In a surreal piece of renaming, Christmas Street had been originally Noel Street before 1938. Under this first name, it was laid out sometime in the 1810s decade. At that point, Tower Bridge had not been built – therefore the main road was called Bermondsey New Road rather than Tower Bridge Road.
Christmas Street was some sixty yards long and by the twentieth century categorised as a slum. Along the street was Clifton Buildings – a series of four-storey tenements accessible via open stairwells. On the other side of the street was Haddon Hall, a Baptist chapel opened during the 1890s standing between Rephidim Street and Noel Street. It was probably named after Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), a notable Baptist preacher.
In the 1960s Christmas Street was erased from the map and the Haddonhall Estate was built. Haddon Hall – the church – was rebuilt on the corner of Tower Bridge Road and Leroy Street.
