Methodology — Street Origin

The tier system

Not every street has the same depth of historical record. A Roman road that became a medieval market and a Victorian coaching route has a rich, layered story. A residential close built in the 1960s and named after a local councillor has a shorter one. We don't pretend otherwise.

Street Origin uses a three-tier system to set appropriate scope for each page:

Tier 1

Major streets

Streets with Wikipedia articles, significant archaeological or documentary records, and histories that span multiple centuries. Full treatment: name origin, timeline, cultural history, notable people, then and now.

Tier 2

Documented streets

Streets with clear historical records — documented in deeds, maps, or local histories — but without the depth of a Tier 1 street. Focused treatment covering etymology, key history, and context.

Tier 3

Residential streets

Streets where the historical record is limited — typically Victorian or Edwardian residential streets named after landowners or developers. Concise treatment of what is known, clearly framed.

Primary sources

All pages draw on authoritative historical sources. For Southwark, our principal references are:

Core sources

British History Online — the Victoria County History of Surrey and the Survey of London
Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) — archaeological reports and excavation records
Historic England — listed building descriptions and heritage records
London Metropolitan Archives — parish records, deeds, and estate papers
Ordnance Survey historical maps — particularly the 1:2500 series from 1869–1896
John Rocque's map of London (1746) — pre-industrial street names and layout
John Stow's Survey of London (1598) — the earliest systematic account of London's streets

What we don't do

We do not invent history where none exists. If the origin of a name is uncertain, we say so. If multiple explanations have been proposed, we present them with their sources. If a street's history is genuinely thin — a 1930s estate road named after a builder — we say what is known and nothing more.

We also do not treat folk etymologies as fact. Many street names have accumulated popular explanations over the years that don't survive scrutiny. Where the documented origin contradicts the popular story, we follow the documents.

Page structure

Every Street Origin page follows a consistent structure designed to move from the present into the past:

Time Walk — a visual then-and-now introduction, grounding the reader in the street as it is today
Name Origin — the etymology of the street name, traced to its earliest documented form
History — the development of the street over time, with a chronological timeline
Culture — literature, art, and cultural associations
Notable People — residents or figures connected to the street (Tier 1 only)
Today — the street as it currently stands

Accuracy and corrections

We take historical accuracy seriously. If you find an error — a wrong date, a misattributed name, a source we've misread — please let us know. We review all corrections and update pages where the evidence supports it.

Street Origin is a living archive. Pages are updated as new sources become available or errors are identified.