The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-29
LoNDoN's STREET NAMES.
They Number 23,00e-Many Curious
CognOmens Which Epitomise the
History of Centuries.
From the. London Mail.

History OF centuries.
From the London Mail.
From Pail Mall to Cut-throat Lane,
from st. James street to Halfpenny
Alley. all London is catalogued in the
County Councils recently published
lish of the streets and Places" with
in it's jurisdiction. 1t is a wonderful
record that fills these SIS pages. The
twenty three thousand place-names
catalogued are the spells of centuries,
the tag-ends of history, the dropped
crumbs of generations of Londoners.
Names like Ludgate, Lothbury and
Waiting street, which fade into dim
antiquity, take their alphabetical place
with Farm street, Telephone avenue
and Ladysmith road.
To each place is appended its geog-
raphy, so that at a. glance the Lon
doner can discover his street and it's
nearest main artery, his postal dis
trict, his parish, his metropolitan hor-
aough. his parliamentary division, and
also the names of any villas, terraces.
or cottages that have recently ceased
to have a separate postal existence.
Frying-Pan Alley.
We name our streets more decorous-
~ than did our fathers. They rejoiced
courts" alleys" rows" and rents"
and to these they attached homely
names, some of which are coarse and
others less than decent. Even to-day
many names survive in London which
would no longer be bestowed. It does
not follow that these ought to be sup
pressed. Many of them are racy of old
London life, and all are harmless;
moreover their gradual disappearance
IT, T., ell 1-., Sc
only one Frying Pan alley left. This
name was once curiously popular in
London. In a directory of 1855 there
are no fewer thaneighteen Frying Pan
alleys noted in London. not to mention
a Frying Pan Stairs and a Frying Pan
Yard. Whence rose this name, and
in what did it's charm consist? Was
the shape of a frying-pan suggested
by any long, narrow passage that
| opened out into wide court? If so
similar comparisons may have sug-
gested the name Coffin Alley, near Cow
| Cross street, and Bandy-leg Alley,
near Fleet street.
| The freedom used in naming small
| London streets and courts in the eigh-
| tenth century arose partly from the
| fact that many of these names were
| unofficial in their origin, and were not
inscribed on the corner houses. Thus
street by the most expressive name
that came to their lips. If this hap
pened to be Dirty Lane, then the street
| became Dirty Lane to all the world
| Ten streets bore this label in DR.. John
| sons day: now IL is not tolerated. An
equal candor must have inspired the
| residents of Breakneck Alley in the
Minories, Birthstone Court and Crack
brain Court. near the Tower, and Jack
anapes Row, in Cheapside. All these
| names are abolished, and with them
many others of a merely eccentric
| character. There was once an Adam
a-digging Yard in Westminster. Gone
are BroomsticlS Alley, Brooches Yard,
Kidney Stairs, Tinderbox Alley and Pie
Corner. The suppression of the last
two names may be regretted. If Pie
Corner had to go from Smithfield, why
have we retained Pudding Lane in
| Eastcheap? Both names were worth
keeping for it was in Pudding Lane
that the great fire of London started.
| and IL was Pie Corner that il ended.
However, losses of this kind have
been few We still have various Bear
Lanes and Cockpit Courts TO recall two
brutal recreations. Ducking Pond
News, in Mayfair, just behind Picca-
| dilly. commentaries pond to which
the proprietors of the Dog and Duck
| tavern uSed TO ADMIT IOnuoneTt anu
| their dogs by two-penny tickets. the
! sport offered being the chasing of I'M
/ fortunate ducks up and down will
low-shaded sheet Of water
Crooked Usage.
or all London's vanished glories the
Maypole IN the Strand has been taken
as the type since Bramston sang
What's not destroyed by Times de-
vouring hand?
Where's Troy and where's the May
pole IN the strand7
but 20 this day, behind the Strand,
there ~ sun Maypoie alley. This lane
led straight 10 the MaypOle Of Lon
don's iocund sprlngumes. Fnfortun-
ately n win disappear In the strand
H0lbern avenue,
The oldest ~ London's minor street
names IL Crooked Usage. found IN chel.
sea This very old name probably aros9
az time when the land waA divided
into ailofmenta. These snail holdings
would be- hcnnrafea By strips 81 an
furned grass. which were unfd in com
mon ~ fhe fena1fs. 1hcsf "ussFes'
were ~ d RUE, sfeiEhi. Dpt q - suE