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.
