What's in a name: the intriguing tales behind ten Nottingham place names

Fletcher Gate

The original name for Fletcher Gate was ‘Fleschewergate’, meaning ‘butcher street’. This comes from the Saxon word ‘flesher’, a term for a butcher, which doesn’t sound very appealing. For a while some thought the street was named after ‘fletchers’, who make arrows, but this appears to just be a coincidence. The ‘gate’ often used in street names like this comes from the Old Norse ‘gata’, meaning ‘road’ or ‘street’, which suggests that there was a Viking presence in the area.

Clumber Street

Clumber Street is now filled with shops, but it originally had a very different purpose. Its old name was ‘Cow Lane’, most likely because cows would walk through it on the way to their pasture. The lane was very narrow, and in 1812 the then Duke of Newcastle widened the street so he could more easily sell property there. Apparently this was a smart move and people loved it – so much so that they renamed the street ‘Clumber Street’ to honour him because his family owned Clumber Park. ‘Clumber’ itself is a bit unclear though. It was first called ‘Clunbre’ in the Domesday Book and it might refer to a ‘lump of earth’, or be made up of a combination of a Celtic word for hill and the river name ‘Clun’.

Maiden Lane

It could be easy to assume that the ‘maiden’ referred to in Maiden Lane is Maid Marian, but this isn’t the case. In fact, it doesn’t refer to one specific ‘maiden’ at all. The first known name for the street is from the 1300s, when it was recorded as ‘the Horelane’ and ‘Hory Lane’. In the 1400-1500s, the street was known as ‘Fairemayden Lane’. This history of names suggests the street was an area frequented by sex workers. It’s not clear when the current shortened name emerged, but it seems to be some time in the 1800s, and it was likely changed to avoid the previous associations.

Poultry

Poultry, a row of buildings next to Old Market Square, has a strange history. In the 1300s it was known as ‘Cuckstool Row’, believed to be because a ducking stool (also known as a cucking stool) was kept there. Ducking was a practice where people believed to be a nuisance, often women, were dunked into water on a stool as a punishment. It was also known as Hen Cross in the 1400s, the name of a nearby landmark marking the poultry market. The street was officially renamed in 1731 after one of the women drowned during the punishment and the name ‘Poultry’ emerged, likely also referring to the poultry market.

Drury Hill

Drury Hill was a very narrow street that led onto Bridlesmith Gate. It was originally called ‘Vault Lane’ because of the large stone cellars (or vaults) that are underneath the nearby numbers 2 and 4 Low Pavement. The name was changed to ‘Drury Hill’ around 1620 to honour Thomas Drury, an alderman who was an important figure in the city. Unfortunately, Drury Hill was demolished in the 1960s to make way for Broadmarsh Shopping Centre and there is now no evidence that it existed apart from people’s memories.

Hounds Gate and Spaniel Row

The references to dogs in these adjoining streets reflects their shared history. Historians aren’t entirely certain on their meaning, but the main theory is that they held the kennels for the dogs of the castle. Hounds Gate was first written as ‘Hungate’ in 1326 and the lack of change over the years suggests it was a significant area, as these resist change more often. Spaniel Row was written ‘Spanyell Strete’ in 1463, and likely refers to the spaniels that King Charles I loved so dearly.

Mount Street

Mount Street is located near Maid Marian Way and is now a very unassuming road, but it has an interesting (and grisly) history. Its previous name was ‘Bearward Lane’, the name for someone who kept bears for bear baiting. Bear baiting was a gruesome sport where a dog and bear fought each other and was a popular form of entertainment until around the 1800s. The street name likely changed when it fell out of favour, as ‘Mount Street’ was first used in 1800. The current name likely comes from a nearby mound or hill, though historians aren’t entirely sure.

Cheapside

Surprisingly, the name ‘Cheapside’ doesn’t mean that the area is cheap. It actually means ‘the side where the market is’ or ‘the market place’, which makes a lot of sense given Cheapside’s location near Old Market Square. This comes from the Old English word ‘ceapan’, meaning ‘to buy’. Though the name comes from Old English, it’s only been used for this street since the 1700s. It used to be called ‘Rotten Row’ in the 1500s, but with no evidence as to why, we can only guess the happenings of the street at that time. Cheapside is a very common English street name, with at least 23 other towns or cities in the country using it for one of their roads.

Bridlesmith Gate

Bridlesmith Gate, like Hounds Gate, is one of the few streets on this list whose name has barely changed over time. The earliest reference to the street is ‘Bridilsmethisgate’ in the early 1300s, and it means ‘street of bridlesmiths’. A bridlesmith is someone who makes the metal parts of a horse’s bridle, which is used to direct a horse. For many years, Bridlesmith Gate was the main shopping street in Nottingham. In 1819, attempts were made to change the name to Bond Street, like the most fashionable street in London. People were very angry about this though, and the street returned to its historic name not long after.

Standard Hill

Standard Hill seems like a pretty boring name but it actually has a very important history. Located just outside Nottingham Castle, it was the site where King Charles I ‘raised his standard’ in 1642. This declared war on Parliament and began the English Civil War. At the time, the area was called ‘Hill Close’, but it was changed to ‘Standard Close’ to mark the occasion. It’s not clear when or why they changed ‘close’ to ‘hill’ in the new name.