"The" London street names

[HushabyeMountainGoat]

Anyone know why there is a custom sometimes to refer to streets in London using "the". E.g. "the Tottenham Court Road". I don't ever hear it used when referring to anywhere else.

Just reading a novel set in London and the author is doing it a lot. Got me wondering.

Don't know why it's done but there are a few in London. The Tottenham Court Road, the Balls Pond Road, the Seven Sisters Road, the Tower Bridge Road.

They are all streets with "double barrelled" names - maybe it's something to do with that.

Then there's also the Waterloo Road which blows that theory.

Adding the Romford Road to the list. Tower bridge road doesn't have a "the", however, nor does TCR.

no to the Waterloo Road, sorry..:)

In fact I have been mulling over this for many many years..

Lots of people spoke this way in the south London area I grew up in; the Kings road, the Walworth road, the New Kings road, the Portobello road, the Albert Embankment, the Black Prince Road..... I could go in for ages! It's a type of pseudo snobbery, I think!

I think there is something contextual going on here.

There's a St Albans Road in Watford that goes from Watford towards (you've guessed it) St Albans.

'She lives on the St Albans Road' = 'She lives on the road of that name that goes to St Albans'.
'She lives on St Albans Road' = 'She lives on the road of that name.'

There's a slight difference in meaning, to my mind. Subtle, I know...

Not the Archway Road! That sounds very weird. However, I’d take a bus down to the Archway. Curioser and curioser...

Where I live, the nearest main road is always called Top Road. No matter where you are and where this main road is on a compass. Weird.

OK so adding "the" to certain road names seems to be a generational thing. TBR, TCR and Waterloo Rd always had "the" before them when I was a child in South London.

@SomethingNastyInTheBallPool I live just off the Archway Road, and I do call it 'the'!

But I go to Archway (not the Archway) to get the tube...

agree, it's 'Archway' not 'the Archway'.

However, it is definitely 'the Angel', and 'the Elephant' (Dee-elephan' actually)

The tube is Archway but I’d get a bus to the Archway. My parents, who’ve lived round there for 70-odd years, also say “the Archway”. Maybe we’re odd!

Whoknows I hear people call Birmingham City "The Blues" but usually in the context of attending a match ie "going down the blues". we have much ruder names for them in our house as we are from the claret and blue side of town

In some towns, lots of road names begin with "the". In one small Hertfordshire town there is The Walk, The Drive, The Close, The Approach.

I'm in a mixed family Snuggly, some support Blues, some Villa. It can be a bit awkward at times. Luckily I support a team from a completely different part of the country.

I have never heard anyone refer to the Tottenham Court Road.

The Haymarket, the Old Kent Road, the Elephant... those are all normal though.

I think it's how you're using the name. If you're describing how to get somewhere you prefix with the. Motorways are main routes so they always have the before then, there's lots of roads where I live with the before them, they are the main routes out of the city.

I bet that can be awkward whoknows! I'm now trying to work out why people in Brum go "up town" but go "down the blues/villa/pub". I don't think it's geographical! I've lived here my entire life and I've never questioned it until now.

I grew up in a market town in Wiltshire. We used to go 'down town'. There were no hills involved. And it was only a 10-minute walk and nothing there when you arrived except for Fine Fare, Boots and Smiths.