Streets have a long history of name-dropping
ALL things must change, as we know. Which is certainly borne out by the streets in Gloucester city centre, most of which have changed names over the years. None perhaps so often as College Street.
Until the 1890s, this narrow lane between Westgate Street and the cathedral was less than 11 feet wide. It was developed by the Gloucester Cathedral Approaches Company into the more impressive introduction to the city’s architectural gem we see today.
In 1139, the lane was called Lychlone. Sometime after 1327, when poor old Edward II was murdered and laid to rest in the cathedral, the lane became known as Saint’s Lane, or King Edward’s Lane.
Later it was known as The little street of the Holy Trinity, then Turries Lane, Craftislone, Ironmongers’ Row, St Peter’s Lane, Lower College Lane and, later, Upper College Lane. It’s been called College Street since 1780.
Signs announcing the names of streets in the city centre first appeared in 1671, but this didn’t stop the changes. After that date, Vete Lane became Alvin Street. Catherine Wheel
Lane became Little Smith Street, then Broadsmith Street and finally Berkeley Street. Brook Street became Station Road and Parker’s Row became Brunswick Road.
Parliament Street was Green Dragon Lane, Archdeacon Street was Leather Bottle Lane and St Mary’s Street was Water Lane.
Butchers’ Row changed to Gore Lane, then to its present Bull Lane. Grace Lane changed to St John’s Lane, while the Oxbode, as it was known before Victorian times, became Mitre Street before being pulled down, rebuilt and reverting to its original name in the 1920s.
Some splendidly titled streets have disappeared from Gloucester, including Love Alley, Mercers Entry, Upper George Passage, Scrudde Lane and Puke Lane, which stood on the north side of lower Westgate Street.
Bearlands was originally Bare Lands. The name is nothing to do with bearbaiting or anything else ursine. Gloucester’s medieval castle stood where the former prison now stands and it was usual to lay bare land surrounding such a fortification so that attackers had no cover, while the defending force had a clear line of fire.
And so to Cheltenham, where for postmen and women March 17, 1954 must have been trying.
On that day, all the property numbers in the High Street were swapped. Up until then, the system harked back to the early 19th century when the number ‘1’ was screwed to the door of the house on the north side of the High Street at the junction with Hales Road.
Numbers two, three, four and so on then ran west until the final property in the High Street at its junction with Gloucester Road was number 245. There the sequence crossed to the south side of the High Street running from 246 on the corner of Townsend Street along to number 457 back at the junction with Hales Road. (I hope you’re managing to keep up with this.)
By the 1950s, the old numbering system had fallen out of kilter. Over the years, a house here and another there were demolished to make way for two here and three extra ones there.
The net result was that by the 1950s there were so many A, B, C and D suffixed numbers in the High Street that confusion reigned.
So on St Patrick’s Day 1954, under the new regime, the start of the town’s High Street was redefined as the junction with Hewlett Road, as it is to this day.
Numbers ran from there, with odds on the north side and evens on the south.
Tewkesbury’s alleys add greatly to the town’s charms, but they are a diminishing asset. In 1850 there were about 150 of these narrow walkways running from the town’s three main streets. Today only a dozen remain.
Some of the alleys were named after people who lived in them, Smith’s Court, for example. Others took their name from the shop, business or homeowner who lived at the alley’s entrance on the main road.
Davis Alley, for instance, was so called because it ran adjacent to the pork butcher George Davis, nicknamed Chitterlings George.
Alley names changed often in days gone by. Fish Alley, off Barton Street, took its title from the fishermen who lived there, but along the years it’s also been known as Joyces Alley, Workhouse Alley, Jeynes Alley and Bells Alley.
Local companies changed names, too. In 1926, Gloster replaced Gloucestershire in the Hucclecote based Aircraft Company’s name because more and more business was being done with overseas customers who found the county’s name and spelling troublesome.
Someone at the firm was plainly fond of alliteration. The company built the Gloster Grebe, Gannet, Grouse, Gamecock, Gorcock, Guan, Goral, Goring, Goldfinch, Gambet, Gnatsnapper, Gauntlet, Gladiator... and more!
But one of their non-alliteratively named products was the Gloster Meteor, the Allies’ first operational jet fighter, which came into service at the end of the Second World War.
If GAC had been given its own way, the Meteor would have been called something else. When the plane went into production in 1942 the Ministry of Aircraft Production wanted to call it either Scourge, Terrific or Terrifire. GAC replied that it didn’t think any of these names suitable.
The ministry replied with three more suggestions: Thunderbolt, Cyclone and Tempest.
Again GAC vetoed these names, replying that it had decided to call its new model the Avenger. Now it was the ministry’s turn to be difficult. It said ‘No’ to Avenger on the grounds that it was too similar to the Vengeance in service with the USAF.
The ministry wrote curtly to Glosters’ bosses declaring that the jet would, with no more disagreement, be called the Thunderbolt.
But GAC wrote back, pointing out that there was already a plane of that name made by another company.
Another ultimatum arrived at Hucclecote from the ministry declaring that Meteor was the name. GAC replied that it would, with reluctance, accept the name Meteor. But had the ministry considered Annihilator?