A lot of the street information research on this website is academic in nature – from university research, the Survey of London, British History Online, borough conservation areas and more. Occasionally, the Hive Mind comes up trumps – these derivations come from discoveries on the Wikipedia made during 2019 which is feeding into the project.
If we find any derivations dubious here, we remove them. With that proviso, the TUM project provides them here for your enjoyment…
A-B-C D-E-F G-H-I J-K-L M-N-O P-Q-R S T-U-V W-X-Y-Z
Paddington Street – this was on old path leading to Paddington [Marylebone]
Page Street – after William Page, head of Westminster School 1814-19 [Westminster]
Paget Street – after Sir James Paget, 19th century surgeon, who had a clinic on nearby Friend Street [Clerkenwell]
Pakenham Street – after its builder the 3rd Lord Calthorpe, who owned land at Pakenham, Suffolk [Clerkenwell]
Palace Mews – probably by association with the nearby Buckingham Palace Road [Belgravia]
Palace Place – named by association with Buckingham Palace, originally built for John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham [Westminster]
Palace Street – named by association with Buckingham Palace, originally built for John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham [Westminster]
Pall Mall – laid out as a grounds for playing pall mall in the 17th century [St James’s]
Pall Mall East – laid out as a grounds for playing pall mall in the 17th century [Soho]
Pall Mall Place – laid out as a grounds for playing pall mall in the 17th century [St James’s]
Palmer Street – after the Reverend James Palmer, who founded (now demolished) almshouses near here in 1656 [Westminster]
Pancras Lane – after St Pancras, Soper Lane church which stood here until destroyed in the Great Fire; it was formerly Needlers Lane, after the needle making trade here [City of London]
Pancras Road – after the adjacent St Pancras Old Church, named for the Roman-era Christian matyr Pancras of Rome [Somers Town]
Panton Street – after Colonel Thomas Panton, local property dealer of the 17th century [Soho]
Panton Street WC2 – Colonel Thomas Panton, having made an enormous fortune out of gambling, decided never to gamble again. Instead he bought Shaver’s Hall (named not from a barbers but from Lord Dunbar who lost £3,000 there at one sitting, whereon it was said a nothern lord was shaved there) which stood on the north-east corner of the Haymarket and Coventry Street, all the way down to present day Panton Street. He demolished the gambling hall to build over.
Panyer Alley – after a Medieval brewery here called the ‘panyer’ (basket) [City of London]
Pardon Street – after the Pardon Chapel which stood near here in the Middle Ages [Clerkenwell]
Pardoner Street – after the character of the pardoner in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, by reference to the adjacent Pilgrimage Street [Southwark]
Paris Garden – the name of the former manor here, it may derive from ‘parish’ or the Old French ‘pareil’ (enclosure), or possibly after 15th century local family the de Parys [Waterloo]
Park Crescent – as they are adjacent to Regent’s Park [Marylebone]
Park Crescent Mews East – as they are adjacent to Regent’s Park [Marylebone]
Park Crescent Mews West – as they are adjacent to Regent’s Park [Marylebone]
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 [Mayfair]
Park Place – after the nearby Green Park [St James’s]
Park Road – after the adjacent Regent’s Park [Lisson Grove]
Park Road – after the adjacent Regent’s Park [Regent’s Park]
Park Square – after the adjacent Regent’s Park [Regent’s Park]
Park Square East – after the adjacent Regent’s Park [Regent’s Park]
Park Square Mews – after the adjacent Regent’s Park [Regent’s Park]
Park Square West – after the adjacent Regent’s Park [Regent’s Park]
Park Street – after a former park here attached to Winchester House [Southwark]
Park Village East – after the adjacent Regent’s Park [Regent’s Park]
Park Village West – after the adjacent Regent’s Park [Regent’s Park]
Parker Mews and Parker Street – from Philip Parker, a local resident in the 17th century [Covent Garden]
Parker Road Croydon Matthew Parker Archbishop of Canterbury (1559-1575) who lived at Croydon Palace
Parker Road Westminster Most Rev. Matthew Parker Archbishop of Canterbury from 1559 until 1575.
Parliament Square – after the Houses of Parliament [Westminster]
Parliament Street – after the Houses of Parliament [Westminster]
Parr Way Hounslow Catherine Parr. The sixth wife of King Henry VIII. Catherine inherited Hanworth Manor from 1544 until her death in 1548.
Parry Street – after Thomas Parry, 17th century statesman and owner of Copt Hall, a house near here [Vauxhall]
Passing Alley – altered from the descriptive Pissing Alley, renamed at some point prior to the 1790s [Farringdon]
Passmore Street – after its 1830s builder Richard Passmore [Belgravia]
Paternoster Lane, Paternoster Row and Paternoster Square – after the paternoster (rosary) makers who formerly worked here [City of London]
Paveley Street – this land was in Medieval times owned by the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem; the street is named either for Richard de Paveley (Grand Prior 1315–21) or John de Paveley (Grand Prior 1358–71) [Lisson Grove]
Paxton Terrace – thought to be after Joseph Paxton, Victoria-era gardener and designer of The Crystal Palace [Victoria]
Peabody Avenue – after George Peabody, 19th century American philanthropist in London [Victoria]
Pear Tree Court – thought to be from a local pear tree [Clerkenwell]
Pear Tree Street – after the pear trees formerly grown here [Finsbury]
Peerless Street – site of the Peerless Pool, a bath used in the 18th century, thought to be a corruption of ‘perilous’ [Finsbury]
Pelham Crescent, Pelham Place and Pelham Street Kensington and Chelsea Henry Pelham, 3rd Earl of Chichester A former trustee of the Smith’s Charity Estate, on which the road was built.
Pemberton Row – after James Pemberton, Lord Mayor of London in 1611 [City of London]
Pemberton Row City of London Sir James Pemberton Lord Mayor of London in 1611, and a member of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, on whose estate the road was built
Penfold Place and Penfold Street – after Reverend George Penfold, vicar of several local churches in the early 1800s [Lisson Grove]
Penton Rise – after Henry Penton, who developed this area in the late 18th century [Clerkenwell]
Pentonville Road – after Henry Penton, who developed this area in the late 18th century [Clerkenwell]
Pepys Street – after 17th century diarist Samuel Pepys, who lived and worked here [City of London]
Pepys Street City of London Samuel Pepys 1923 renaming; Pepys lived there during the Great Fire of London.
Percival Street – after local landowners (dating back to the 17th century) the Compton family, earls and later marquises of Northampton, one of whom was a cousin of Spencer Perceval [Clerkenwell]
Percy Circus – after Robert Percy Smith, 19th century MP who was a director of the New River Company who developed the area, including the circus.
Percy Passage – after either Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, changing his name from ‘Smithson’ to ‘Percy’ following his marriage to Elizabeth Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, landowner or the Percy Coffee House formerly located here in the 18th century [Fitzrovia]
Percy Street – after either Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, changing his name from ‘Smithson’ to ‘Percy’ following his marriage to Elizabeth Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, landowner or the Percy Coffee House formerly located here in the 18th century [Fitzrovia]
Percy Yard – after Robert Percy Smith, 19th century MP who was a director of the New River Company [Clerkenwell]
Perkin’s Rents – after a local landlord by the name of Perkin, recorded in the late 17th century [Westminster]
Peter Street – thought to be from a nearby saltpetre factory that stood here in the 17th century [Soho]
Peter’s Hill – after St Peter, Paul’s Wharf church, which formerly stood here until destroyed in the 1666 fire [City of London]
Peter’s Lane – after the former St Peter’s Key pub on this site [Farringdon]
Peterborough Court – after the abbots of Peterborough, who prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries had a house here [City of London]
Peter’s Hill EC4 – Named after the church of the same name, built in the twelfth century. Burnt in the great fire of 1666, and not rebuilt. The churchyard today is remembered by an inscription on a modern wall.Piccadilly W1 – The name is taken from the collar or neckerchief called a piccdil, that was made by a tailor close by in the Haymarket.
Peter’s Lane EC1 – Listed in Stow’s Survay as St Peter’s Lane, the church once stood close to the tavern called Cross Keys. Today a modern office block stands here but the sign lives on. Opposite the lane is the old site of Hicks Hall, the old Sessions house built by Sir Baptis Hicks in the seventeenth century.
Peto Place – after Samuel Morton Peto, MP, entrepreneur, civil engineer and railway developer, who paid for a Batist chapel to be built here in 1855 (since closed) [Regent’s Park]
Petticoat Square – the name Petticoat stems from the clothes market formerly held here [City of London]
Petty France – after a small French settlement that existed here in the 16th century [Westminster]
Petty Wales – unknown, but possibly after a Welsh community formerly based here [City of London]
Philpot Lane – commemorates prominent local family the Philpots; originally probably after John Philpot, 14th century grocer [City of London]
Phoenix Place and Phoenix Yard – after the former Phoenix Iron Foundry near here [Clerkenwell]
Phoenix Road – thought to be after a former tavern of this name; formerly Phoenix Street [Somers Town]
Phoenix Street – named after an inn that formerly stood near here [St Gile’s]
Piccadilly – 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. [St James’s]
Piccadilly Arcade – 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. [St James’s]
Piccadilly Circus – 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. Piccadilly Circus was laid out by John Nash in 1819 [St James’s]
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; it was laid out by John Nash in 1819 [Mayfair]
Pickard Street – after a clergyman of this name who founded the Orphan Working School here in 1754 [Finsbury]
Pickering Place SW1 – Hidden just behind Berry Brothers and Rudd is a quite and unspoilt Georgian corner of London. Built by William Pickering as a hide-a-way from his money making coffee company. William Pickering, local painter stainer and grocer, leased property here in the 1730s [St James’s]
Pickwick Street – after the novel The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, by association with Dickens Square [Southwark]
Picton Place – after Thomas Picton, general who lived near here before his death at the Battle of Waterloo [Marylebone]
Pigott Street Tower Hamlets Francis Pigott Stainsby Conant Family owned the undeveloped estate. Limehouse.
Pilgrim Street – thought to be a former route for pilgrims to St Paul’s cathedral; formerly known as Stonecutters Alley and Little Bridge Street [City of London]
Pilgrimage Street – as this formed part of the ancient pilgrimage route to Canterbury [Southwark]
Pimlico Road – as it leads to Pimlico, possibly named after Ben Pimlico, 17th century brewer [Belgravia]
Pindar Street – after Paul Pindar, 14th–16th century diplomat, who had a house here [City of London]
Pine Apple Court – after a former inn here of this name [Westminster]
Pine Street – Wood Street prior to 1877, probably both names after an avenue of tree that formerly stood here, or possibly after Thomas Wood, 18th century leaseholder [Clerkenwell]
Pitt’s Head Mews – after a former pub on this site called the Pitt’s Head, thought to be name after William Pitt the Elder [Mayfair]
Plaisterers Highwalk – after the nearby Worshipful Company of Plaisterers [City of London]
Platt Street – after Richard Platt, 16th century brewer, who donated this land to the Worshipful Company of Brewers, who built this street in 1848-53 [Somers Town]
Playhouse Yard – after the Blackfriars Playhouse, which stood here in the 17th century [City of London]
Playhouse Yard EC4 – Named after the Blackfriars theatre which stood here in Shakespeare’s time and where his play’s were performed.
Plender Street Camden William Plender, 1st Baron Plender Accountant and public servant who served as Sheriff of the County of London in 1927
Pleydell Court and Pleydell Street – formerly Silver Street, it was renamed in 1848 by association with the neighbouring Bouverie Street; the Bouverie family were by this time known as the
Pleydell Street City of London Earls of Radnor The Pleydell-Bouveries, Earls of Radnor, were landlords of this area.
Plough Court EC3 – A tavern of the same name stood in it. The poet Alexander Pope was born here in 1688.
Plough Place – after the Plough/Plow, a 16th-century eating place located here [City of London]
Plumtree Court – thought to be after either literally a plumtree, or else an inn of this name [City of London]
Plympton Place and Plympton Street – unknown; formerly Little Grove Street [Lisson Grove]
Pocock Street – after the locally prominent Pocock family [Southwark]
Poland Street – from The King of Poland, former pub on this street named in honour of the Polish victory at the Battle of Vienna [Soho]
Pollen Street – after the Pollen family, who inherited the estate from the Maddox family [Mayfair]
Polperro Mews – probably after the Cornish town Polperro, as the Duchy of Cornwall formerly owned much of the land here [Lambeth]
Polygon Road – after the Polygon, a 17th century housing development here instigated by Jacob Leroux and Job Hoare [Somers Town]
Ponsonby Place – after John Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough and later Baron Duncannon of Bessborough [Westminster]
Ponsonby Terrace – after John Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough and later Baron Duncannon of Bessborough [Westminster]
Pont Street – thought to be from the French ‘pont’ (bridge), over the river Westbourne [Belgravia]
Pope’s Head Alley – after the Pope’s Head Tavern which formerly stood here, thought to stem from the 14th century Florentine merchants who were in Papal service [City of London]
Pope’s Avenue Richmond upon Thames Alexander Pope Poet who had built the demolished Pope’s Villa and surviving Pope’s Grotto, and is buried in St Mary’s Church, Twickenham.
Pope’s Grove Richmond upon Thames Alexander Pope Poet who had built the demolished Pope’s Villa and surviving Pope’s Grotto, and is buried in St Mary’s Church, Twickenham.
Poppins Court – shortening of Popinjay Court, meaning a parrot; it is thought to stem from the crest of Cirencester Abbey (which featured the bird), who owned a town house here [City of London]
Portal Close, Uxbridge Street built near the site of the former RAF Uxbridge, and named after an air marshal in the Second World War. Charles Portal was Chief of the Air Staff.
Porter Street – after David Porter, builder of the nearby Montagu Square [Marylebone]
Portland Mews – after William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland, built in the 1730s [Soho]
Portland Place Westminster William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, the daughter of Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer inherited his land and property and married into the Portland family
Portman Close, Portman Mews South, Portman Square and Portman Street – after the Portman family who owned this estate since William Portman acquired it in the 16th century; he was originally from Orchard Portman, Somerset [Marylebone]
Portman Gate – this land was formerly owned by the Portman estate [Lisson Grove]
Portman Square Westminster Henry William Portman Built between 1674 and 1684 on land belonging to Portman
Portpool Lane – thought to be a corruption of ‘Purta’s Pool’, the local area is recorded as the manor of Purtepol in the early 13th century; written Purple Lane in Arlidge’s Survey [Hatton Garden]
Portsmouth Street – a house belonging to Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, mistress of Charles II, lay on this site [Holborn]
Portsoken Street – after ‘port-soke’, as it was a soke near a port (gate) of the City [City of London]
Portugal Street – named in honour of Charles II’s Portuguese queen Catherine of Braganza, [71] or possibly after the Portuguese embassy which was formerly located here [Holborn]
Post Office Court – after the General Post Office which formerly stood near here [City of London]
Potters Fields – after the Roman pottery found near here or a former pottery located here [Southwark]
Pottery Lane W11 – Takes its name from the brickfields at its northern end, where high-quality clay was dug from about 1818. The original kiln still stands and has been extended and converted into a three-bedroom house, and dates back to about 1820.Powys Lane Enfield Henry Philip Powys Rented nearby Broomfield House in 1816.
Poultry – after the poultry which was formerly sold at the market here [City of London]
Powis Place – former site of Powis House, built for William Herbert, 2nd Marquess of Powis, a prominent 17th – 18th century Jacobite [Bloomsbury]
Praed Street W2 – Named after Sir William Praed, first chairman and for many years manager of the Regent Canal company – its canal basin which lies just to the north.
Pratt Street Camden Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden Owner of the land on which the road and much of the surviving development was built in 1791.
Pratt Walk – named by its late 18th century builder Joseph Mawbey for his mother’s family [Lambeth]
Price’s Street – after a local builder of this name [Southwark]
Prideaux Place – after Arthur R Prideaux, 19th century director of the New River Company [Clerkenwell]
Priest’s Court – with allusion to the adjacent St Vedast Church [City of London]
Primrose Hill – thought to be named after a builder of this name, or possibly the primroses which formerly grew here; formerly called Salisbury Court, as it approaches Salisbury Square [City of London]
Primrose Street – thought to be named after a builder of this name, or possibly the primroses which formerly grew here [City of London]
Prince Albert Road – after Albert, Prince Consort; formerly Primrose Hill Road [Regent’s Park]
Prince Albert Road Camden / Westminster Prince Albert Originally called Albert Road; renamed after the Prince Consort of Queen Victoria in 1938
Prince Arthur Road Camden Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Son of Queen Victoria who opened a home for sailor’s daughters in the area in 1869
Prince Consort Road Westminster Albert, Prince Consort Part of Albertopolis
Prince Henry Road Greenwich Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales The road was built on the estate of Charlton House, whose original owner, Adam Newton, was the Prince’s tutor.
Prince Imperial Road Bromley Napoléon, Prince Imperial Lived in exile at nearby Camden Place from 1871 until his death in 1879.
Prince of Wales Passage – after the Royal family [Regent’s Park]
Prince Regent Mews – after the Prince Regent, later George IV, by association with Regent’s Park [Regent’s Park]
Prince’s Street – named in reference to the adjacent King and Queen Streets [City of London]
Princes Arcade – built 1929-33, named after the former Prince’s Hotel, which stood here [St James’s]Bush Lane – thought to be after a former inn of this name [City of London]
Princes Street – named in a generic sense in honour of the then reigning House of Hanover [Mayfair]
Princeton Street – formerly ‘Prince Street’, though after which prince exactly is unknown. It was changed so as to avoid confusion with other Prince Streets. [Holborn]
Printer Street – after the printing industry which formerly flourished here [City of London]
Printers Inn Court – after the printing industry which formerly flourished here [City of London]
Prioress Street – after the character of the prioress in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, by reference to the adjacent Pilgrimage Street [Southwark]
Procter Street – after the 19th century poet Bryan Waller Procter, who lived at Red Lion Square [Holborn]
public square. In the twelfth century, standing on the corner of Lombard street, was the house of the Earl of Ferrers, where his brother was murdered, and his body thrown onto the street.
Pudding Lane – from the former term ‘pudding’ meaning animals’ entrails, which were dumped here in Medieval times by local butchers; it was formerly Rothersgate, after a watergate located here [City of London]
Puddle Dock – thought to be either descriptive (after the water here), or named for a local wharf owner of this name [City of London]
Pump Court – after a former pump located here [City of London]
Purchese Street – after Frederick Purchese, local resident, vestryman, county council member and Mayor of St Pancras [Somers Town]
Purser’s Cross SW6 – On the 7 August 1738, a highwayman having commited several robberies on Finchley Common, was pursued to London. He thought he was safe in a public house in Burlington Gardens, (near Piccadilly) though it was not long before he was pursued again. He escaped by horse and rode through Hyde Park where gentlemans’ servants who were airing their horses gave chase, and persued him to Fulham Fields, where the Highwayman having no escape, threw money to the peasants at work in the fields, and told them ‘they would soon witness the end of an unfortunate man’. He pulled out his pistol, clapped it to his ear, and shot himself. He was buried at the cross road with a stake through him, it was never discovered who he was.
Pye Street SW1 – Derives its name from Sir Robert Pye, member for Westminster in the time of Charles I.
Quality Court – a descriptive name, as it was superior when built compared with the surrounding streets [City of London]
Quebec Mews, New Quebec Street and Old Quebec Street – after the former Quebec Chapel on this site, named after the Battle of Quebec, built 1787 demolished in 1912 [Marylebone]
Queen Anne Mews and Queen Anne Street – after Queen Anne; it was originally meant to lead to a square called Queen Anne Square, however this was never completed [Marylebone]
Queen Anne’s Walk – after Queen Anne, reigning monarch when the square was laid out [Bloomsbury]
Queen Anne’s Gate Westminster Queen Anne Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1702, and after the Act of Union, Queen of Great Britain until 1714
Queen Caroline Street Hammersmith and Fulham Caroline of Brunswick Wife of George IV, who lived and died in nearby Brandenburg House
Queen Elizabeth Road Kingston upon Thames Queen Elizabeth I The queen founded Kingston Grammar School at Lovekyn Chapel, which is at the south end of the street (the school’s main buildings are opposite)
Queen Elizabeth’s Walk Hackney Queen Elizabeth I The queen’s friend, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, lived in Stoke Newington.
Queen Square – after Queen Anne, reigning monarch when the square was laid out [Bloomsbury]
Queen Square Place – after Queen Anne, reigning monarch when the square was laid out [Bloomsbury]
Queen Street – named in honour of Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II [City of London]
Queen Street – when it was built in 1735 there was no reigning queen, so to which queen it refers, if any, is unknown [Mayfair]
Queen Street Place – named in honour of Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II [City of London]
Queen Victoria Street – built in 1871 and named for the then reigning monarch [City of London]
Queen’s Walk – after Caroline of Ansbach, wife of George II, who took a strong interest in the Royal Parks [St James’s]
Queenhithe – formerly Ethelredshythe, after its founder King Æthelred the Unready, and hythe meaning a wharf/landing place; it was renamed after its later owner Matilda of Scotland, wife of Henry I [City of London]
Queens Avenue Hounslow Elizabeth I of England. Elizabeth spent part of her childhood at Hanworth Manor close nearby and sometimes stayed there during her reign.
Queens Head Passage – after a former house here called the Queens Head, demolished 1829 [City of London]
Queen’s Head Yard – after a former grammar school here named for Queen Elizabeth I [Southwark]
Queensway Westminster Queen Victoria named Queen’s Road in honour of Victoria, who had been born at nearby Kensington Palace. Later renamed.
Quick Street N1 – Recalls the favourite comedian of King George III John Quick.
Quilp Street – after Daniel Quilp, a character in the novel The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens, by association with Dickens Square [Southwark]
Radnor Street – after the Earls of Radnor, who governed the French Hospital that was formerly here [Finsbury]
Ramillies Place – after the British victory at the Battle of Ramillies in Ramillies, Belgium [Soho]
Ramillies Street – after the British victory at the Battle of Ramillies in Ramillies, Belgium [Soho]
Rampayne Street – after Charles Rampanyne, who in 1705 left funds in his will for the children of the nearby Grey Coat Hospital [Victoria]
Ranelagh Grove – after Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh who owned a house near here in the late 17th century [Belgravia]
Ranelagh Road – as it led to the former New Ranelagh Tea Gardens on the Thames, named in imitation of the popular Ranelagh Gardens in Chelsea, which were named for Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh [Victoria]
Rangoon Street – after the former warehouses here of the East India Company, Burma then been part of British India [City of London]
Ranston Street – for the Baker family, assistants of local landowners the Portmans, who owned land in Ranston, Dorset [Lisson Grove]
Rathbone Place and Rathbone Street – after Thomas Rathbone, local 18th century builder [Fitzrovia]
Rathbone Place Camden Captain Rathbone One Captain Rathbone was the builder of the road and properties thereon, from about 1718
Ravensdon Street – unknown; formerly Queen’s Row [Lambeth]
Rawstorne Place – after local 18th century bricklayer Thomas Rawstorne [Clerkenwell]
Rawstorne Street – after local 18th century bricklayer Thomas Rawstorne [Clerkenwell]
Ray Street – corruption of ‘Rag’, after the former local rag trade here; the streets was formerly two different streets – Hockley in the Hole and Town’s End Lane [Clerkenwell]
Ray Street Bridge – corruption of ‘Rag’, after the former local rag trade here; the streets was formerly two different streets – Hockley in the Hole and Town’s End Lane [Clerkenwell]
Raymond Buildings – after Lord Chief Justice Raymond, who was called to the bar at Gray’s Inn in 1697 [Holborn]
reat Pulteney Street – after Sir William Pulteney, who built the street in 1719-20; the ‘great’ prefix was to distinguish it from Little Pulteney Street, now the eastern end of Brewer Street [Soho]
Red Lion Court – after a former inn of this name [City of London]
Red Lion Square WC1 – Formerly known as Red Lion Fields where in the early 17th century stood the Red Lion Inn, and it was here that Cromwell’s body was dragged and rested at the Inn. It is said his decapitated head was buried somewhere under the present day square.
Red Lion Street – from the 17th century Red Lion Inn, now demolished [Holborn]
Red Place – coined in Victorian times after the colour of the local buildings [Mayfair]
Redcross Way – after either the Redcross burial ground formerly located here or an inn of this name [Southwark]
Reeves Mews – after Spelsant Reeves, local leaseholder in the 18th century [Mayfair]
Regency Place – as it was opened by George, Prince Regent (later King George IV) in 1811 [Westminster]
Regency Street – as it was opened by George, Prince Regent (later King George IV) in 1811 [Westminster]
Regent Place – made in the 1810s by John Nash and named after the Prince Regent, later George IV [Soho]
Regent Square – after the Prince Regent, later George IV; the square dates to after the Regency ended, however the name has already been chosen years before [Bloomsbury]
Regent Street Westminster King George IV Named c. 1811, when George IV was Prince Regent. Made in the 1810s by John Nash.
Remnant Street – after James Farquharson Remnant, 1st Baron Remnant, lawyer at Lincoln’s Inn and latter MP for Holborn [Holborn]
Rennie Street – after John Rennie the Elder, prominent 18th century engineer, who designed Waterloo Bridge and Southwark Bridge [Waterloo]
Rex Place – formerly King’s Mews, it was renamed after the Latin term for ‘king’ [Mayfair]
Richbell Place – after its 18th century builder, John Richbell [Bloomsbury]
Richmond Buildings – after Thomas Richmond, local carpenter in the 18th century [Soho]
Richmond Mews – after Thomas Richmond, local carpenter in the 18th century [Soho]
Richmond Terrace – after a house owned by the dukes of Richmond which formerly stood on this site in the 17th and 18th centuries [Westminster]
Ridgmount Gardens – after Ridgmont, Bedfordshire, where the dukes of Bedford also owned land [Bloomsbury]
Ridgmount Place – after Ridgmont, Bedfordshire, where the dukes of Bedford also owned land [Bloomsbury]
Ridgmount Street – after Ridgmont, Bedfordshire, where the dukes of Bedford also owned land [Bloomsbury]
Riding House Street – for a local riding school; it was formerly Riding House Lane [Fitzrovia]
Riding House Street – unknown, presumably for a local riding school; it was formerly Riding House Lane [Marylebone]
Rising Sun Court – after the adjacent pub of this name [City of London]
River Passage – after the nearby New River [Clerkenwell]
River Street – after the nearby New River [Clerkenwell]
River Street Mews – after the nearby New River [Clerkenwell]
Robert Adam Street – after Robert Adam, 18th century architect; originally it was just Adams Street, after 18th century developer Samuel Adams [Marylebone]
Robert Close Westminster Robert Browning Poet who lived in Little Venice, near the site of the road.
Robert Street – after Robert Adam, who built the Adelphi development with his brother John in the 1760s [Strand]
Roberts Mews – after Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster, of the local landowning family the Grosvenors (titled Viscounts Belgrave) [Belgravia]
Robert’s Place – probably after Richard Roberts, who built much of the local area in the 1800s [Clerkenwell]
Robin Hood Court – thought to be after a former inn of this name [City of London]
Rochester Row SW1 – In 1666 the Bishop of Rochester had a house here.
Rochester Street – after the Diocese of Rochester, where the deans of Westminster were bishops from 1663 – 1802 [Westminster]
Rochester Walk – after a former house here owned by the bishops of Rochester [Southwark]
Roger Street – renamed in 1937 from ‘Henry Street’, after local landowner Henry Doughty [Bloomsbury]
Rolls Buildings and Rolls Passage – the former site of a house containing the rolls of Chancery [City of London]
Romilly Street W1 – A small side turning that runs behined Shaftesbury Avenue and takes its name from the lawyer Samuel Romilly, who was successful in campaigning to abolish the death penalty for petty crimes such as theft during 1810. He was born nearby [Soho]
Romney Road Greenwich Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney Built the road in about 1695, when Chief Ranger of Greenwich Park, to restore communication between Greenwich and Woolwich
Romney Street – after Robert, Baron Romney, son of local landowner Sir Robert Marsham [Westminster]
Rood Lane – after a former rood (cross) set up at St Margaret Pattens in the early 16th century; it became an object of veneration and offering, which helped pay for the repair of the church, but was torn down in 1558 as an item of excessive superstition [City of London]
Ropemaker Street – descriptive, after the rope making trade formerly located here [City of London]
Ropemaker Street – descriptive, after the rope making trade formerly located here [Finsbury]
Roscoe Street – thought to be named after a trustee of the Peabody Donation Fund, who redeveloped this former slum area in the 1880s [Finsbury]
Rose Alley – after a former inn of this name [City of London]
Rose Alley – after the Tudor-era Rose Theatre [Southwark]
Rose and Crown Yard – unknown, probably after a former inn of this name [St James’s]
Rose Street – after a former tavern of this name here; it was formerly Dicer Lane, possibly after either a dice maker here, or a corruption of ‘ditcher’ [City of London]
Rosebery Avenue Islington Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 19th century Prime Minister; First Chairman of the London County Council, who opened the road in 1892 [Clerkenwell]
Rosebery Square – after Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 19th century Prime Minister; he was chairman of the London County Council when this street was built in 1889 [Clerkenwell]
Rosoman Place – after Thomas Rosoman, first manager of the nearby Sadler’s Wells Theatre in the 18th century [Clerkenwell]
Rossmore Close and Rossmore Road – this land was formerly owned by the Portman estate; they owned a property called Rossmore [Lisson Grove]
Rotten Row SW1 – A corruption of route du roi.
Roupell Street – after local 19th century property owner John Roupell [Waterloo]
Roy Grove and Cannon Close Richmond upon Thames Major-General William Roy One of Roy’s two cannons he used to map Middlesex is in the road in Hampton Hill.
Royal Arcade – after Queen Victoria, who visited this arcade [Mayfair]
Royal Exchange Avenue and Royal Exchange Buildings – after the adjacent Royal Exchange [City of London]
Royal Opera Arcade – originally part of an opera house theatre, built by John Nash [St James’s]
Royal Street – after the former Royal George pub here [Lambeth]
Royalty Mews – after the former New Royalty Theatre on this site, demolished in the 1950s [Soho]
Rugby Street – after Rugby School; its founder Lawrence Sheriff gave land here in 1567 as an endowment [Bloomsbury]
Rupert Court – after Prince Rupert of the Rhine, noted 17th century general and son of Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James I; he was First Lord of the Admiralty when this street was built in 1676 [Chinatown]
Rupert Street – after Prince Rupert of the Rhine, noted 17th century general and son of Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James I; he was First Lord of the Admiralty when this street was built in 1676 [Chinatown]
Rushworth Street – after 17th century politician John Rushworth, who was imprisoned for a period at the nearby King’s Bench Prison [Southwark]
Russell Court – after the Russell family, who lived here in the 1600s [St James’s]
Russell Square Camden Dukes of Bedford Family name of the Dukes of Bedford who owned the land
Russell Street – after Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford, local landowners in the 17th century [Covent Garden]
Russia Row – possibly to commemorate Russia’s entry into the Napoleonic wars [City of London]
Rutherford Street – after Reverend William Rutherford, Headmaster of Westminster School 1883-1901 [Westminster]
Rutland Gate SW1 – Takes its name from the Duke of Rutland.
Rutland Place – after the Manners family, earls of Rutland, local property owners of the 17th century [Farringdon]
Ryder Court – after Richard Rider, Master Carpenter to Charles II [St James’s]
Ryder Street – after Richard Rider, Master Carpenter to Charles II [St James’s]
Ryder Yard – after Richard Rider, Master Carpenter to Charles II [St James’s]