The names of the London boroughs

Q. How did the names of the London boroughs come about

A. The London boroughs as we know them today were introduced in 1965. The modern administrative areas are an amalgamation of the various smaller boroughs that existed before, and for the most part they are named for one or more of the areas within their borders, most of which date back to Anglo-Saxon times.

Q. How many are there

A. The 33 administrative areas, which cover 1,579 square kilometres (610 square miles), are broken down into two categories: Inner London (Camden, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Westminster) and Outer London (Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston-upon-Thames, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond-upon-Thames, Sutton and Waltham Forest)...

Q. Isn't that 32

A. ...and the City of London - the original heart of the city and strictly speaking the only area that should be called London - which is a corporation and not a borough.

Q. So where do the names come from then

A.

Barking and Dagenham - Barking, the home of the Bericingas, or Beric's clan; Dagenham is Decca's ham or village

Barnet - 'burnt' land, it refers to an area that had been cleared out of the forest by fire

Bexley - Box Wood

Brent - named after the river Brent (which also comes up in Brentford, west London); brent meant 'holy' in British Celtic, so it was a sacred river, evidently

Bromley - a forest clearing where broom grows

Camden - formerly the site of the Manor of Cantelowes, which is mentioned in the Domesday book, it was named for one Sir Charles Pratt, later the 1st Earl of Camden

Croydon - saffron valley (who'd think so now )

Ealing - the home of the Gillingas (see Barking above)

Enfield - Eana's field

Greenwich - green port

Hackney - Hacca's ey, or island; the area was pretty marshy in Anglo-Saxon times, so there were 'islands' of drier ground on which settlements were built

Hammersmith and Fulham - Hammersmith was named for a hammer smithy that operated in the area; Fulham is Fulla's ham or home (see Dagenham above)

Haringey - Hering's or Her's -ingas' (see Barking above) place or enclosure; not the same as the ey in Hackney

Harrow - heathen temple, from the Anglo-Saxon hearg

Havering - the home of the Haveringas (see Barking, etc., above)

Hillingdon - Hilda's hill, dun meaning 'hill' in Anglo-Saxon (viz. modern English dune); interestingly, Hilda was probably a male name at the time

Hounslow - hundes hlaw, either a hound's tumulus or the burial place of someone named Hund

Islington - Gisla's hill (dun again)

Kensington and Chelsea - Kensington was Cinesige's tun, his farm or estate; Chelsea is a difficult one: the -ea is from hy, 'hythe' or 'landing place', but the first element is trickier, with the best suggestions being celch, 'chalk', or celic, 'cup' or 'chalice'

Kingston-upon-Thames - cyninges tun, the king's estate (see Kensington above); the upon-Thames was added in the 14th century

Lambeth - lambs' hythe (see Chelsea above)

Lewisham - Leof's village (see Dagenham, etc., above)

Merton - farm by the pool (Anglo-Saxon meri, modern English mere)

Newham - named for the former boroughs of East Ham and West Ham, ham here meaning 'pasture'

Redbridge - a modern name after Redbridge underground station, which was in itself named after the Red Bridge at Roding; the bridge disappeared in the early 1920s when the Southend Arterial Road (now part of the A12) was built

Richmond-upon-Thames - a relatively modern name, introduced by Henry VII when, in the early 1500s, he renamed his refurbished palace there after his estate at Richmond in Yorkshire

Southwark - su geweorc, 'southern defensive work'; Southwark lies on the south side of London Bridge

Sutton - su tun, south farm (see Kensington, etc., above)

Tower Hamlets - the name was in use by the 16th century; it referred to the settlements which came under the powers of the Lieutenant of the Tower, who had the authority to call on the men of the 'hamlets' to perform guard duty at the Tower and serve in his militia

Waltham Forest - there are a number of Walthams in the Lea Valley, such as Walthamstow and Waltham Abbey, but the etymology is somewhat obscure; possibly related to the German Wald, 'forest', plus ham (see Dagenham, etc., above)

Wandsworth - Wendles wur, Wendel's enclosure

Westminster - west minster, or 'monastery'

Q. What about Borough

A. Not in itself a borough, but the area in Southwark around the southern approach to London Bridge - Borough High Street - which was a self-administering area separate from the City, which lies on the north side of the river.

Q. And have they ever been celebrated in song

Many places have appeared in popular songs over the years - '(I Don't Want To) Go to Chelsea' by Elvis Costello, 'White Man in Hammersmith Palais' by the Clash and 'Doing the Lambeth Walk' all spring to mind. But the best example of a list of London place names is probably 'The Bus Driver's Prayer', a secular version of 'The Lord's Prayer' written by the late Ian Dury. It goes as follows:

Our Father,

Who art in Hendon

Harrow Road be Thy name

Thy Kingston come

Thy Wimbledon

In Erith as it is in Hendon.

Give us this day our Berkhampstead

And forgive us our Westminsters

As we forgive those who Westminster against us.

Lead us not into Temple Station

And deliver us from Ealing,

For thine is the Kingston

The Purley and the Crawley,

For Iver and Iver

Crouch End

See also the article on place names

For more on Phrases & Sayings click here

By Simon Smith