Derby: Where the streets have strange names

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Ever wondered how Deadman’s Lane got its name? Well a new book by Maxwell Craven provides the answer, along with an in depth look at Derby street names.

Bridge Gate in 1857 photographed by Richard Keene

In 1935 Traffic Street was widened and realigned at its east end. In this 1948 view, the houses on the north side of Rivett Street (now no longer in existence) can be seen

Cannon Street in Little City was cleared in 1959-61 and is now occupied by a car park

IF you’ve ever wondered why Derby boasts streets called Penny Long Lane, Crecy Close or Folly Road then a new book could well provide you with the answer.

YesterdayToday correspondent and local historian Maxwell Craven has spent the last three years delving into the archives to discover just how every street within the boundaries of the outer ring road was given its name.

Now the product of his tireless research has been published by Breedon Books, of Mansfield Road, Derby, under the title Derby: Street by Street.

Some of the streets listed have been renamed, and others do not exist any more – many demolished as part of the urban redevelopment plan after the Second World War. Some others have only just been nominated – like Brian Clough Way.

But even after detailed research, Maxwell is still uncertain how many streets there are or have been in the inner districts of Derby and how they came by their names.

Maxwell said: “In Derby it is interesting how there are seven streets named after those in London. The most famous are the Strand and Cheapside in the city centre.”

Other streets in Derby named after London places include Grosvenor Street, Fleet Street and Kensington Street. “But I find the really old street names, those from medieval times, the most interesting,” Maxwell said. “It was thought Full Street was named after fullers, the people who would stamp earth into wool to remove the oils before it was knitted. “But, in fact, it seems it was actually called Foul Street originally, because the conditions there were so disgusting.”

Indeed, the Anglo Saxon for foul is ful. As you would expect, over the years streets have been renamed for many different reasons. The most interesting, according to Maxwell, is East Street, which was formally known as Bag Lane.

This name is first recorded in the charters of the Abbey of Darley in around 1220. The name came from Baggelone from the Middle English for beggar and lane, which together meant a “row of tumbledown houses”.

Little had changed 500 years later it seemed, as in 1712 it was written that the street was wholly inhabited by poor people. A fire was reported there in 1618 and the plague was thought to have begun there in 1635. But by 1647 it appeared to have been named Castlegate – which was probably an effort to make the street sound a little grander. In 1835 the street was again renamed – this time as East Street. “That was probably because Bag Lane was an unattractive name and they didn’t want to be associated with it any longer,” said Maxwell. Another street which has changed its name is the Cornmarket, which was at one time called The Great Street.

Maxwell added: “The most exciting part of the project was finding out about all the long-lost slums, courts and yards that led from other streets.

“People always think that the slums were built by greedy landlords trying to fit as many properties in as small a space as possible. But really they were often built by tradesmen – only just of a higher social standard than those who were living in them.”

Possibly one of the most interesting names to grace a city street can be found in Wilmorton. There, Deadman’s Lane originally ran over the canal and to the River Derwent, forming the borough’s south-east boundary.

Maxwell believes it could have been a lane once leading to the mass burial ground of plague victims, probably from the Black Death of 1349. A nearby field was for a long time afterwards called Blood Sprinkle Field.

The Wardwick is probably the earliest Derby street name recorded, appearing in 1085 as Walwik Street. Later it was known as Waldewico and became The Wardwick for the first time in Burdett’s map of 1767. The name derives from Wic, which can be interpreted as meaning both a market and a dairy farm, while Walda is probably someone’s name.

Derby: Street by Street (ISBN 1859834264), is on sale now, priced £14.99.

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