Street Names of England
Street Names of England by A. Room. Hard back, 258 pages. 14.5cm x 22.5cm.
Very popular, this book can help reveal many forgotten sites just by studying old maps for street and road names often giving clues to what was once there.
Contents:
- Street or road?
- Roman roads and ancient ways,
- Self-descriptive names,
- Field and water names,
- Directional names,
- Religious names,
- Trading, occupational and national names,
- Names of buildings and structures,
- Names from Inns,
- Bridge names,
- Names of personal origin,
- Commemorative and propitious names,
- Thematic names,
- Studying street names.
On the inside sleeve:
THE STREET NAMES OF ENGLAND Adrian Room's pioneer study of English street names will be welcomed by local historians throughout the country. It categorises the different types of street name for the first time and discusses them in detail. As well as discerning general patterns, over three and a half thousand individual street names are discussed, the emphasis throughout being on explaining the meanings of the names. The book begins with a detailed discussion of the different names for street, ranging from the ordinary (road, way, avenue, gate etc) to more localised and unusual names like rigg and drove. The names of Roman roads and ancient track ways (and modern long-distance walks) follow, and then eleven chapters, each discussing a specific category of medieval or modern names. Included here is a pioneer study of the names of bridges. The book concludes with a chapter of practical guidance on studying street names and detailed appendices on the frequencies of different names in London and Manchester. There is a full index.
