Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Lots of towns that must have previously been called "Horse's Arse Creek", or something, in the past, got summarily renamed "Lincoln" in the USA, in the 1860s.

Similarly loads of streets (but not whole towns) in the UK that were formerly "Old Whore's Scratch Alley" became "Churchill Way", or "Dunkirk Lane", in the 1940s.

Recently, it seems to be only airports that have been offered this treatment in the UK - John Lennon, George Best, for example.

What, and for whom, deserves a rename in honour of modern leaders or celebrities? How about renaming the M25 the "Cowell Road", inasmuch as it's endless, leads nowhere, is a pain in the fucking arse but is still something that 25 million people suffer at least once a week?

[Duncan Gardner]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

Heh. The City of London used to have a 'Gropecunt Lane'. I think it's now St Mary Axe, near St Paul's Cathedral. Tubby?

I suspect George Best (or Glentoran Airport, as I continue to call it) may see a further renaming in the not too distant future. It wasn't an entirely popular choice locally.

[tee rex]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

Not really on Rogin's topic, but I'll take any excuse to share my favourite renaming of a town:

Niceville

[Stumpy Pepys]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

Heh. The City of London used to have a 'Gropecunt Lane'. I think it's now St Mary Axe, near St Paul's Cathedral. Tubby?

I always thought Gropecunt Lane became Threadneedle Street. But I could be wrong.

[ursus arctos]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

Wiki has it as being off Cheapside ("between Bordhawelane (bordello) and Puppekirty Lane (poke skirt)).

And there is some non-Wiki support for that here.

[tracteurgarcon]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

teerex wrote:

Not really on Rogin's topic, but I'll take any excuse to share my favourite renaming of a town:

Niceville

I'd be much more likely to visit a town called "Boggy Bayou" than the asinine "Niceville".

[The Exploding Vole]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

In a previous life I went on a works outing to the local dog-track. My colleagues and I had one thing in common: we detested our boss. When it was pointed out that a race could be sponsored for a rather modest sum, my colleagues and I thought it would be worth chipping in a few quid each just so the 8.20 would be referred to as the I Hate Andrew Worstenhulme Handicap.

[Ginger Yellow]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

Christ, what sort of tourist hears the name "Niceville" and thinks: "That sounds like a fun place to visit"?

[Bruno]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

I still can recall with pride one of the main streets in my boyhood town getting renamed George Bush Drive.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

But I like this concept mentioned in the Wikipedia link: "it was normal practice for a medieval street name to reflect the street's function or the economic activity taking place within it".

So to start the ball rolling:

1. Oxford Street (London) to become Tawdryshopside
2. Denmark Street (London) to become Guitar Alley
3. Maximillianstraße (Munich) could be Reicharschlöcherstraße (rich arseholes street)

[delicatemoth]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

Buckingham, where I grew up, acquired Mary MacManus Drive after a deceased local councillor.

Stumpy's directive could result in Camden Town being renamed Goth City.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

I used to live around the corner from a tower block called Tessa Sanderson House.

[Fatter Hipper]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

A street called Grope Countelane existed in Shrewsbury as recently as 1561, connecting the town's two principal marketplaces. At some date unrecorded the street was renamed Grope Lane, a name which it has since retained. In Thomas Phillips' History and Antiquities of Shrewsbury (1799) the author is explicit in his understanding of the origin of the name as "... [a place of] scandalous lewdness and venery", but Archdeacon Hugh Owen's Some account of the ancient and present state of Shrewsbury (1808) describes it as "called Grope, or the Dark Lane". As a result of these differing accounts, some local tour guides attribute the name to "feeling one's way along a dark and narrow thoroughfare"

[pebblethefish]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

I grew up on a road called The Street. Which, while accurate, didn't really show much ambition on the part of the planning department. Particularly seeing as it was in the village that George Orwell lived, and set Animal Farm.

[diabloinglés]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

Christ, what sort of tourist hears the name "Niceville" and thinks: "That sounds like a fun place to visit"?

Absolutely.
"Boggy Bayou" sounds like a much more interesting place....

[Tubby Isaacs]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

Duncan Gardner wrote:

Heh. The City of London used to have a 'Gropecunt Lane'. I think it's now St Mary Axe, near St Paul's Cathedral. Tubby?

I suspect George Best (or Glentoran Airport, as I continue to call it) may see a further renaming in the not too distant future. It wasn't an entirely popular choice locally.

I thought Gropecunt Lane was now Maiden Lane, in Covent Garden.

Don't get me started on calling Spitalfields "Banglatown". We somehow managed in previous eras without calling it Hugenottown or Jewtown.

[adams house cat]

Renaming towns, or things, for modern people

Truth Or Consequences in New Mexico takes some beating. It was named for a game show. So we could have Washington DC named 'AreYouSmarterThanAFifthGraderville.'