Street names of Mayfair explained

This is a list of the etymology of street names in the London district of Mayfair, in the City of Westminster. It utilises the generally accepted boundaries of Mayfair viz. Marble Arch/Cumberland Gate and Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the east, Piccadilly to the south and Park Lane to the west.

• Achilles Way – after the nearby Wellington as Achilles statue in Hyde Park
• Adam's Row – believed to be after John Adams, local land agent in the 18th century^[1]
• Air Street – believed to be a corruption of ‘Ayres’, after Thomas Ayre, a local brewer and resident in the 17th century^[2]
• Albany and Albany Courtyard – after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, who in 1791 purchased Melbourne House which stood on this site
• Albemarle Street – after the Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, owner of Clarendon House which stood on this site in the late 17th century
• Aldford Street – after Aldford, a property on the Grosvenor family's Cheshire estates; it was formerly known as Chapel Street before 1886, as it led to the Grosvenor Chapel^[3]
• Archibald Mews – unknown; it was formerly John Court, after local landowner John, Lord Berkeley
• Audley Square, North Audley Street and South Audley Street – after Mary Davies, heiress to Hugh Audley, who married Sir Thomas Grosvenor, thereby letting the local land fall into the Grosvenors' ownership^[4]
• Avery Row – after Henry Avery, 18th century bricklayer who built this street over the Tyburn Brook,^[5] or possibly after Ebury, the ancient manor here
• Balderton Street – after local landowners the Grosvenors, who also owned land in Balderton, Cheshire; formerly George Street^[6]
• Balfour Mews and Balfour Place – after Eustace Balfour, surveyor for the Grosvenor estate 1890 – 1910^[7]
• Barlow Place – after either Thomas Barlow, builder and surveyor for the Grosvenor estate in the early 18th century^[8] or Arthur Balfour, politician and later Prime Minister in the early 20th century
• Berkeley Square and Berkeley Street – Berkeley House formerly stood here, home of John Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton in the late 17th century^[9]
• Binney Street – after Reverend Thomas Binney, local 19th century minister; formerly called Bird Street^{[10] [11]}
• Blenheim Street – after Blenheim Palace, owned by John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 17th – 18th century general^[12]
• Blackburne's Mews – after William Blackburne, local resident in the early 18th century^[13]
• Bloomfield Place – John Newson, who built the adjacent Bloomfield Flats, named them for his wife's maiden name^[14]
• Bolton Street – after Charles Powlett, Duke of Bolton, who owned this land when the street was built in 1699^[15]
• Bourdon Place and Bourdon Street – after the former Bourdon House, home of the Bourdon/Burden family in the early 18th century^[16]
• Boyle Street – after Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, local landowner in the 18th century^[17]
• Brick Street – this area was formerly a set of fields used for digging brick-earth^[18]
• Broadbent Street – after William Broadbent, physician to the royal family in the Victorian and Edwardian period, who lived nearby^[19]
• Brook Gate, Brook Street, Brook's Mews and Upper Brook Street – Brook Street marks the path of the former Tyburn Brook^[20]
• Brown Hart Gardens – this was formerly two streets prior to 1936 – Brown Street, after 18th century local bricklayer John Brown, and Hart Street, probably after a local inn or resident^[21]
• Bruton Lane, Bruton Place and Bruton Street – after Bruton, Somerset, where John Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton owned land^[22]
• Burlington Arcade, Burlington Gardens, New Burlington Mews, New Burlington Place, New Burlington Street and Old Burlington Street – after the local Burlington estate, property of the earls of Burlington^[23]
• Carlos Place – after Carlos I of Portugal; it was formerly Charles Street but was renamed in 1886 to avoid confusion with other streets of this name^[24]
• Carpenter Street
• Carrington Street – after 18th century local landowner Nathan Carrington^[25]
• Charles Street – after a Charles in the family of John Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton^[26]
• Chesterfield Gardens, Chesterfield Hill and Chesterfield Street – after Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, who owned a mansion nearby in the 18th century^[27]
• Clarges Mews and Clarges Street – after William (or Thomas) Clarges, local landowner in the 17th century^[28]
• Clifford Street – after Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, also Baron Clifford, after his ancestor Elizabeth Clifford^[29]
• Coach and Horses Yard – after the Burlington Arms pub here, formerly the Coach and Horses^[30]
• Conduit Street – after a former water conduit here leading to the city and owned by the Corporation of London from the 15th century^[31]
• Cork Street and Cork Street Mews – after Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, also 4th Earl of Cork^[32]
• Culross Street – thought to be after Culross in Fife; prior to 1899 it was Northrop Street, after a Welsh property owned by the Grosvenor family^[33]
• Cumberland Gate – after Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, brother of George III; it was formerly Tyburn Gate, after the Tyburn Brook
• Curzon Gate, Curzon Square and Curzon Street – after Nathaniel Curzon (and his family), local landowner in the 18th century^[34]
• Davies Mews and Davies Street – after Mary Davies, heiress to Hugh Audley, who married Sir Thomas Grosvenor, thereby letting the local land fall into the Grosvenors' ownership^[35]
• Deanery Mews and Deanery Street – this land was owned by Westminster Abbey in the 18th century; it was formerly known as Dean and Chapter Street
• Derby Street – after Derbyshire, home county of local landowners the Curzon family^[36]
• Dering Street and Dering Yard – unknown
• Down Street and Down Street Mews – after John Downes, local bricklayer in the 18th century^[37]
• Dover Street and Dover Yard – after Henry Jermyn, 1st Baron Dover, local leaseholder in the late 17th century
• Duke Street and Duke Yard – it is unknown precisely which duke, if any, this street commemorates
• Dunraven Street – after Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, politician and soldier who lived near here^[38]
• Farm Street – this street was formerly part of Hay Hill farm^[39]
• Fitzmaurice Place – after John FitzMaurice, father of William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne who lived near here in the 18th century^[40]
• George Yard – probably after John George, local 18th century glazier and builder^[41]
• Gilbert Street – unknown; formerly James Street^[11]
• Globe Yard
• Grafton Street – after the Dukes of Grafton, who owned a town house near here in the 18th century^[42]
• Grantham Place – after John (or Thomas) Grantham, local builder in the 18th century^[43]
• Green Street – after John Green, local builder of the 18th century^[44]
• Grosvenor Gate, Grosvenor Hill, Grosvenor Square, Grosvenor Street and Upper Grosvenor Street – after the Grosvenors, former local landowners
• Half Moon Street – after a former inn near here of this name^[45]
• Hamilton Mews and Hamilton Place – built on land belonging to Mr Hamilton, ranger of Hyde Park during the reign King Charles II^[46]
• Hanover Square and Hanover Street – after the House of Hanover, reigning dynasty when the square and street were built in 1713^[47]
• Harewood Place – after Ahrwood House, residence of the Earls of Harewood in the 19th century
• Haunch of Venison Yard – after a former 18th century inn near here^[48]
• Hay Hill, Hay's Mews and Hill Street – after the Hay Hill farm which formerly stood here; the farm was originally ‘Aye farm’, after the nearby Aye Brook^[49]
• Heddon Street – after William Pulteney (later also Baron Heddon), local 18th century landowner^[50]
• Hertford Street – after a former local inn named after the Seymours, Marquesses of Hertford^[51]
• Jervis Court
• Jones Street – after William Jones, yeoman, who leased a large plot here in 1723^[52]
• Lancashire Court
• Lansdowne Row – former site of Lansdowne House, home of William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne in the 18th century
• Lees Place – after either Robert Lee (or Lees), owner of the Two Chairman pub which formerly stood here^[53] or one Thomas Barrett of Lee, Kent, 19th century builder
• Lumley Street – after Sibell Lumley, wife of Victor, Earl Grosvenor, local landowner^[54]
• Lynsey Way
• Maddox Street – after the local Maddox estate, purchased by William Maddox in the 1620s^[55]
• Marble Arch – after the Marble Arch erected here in 1851
• Market Mews – after the former Shepherd Market near here
• Mason's Arms Mews – after the nearby Mason's Arms pub
• Mayfair Place – after the May Fair that was formerly held here in the 17th – 18th centuries
• Mill Street – after a windmill that formerly stood here next to the Tyburn brook^[56]
• Mount Row, Mount Street and Mount Street Mews – built over the former Mount Field, from the former Oliver's Mount fortification built here by Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War^[57]
• New Bond Street, Old Bond Street and Upper Bond Street – after Thomas Bond, member of the consortium that developed the local area in the late 17th century; ‘New’ comes from the extension of the then ‘Bond Street’ northwards in the early 18th century
• North Row – after its location as the northernmost street on the Grosvenor estate^[58]
• Oxford Circus and Oxford Street – after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer who owned much of the local estate; prior to this it was known as Tyburn Road, as it led to the Tyburn gibbet at what is now Marble Arch. Circus is a British term for a road junction; it was formerly Regent Circus, after Regent Street^[59]
• Park Lane, Old Park Lane and Park Street – after the nearby Hyde Park; Park Lane was formerly Tyburn Lane, after the Tyburn gibbet and stream, and Park Street was formerly Hyde Park Street^[60]
• Piccadilly, Piccadilly Circus and Piccadilly Place – after Piccadilly Hall, home of local tailor Robert Baker in the 17th century, believed to be named after the pickadils (collars/hem trimmings) which made his fortune. Circus is a British term for a road junction; it was laid out by John Nash in 1819^[61]
• Pitt's Head Mews – after a former pub on this site called the Pitt's Head, thought to be named after William Pitt the Elder^[62]
• Pollen Street – after the Pollen family, who inherited the estate from the Maddox family^[63]
• Princes Street – named in a generic sense in honour of the then reigning House of Hanover^[64]
• Providence Court – unknown
• Queen Street – when it was built in 1735 there was no reigning queen, so to which queen it refers, if any, is unknown^[65]
• Red Lion Yard
• Red Place – coined in Victorian times after the colour of the local buildings^[66]
• Reeves Mews – after Spelsant Reeves, local leaseholder in the 18th century
• Regent Street – made in the 1810s by John Nash and named after the Prince Regent, later George IV
• Rex Place – formerly King's Mews, it was renamed after the Latin term for ‘king’^[67]
• Royal Arcade – after Queen Victoria, who visited this arcade^[68]
• Sackville Street – after Captain Edward Sackville, tenant of a house on the west side of the street in 1675; it was formerly known as Stone Conduit Close^[69]
• Saddle Yard
• St Anselm's Place – former site of St Anselm's church, demolished 1938^[70]
• St George Street – originally George Street, after George I, reigning monarch when the street was built; the ‘St’ was later added to link it to the nearby St George's church^[71]
• Savile Row – after Dorothy Savile, Countess of Burlington and Countess of Cork, wife of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, local landowner^{[72] [73]}
• Sedley Place – named after Angelo Sedley, local 19th century furniture salesman^[74]
• Shepherd Close, Shepherd Market, Shepherd Place and Shepherd Street – after Edward Shepherd, local builder in the 18th century; Shepherd Place was built by his brother John Shepherd^[75]
• South Molton Lane and South Molton Street – unknown; South Molton Lane was formerly Poverty Lane
• South Street – after its location as the southernmost street on the Grosvenor estate
• Stafford Street – after Margaret Stafford, local leaseholder in the late 17th century^[76]
• Stanhope Gate and Stanhope Row – after Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, who owned a mansion nearby in the 18th century^[77]
• Stratton Street – after John Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton, local resident in the late 17th century^[78]
• Swallow Passage, Swallow Place and Swallow Street – after a field on this site owned by Thomas Swallow in the 1530s^[79]
• Tentereden Street – unknown
• Three Kings Yard – after a nearby inn, demolished 1879^[80]
• Tilney Street – after either John Tilney (or Tylney), who was granted this land in the 18th century^[81] or Ann Tilney, 18th century property owner; it was formerly Tripe Yard, after the butchery trade here
• Trebeck Street – after Reverend Trebeck, former rector of St George's on Hanover Square in the 18th century
• Tyburn Way – formerly the site of the Tyburn gallows, itself named after a deserted hamlet called Tiburne in the Domesday Book, meaning ‘boundary stream’^[82]
• Union Yard
• Vigo Street – after either the British victory at the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702^{[83] [84] [85]} or the capture of a Spanish vessel of this name in 1719
• Vine Street – after The Vine, an 18th-century public house,^[86] which in turn may have been named after a vineyard that existed at this location in Roman times
• Waverton Street – after Waverton, Cheshire, where local landowners the Grosvenors also held land^[87]
• Weighhouse Street – after the King's Weigh House Chapel, which moved here in 1891; before this it was known as Robert Street, after Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster, and before that as Chandler Street after the local chandler trade
• White Horse Street – after a former inn of this name at this site, named for the Royal emblem of the House of Hanover^[88]
• Wood's Mews – after Richard Wood, who built this street in 1731
• Woodstock Street – after either Woodstock, Oxfordshire, location of to Blenheim Palace, home of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 17th – 18th century general or Thomas Woodstock, 18th century builder
• Yarmouth Place – after Francis Charles Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford, Earl of Yarmouth who lived near here in the 19th century^[89]

References

Sources

• Book: Bebbington, Gillian. London Street Names. registration. BT Batsford. 1972. 978-0-333-28649-4.
• Book: Fairfield, Sheila. The Streets Of London: A Dictionary Of The Names And Their Origins. Papermac. 1983.
• Book: Moore, Tim. Do Not Pass Go. Vintage. 2003. 978-0-099-43386-6.

Notes and References

1. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p2
2. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p4
3. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p6
4. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p228
5. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p16
6. Web site: British History Online – North Audley Street: Balderton Street . 11 October 2017.
7. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p19
8. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p20
9. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p29
10. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p31
11. Web site: British History Online – The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: Conclusion. 11 October 2017.
12. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p347
13. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p32
14. Web site: British History Online – Bourdon Street and Grosvenor Hill Area . 11 October 2017.
15. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p36
16. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p37
17. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p38
18. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p41
19. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p42
20. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p44
21. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p46
22. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p47
23. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p232
24. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p58
25. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p59
26. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p65
27. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p67
28. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p72
29. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p74
30. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p75
31. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p80
32. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p82
33. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p88
34. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p89
35. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p93
36. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p96
37. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p101
38. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p105
39. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p117
40. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p187-88
41. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p132
42. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p139
43. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p140
44. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p144
45. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p149
46. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p150
47. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p151
48. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p155
49. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p156
50. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p157
51. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p158
52. Web site: British History Online – Bourdon Street and Grosvenor Hill Area . 11 October 2017.
53. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p190
54. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p200
55. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p203
56. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p214
57. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p220
58. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p229
59. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p237
60. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p241
61. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p248
62. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p249
63. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p251
64. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p255
65. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p259
66. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p265
67. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p266
68. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p271
69. Web site: British History Online – Sackville Street . 11 October 2017.
70. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p276
71. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p278
72. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p288
73. Book: The Early History of Piccadilly, Leicester Square, Soho, & Their Neighbourhood . Charles Lethbridge Kingsford . Charles Lethbridge Kingsford . 128 . 1925.
74. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p290
75. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p294
76. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p302
77. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p303
78. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p306
79. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p309
80. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p315
81. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p316
82. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p322
83. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p328
84. Book: Hibbert, Christopher. Christopher Hibbert. Ben Weinreb. John Keay. Julia Keay. The London encyclopaedia. 2010. London: Pan Macmillan. 978-0-230-73878-2. 976.
85. Book: Wittich, John. Discovering London street names. 1996. 3rd edition. Princes Risborough: Shire Publications. 978-0-7478-0309-6. 127.
86. Web site: Vine Street. Conveyancing Data Services. 24 March 2015. 15 April 2015.
87. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p335
88. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p340-41
89. Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p349