinking chocolate” popular in the UK...
I can’t really talk about #HamptonCourt, as I’m still genuinely furious that my first introduction to #history (as a five year old child) was learning about the murderous psychopath that lived there. Thank goodness for glorious #SixTheMusical for healing that sore spot somewhat!
#GloucesterRoad is, perhaps unsurprisingly, close to Gloucester Road... This street used to be called Hog Moore Lane (hogs were kept there). Apparently, it got its current name after Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1736-1807), had Gloucester Lodge built there.
Let’s talk about #HighStreetKensington, #KensingtonOlympia, #SouthKensington and #WestKensington together. The area has been called Kensington for a very long time - it’s mentioned in the Doomsday book of 1086. Kensington probably comes from Chenesitun, town of Chenesi’s people.
So #FulhamBroadway... Broadway just means wide road, but “Fulham” probably comes from “Fulla” (a person’s name) and “hamm” (meaning land hemmed in by water or marsh). It’s Old English.
#Knightsbridge (my mum told me she’s excited for this one 🤣)...
Knightsbridge, at one time, was just marshland with crossings and bridges. Some claim that one of these bridges was used by knights en route to the Holy Land, to get a blessing from the Bishop of London in Fulham.
In medieval times, #Earlsfield was called “Garrat”. Earlsfield station opened in 1884. It was named after a (now demolished) residence owned by the Davis family. They owned the land for the station and apparently insisted it was named after their house.