Britannia Street, WC1X
King’s Cross
Britannia Street, King’s Cross, dates from the 1770s.

The patriotic fervour which led builders to name their streets ’Albion’ and ’Britannia’ seems to have been a phenomenon of the Georgian era; since the Hanoverian kings were personally unpopular, loyalty to the motherland was expressed by these vague but loaded names (except when victories occurred, to engender a profusion of Nelsons, Trafalgars Waterloos).

After Victoria’s accession in 1837 the incidence of Albions and Britannias in London shows a marked decrease accompanied by an outburst of Victoria Terraces, followed within the decade by dozens of Alberts.

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