The Underground Map is creating street histories for the areas of London and surrounding counties lying within the M25.
In a series of maps from the 1750s until the 1950s, you can see how London grew from a city which only reached as far as Park Lane into the post-war megapolis we know today.
The aim of the project is to find the location every street in London, whether past or present. You are able to see each street on a present day map and also spot its location on older maps.
There's a control which looks like a 'pile of paper' at the top right of the map above. You can use it to see how an area has changed on a series of historic maps.
Wentworth Street
Turn-of-the-century fashion in east London. The earliest depiction of Wentworth Street appears c.1560, bounded by hedges. The area immediately east of Petticoat Lane (Middlesex Street) was built up by the 1640s with substantial houses divided by yards and gardens. The southern side of Wentworth Street had properties whereas the northern side formed the boundary of the Tenter Ground, an open space used for stretching and drying silk (there were several 'tenter grounds' in the immediate area).
The northern side east of Brick Lane formed the southern boundary of the Fossan Estate.
The street was so named after Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Cleveland who owned much land in the area in the 1630s and 1640s, although early maps call it 'Wentford Street' and 'Winford Street', probably both unintentional errors.
The entire length of Wentworth Street from Petticoat Lane to Brick Lane was strongly defined by buildings by the 1740s. By the 19th century, much of the street had fallen on hard times, ...
»more
Whitehall Close, WD6
Whitehall Close was named for the Whitehall Studios which formerly stood on the site. It was built in the early part of the 21st century after the final demolition of a cinema screen manufacturer which stood on the site before,
»read full article
St Benet Sherehog
St Benet Sherehog was a medieval parish church built before the year 1111 in Cordwainer Ward, in what was then the wool-dealing district. A shere hog is a castrated ram after its first shearing.
The church was originally dedicated to St Osyth. Sise Lane in the parish uses an abbreviated form of the saint’s name. The historian John Stow believed that the later dedication of "Benet Sherehog" was derived from a corruption of the name of Bennet Shorne, a benefactor of the church in the reign of Edward II.
The patronage of the church belonged to the monastery of St Mary Overy until the Dissolution, when it passed to the Crown.
Matthew Griffith chaplain to Charles I was rector from 1640 until 1642, when he was removed from the post and imprisoned after preaching a sermon entitled "A Pathetical Persuasion to Pray for Publick Peace" in St Paul’s Cathedral.
St Benet’s was one of the 86 parish churches destroyed in the Great Fire of London, and it was not selected to be rebuilt when the 1670 Act of Parliament became law. The parish was united to that of St Stephen Walbrook...
»more
Moss Hall Crescent, N12
Moss Hall Crescent was built on land of a house called Moss Hall. The Moss Hall estate begun to be sold piecemeal after its sale in 1833. Moss Hall Crescent arrived in the 1860s. Moss Hall was demolished in 1927.
»read full article
Plough Inn
The Plough at Kingsbury Green was established in 1748. One in nine houses in 18th century Kingsbury was an inn, with the Plough being one of them.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries Kingsbury, a picturesquely rural district a short distance from London, attracted many walkers and cyclists, and the Plough Inn, with its attractive gardens, was once the headquarters of thirteen cycling clubs. It was at the Plough, too, that four Frenchmen and their three performing bears used to stay.
It was rebuilt in 1932 and resited to the west, later known as the Carlton Lounge.
»read full article
RAF Bomber Command Memorial
The Royal Air Force Bomber Command Memorial is a memorial commemorating the crews of RAF Bomber Command who embarked on missions during the Second World War. The controversy over the tactics employed by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War meant that an official memorial to the aircrews had been delayed for many years. Despite describing bombers as "the means of victory" in 1940, British prime minister Winston Churchill did not mention Bomber Command in his speech at the end of the war.
An appeal was made for £5.6 million to build the memorial, and funding came from donations made by the public, as well as substantial amounts from Lord Ashcroft and businessmen John Caudwell and Richard Desmond. Robin Gibb, the singer, became a key figure behind the appeal, working alongside Jim Dooley to raise funds and have the memorial built.
Liam O’Connor designed the memorial, built of Portland stone, which features a bronze 2.7 metre sculpture of seven aircrew, designed by the sculptor Philip Jackson to look as though they have just returned from a bombing mission and left their aircraft.
Alumi...
»more
The Underground Map is creating street histories for the areas of London and surrounding counties lying within the M25.
