Prompted by a screening of Nicholas Crane’s Map Man on BBC Two over the weekend, which focused on the origins of London’s A To Z paper maps, I thought it might be fun to go through my old dog-eared copy and compile a little list of those lucky London streets which find themselves at first position in the alphabet.
With the growing ubiquity of smartphones I’m guessing that over time these paper maps, albeit useful, will eventually fade away – I haven’t used anything other than a smartphone for getting around since I acquired one a few years ago. Ironically, when that time does come this intellectual exercise will be impossible for anyone who isn’t a mapping professional (you can’t search Google maps for the first instance of a particular letter in a street name for example) but for posterity’s sake, here’s the list.
- Abberley Mews – a tiny little street just off Lavender Hill in Clapham
- Baalbec Road – named for the ancient city in Lebanon, this street leads to Highbury Fields in N1
- Cabbell St – referencing the 19th century politician and philanthropist, the Westway flyover sits at the end of this particular street
- Dabbs Hill Lane – this street in northwest London arcs around part of Northolt Park
- Eade Rd – this road runs alongside the New River near Finsbury Park
- Faber Gardens – this leafy road is sandwiched between the M1 and Hendon Central station
- Gable Court – another tiny little street not far from Crystal Palace Park
- Haarlem Road – named for the far-away city of Haarlem, do the residents of this Hammersmith street feel Dutch?
- Ian Square – an odd geometric arrangement of houses marks this small square up in Enfield
- Jackass Lane – the sole rural entry, this winding country lane can be found in deepest Bromley
- Kale Road – a street of typically ugly 1960s flats on the Thamesmead estate in south London
- Laburnum Avenue – there are three entries for the first ‘L’, one in Edmonton, one in Tottenham and one in Carshalton
- Maberley Crescent – a south London street that leads to South Norwood lake
- Nadine St – found in the London Borough of Greenwich, this is an ideal spot for fans of the Addicks
- Oak Avenue – a grand total of seven entries mark the beginning of the ‘O’s, none in the east however
- Pablo Neruda Close – this little street near Loughborough Junction is named for the famous Chilean poet
- Quadrangle, The – OK, a bit of a cheat but there are three of these in London. If you think that they are outside the rules, then the next suitable candidate is Quadrant Grove in Belsize Park
- Rabbit Row – this little mews right behind Notting Hill station hasn’t seen fluffy-eared bunnies since the 18th century…
- Sabine Road – a pleasant street of well-kept and no doubt expensive houses in Clapham
- Tabard St – near Borough, this street’s most interesting feature is the leafy Tabard Gardens
- Uamvar St – found near Langdon Park DLR, this is an odd reference to a distant hillside in Stirling
- Valance Avenue – close to the southern reaches of Epping Forest, you’ll find this street in Chingford
- Wadding St – lined by Peabody flats, this street is a few minutes walk from Elephant & Castle tube
- X – no ‘X’s in London unfortunately
- Yabsley St – right on the eastern edge of the Isle of Dogs, this street is literally a stones throw from the Thames, perhaps named for the great Victorian photographer Andrew Wollacott Yabsley
- Zampa Road – another football-related street, Millwall’s Den is at one end of it, although the street probably references the French opera of the same name!
Compiling this list was a surprisingly difficult task – many of the first entries in the A to Z’s index refer to blocks of residential flats (which obviously don’t count), and some roads are long since gone due to London’s relentless changes – Sabbarton St in Canning Town being a prime example. This old industrial area has been completely reconfigured as rows of modern flats have replaced commercial premises, and many long-standing streets have disappeared over recent years.
If you live on one of these streets we would love to hear from you – what’s it like to be at the beginning of the alphabet?
About Pete Stean
