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"Made up" suburbs in your town/city

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DerekC

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You've opened a can of worms there, for sure! At the time of the opening of the original Blackwall Tunnel, the area where it emerged south of the river was regarded as east Greenwich, later expressed as East Greenwich, and I still think of it as such; old habits die hard after seventy years! North Greenwich it is not, despite the choice of name for the Jubilee Line station, because there already is (or was) a North Greenwich on the north side of the Thames, around the area where the Geenwich Foot Tunnel emerges and where the DLR first terminated, at Island Gardens. It's an ancient name, and TfL sophistry in mis-naming the tube station doesn't invalidate it.

Interesting stuff and you are right. Based on old OS maps, the ferry which preceded the tunnel was called the "North Greenwich Ferry" and then when the Millwall Extension Railway built its station in 1871 (the viaduct of which was re-used by DLR) its terminus by the ferry was called North Greenwich. I don't know why DLR called its original terminus on more or less the same site "Island Gardens" instead. The latest for Blackwall Point seems to be "Greenwich Peninsula" but the East Greenwich name isn't dead so there is hope yet! Better lobby TfL to change the name of the underground station!! I guess they would argue that extending the Greenwich name north of the river is confusing, but then you could argue the same for Woolwich.
 
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WelshBluebird

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In Bristol you see a lot of places around St Pauls / Easton / Stapleton Road being named otherwise, either of place names that barely exist or of place names that are actually at least several streets away (e.g. somewhere in St Pauls I saw when looking for a flat was described as Montpellier, when it was very much in St Pauls!).
 

DerekC

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Yes, there are two different things going on here:

  • As suggested by the OP, Bus companies (and Transport Authorities like TfL) "tidying up" and changing or inventing names to match untidy boundaries or stations/bus termini that don't fit very well.
  • Estate agents adjusting addresses to make it sound as if property they are trying to sell is in a posher district. That can in the end get into normal usage and change the name of the district.
 

61653 HTAFC

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A few years ago estate agents tried to get away with describing properties in Raynes Park as "West Wimbledon" - until they got splashed all over the local newspaper for that.
That's quite ridiculous, considering Raynes Park isn't really down market in any way- it's a pleasant leafy suburb.

When the notorious Brackenhall Estate in Huddersfield was redeveloped in the early 2000s, the new houses started appearing in Estate Agents listings as being in "Ferndale". To this day nobody calls the area that, the buses still say Brackenhall and older folk still call the area "Sheepridge" as that was the name before even the 1960s estate was built.

But then the local authority (the largest single-tier metropolitan council in the country) is named after a small manor house which isn't even located in said area (Kirklees).
 

Peter Mugridge

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That's quite ridiculous, considering Raynes Park isn't really down market in any way- it's a pleasant leafy suburb.

I agree.

It was to do with house prices in Wimbledon being much higher, plus the higher rentals for the tennis fortnight. They probably had an eye on their commission!
 

Taunton

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A few years ago estate agents tried to get away with describing properties in Raynes Park as "West Wimbledon" - until they got splashed all over the local newspaper for that.
That's quite ridiculous, considering Raynes Park isn't really down market in any way- it's a pleasant leafy suburb.
Not at all surprising; a onetime ladyfriend lived there (the one I've quoted here in the past who could remember hearing the big Raynes Park newspaper train smash in the middle of the night) and regularly said it was Wimbledon. Most people in London have an idea of where Wimbledon is, not nearly so many Raynes Park.

Where we are has progressed while I have been here from "Isle of Dogs" to "Docklands" and now "Canary Wharf", which is really just what at the time is the most familiar.
 

61653 HTAFC

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Not at all surprising; a onetime ladyfriend lived there (the one I've quoted here in the past who could remember hearing the big Raynes Park newspaper train smash in the middle of the night) and regularly said it was Wimbledon. Most people in London have an idea of where Wimbledon is, not nearly so many Raynes Park.

Where we are has progressed while I have been here from "Isle of Dogs" to "Docklands" and now "Canary Wharf", which is really just what at the time is the most familiar.
I can understand it being described as Wimbledon when reporting an incident such as that, because everyone in the country has heard of Wimbledon and relatively few would have heard of Raynes Park... and it's close enough for that purpose. But if you're buying a house you'll research the area anyway:- just as when my family moved to Taunton we made sure to get the lowdown on which areas were best avoided.*

*=truth be told, even the supposed "dodgy" areas of Taunton (like almost every town, the estate by the Asda had a poor reputation!) were nothing compared to the "dodgy" parts of Huddersfield!

Postscript: I suppose that as we're talking Estate Agents though, it really isn't surprising at all... however I stand by my previous proclamation that it is ridiculous!
 

Busaholic

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I can understand it being described as Wimbledon when reporting an incident such as that, because everyone in the country has heard of Wimbledon and relatively few would have heard of Raynes Park... and it's close enough for that purpose. But if you're buying a house you'll research the area anyway:- just as when my family moved to Taunton we made sure to get the lowdown on which areas were best avoided.*

*=truth be told, even the supposed "dodgy" areas of Taunton (like almost every town, the estate by the Asda had a poor reputation!) were nothing compared to the "dodgy" parts of Huddersfield!

Postscript: I suppose that as we're talking Estate Agents though, it really isn't surprising at all... however I stand by my previous proclamation that it is ridiculous!
My late, beloved godmother lived two minutes from Morden Underground Station, but insisted on calling it Merton Park!
 

Taunton

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the supposed "dodgy" areas of Taunton (like almost every town, the estate by the Asda had a poor reputation!)
Roman Road Estate in my time, pre-Asda - the only Roman Road in the country with multiple right-angle bends in it!
 

61653 HTAFC

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Roman Road Estate in my time, pre-Asda - the only Roman Road in the country with multiple right-angle bends in it!
Think it was labelled on the A-Z as "Halcon" (which may be another Estate-agent-ism) but we were warned that if you drove round the inner-circle or outer-circle, your hubcaps would be gone before you'd got 180° round!

I later worked at said Asda, would regularly cycle through that estate on my commute and never once had an issue.
 

Busaholic

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Think it was labelled on the A-Z as "Halcon" (which may be another Estate-agent-ism) but we were warned that if you drove round the inner-circle or outer-circle, your hubcaps would be gone before you'd got 180° round!

I later worked at said Asda, would regularly cycle through that estate on my commute and never once had an issue.
I regularly drive through one of the top ten deprived council wards in the country, and I've never witnessed any trouble or hint of it. Mind you, I don't see it at 2 a.m.!
 

BrianW

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Milton Keynes is a made up suburb of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford.
There was, and still is I think somewhere in there, a village of Milton Keynes.
Many 'modern' local authorities took names of 'neutral' places- eg Hillingdon rather than Northwood or Ruislip or Uxbridge or Hayes or Harlington of West Drayton or Yiewsley, or Cowley ...
Hillingdon Station was Hillingdon (Swakeleys) for some time.
Other 'concoctions' coming to mind- South Harrow for Roxeth.
Watford (Met line) for Cassiobury Park.
There were loads of stations miles from the places their name suggested- rather like London (Oxford) Airport today.
What were Waterloo and Victoria in London called before 1815; or Trafalgar Square ...
A lot of mileage in this thread.
 

Bletchleyite

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There was, and still is I think somewhere in there, a village of Milton Keynes.

There is indeed, and it was used for the name because they didn't want to bias it toward one of the four major settlements (Newport, Bletchley, Stony and Wolverton) making up the "city". It's also known as "Middleton" these days, which is where "Milton" is said to have been corrupted from.
 

causton

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Milton Keynes is a made up suburb of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford.
As someone who lives in Fenny Stratford, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, I agree!
(I include all four lines in the address now as nobody can agree which lines should and shouldn't be in there, not even the solicitors and bank could agree when I moved in!)
 

Bletchleyite

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As someone who lives in Fenny Stratford, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, I agree!
(I include all four lines in the address now as nobody can agree which lines should and shouldn't be in there, not even the solicitors and bank could agree when I moved in!)

For a postal address it's just 1 Your Street, MILTON KEYNES MKwhatever. Bletchley isn't a post town: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MK_postcode_area

In reality the house number and postcode is enough to deliver correctly, the rest is a checksum.
 

causton

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For a postal address it's just 1 Your Street, MILTON KEYNES MKwhatever. Bletchley isn't a post town: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MK_postcode_area

In reality the house number and postcode is enough to deliver correctly, the rest is a checksum.
I should have hidden the second line of your post in my original post, as I knew that is the real answer - doesn't stop places requiring them to be entered though ;)
 

DarloRich

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As someone who lives in Fenny Stratford, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, I agree!
(I include all four lines in the address now as nobody can agree which lines should and shouldn't be in there, not even the solicitors and bank could agree when I moved in!)

For a postal address it's just 1 Your Street, MILTON KEYNES MKwhatever. Bletchley isn't a post town: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MK_postcode_area

In reality the house number and postcode is enough to deliver correctly, the rest is a checksum.

Fenny Stratford is an entirely seperate community to bletchley and predates it so the reality is that bletchely is a suburb of Fenny ;)
 

tbtc

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North Greenwich used to be called Blackwall Point until it was poshed up and the Dome (sorry, O2 Arena) built there. London Underground made sure the new name would stick by applying it to the Jubilee Line station.

That's a really interesting modern example of "the railway" naming something and the rest of the world following suit (as happened many times in Victorian days, as is regularly discussed on here)

Many 'modern' local authorities took names of 'neutral' places- eg Hillingdon rather than Northwood or Ruislip or Uxbridge or Hayes or Harlington of West Drayton or Yiewsley, or Cowley ...

Good point - reminded me of the way that some parliamentary constituencies are named after "made up" places to avoid being seen to favour one of the two villages/suburbs in them - there was a good Twitter thread about this a few weeks ago - there are some careful local balances to try to manage that outsiders will be baffled by!
 

RichT54

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For a postal address it's just 1 Your Street, MILTON KEYNES MKwhatever. Bletchley isn't a post town: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MK_postcode_area

In reality the house number and postcode is enough to deliver correctly, the rest is a checksum.

When I first moved to Sandhurst, Berkshire nearly 35 years ago, the postal address was
1 Your Street, Sandhurst, Camberley, Surrey, GU17 xxx

Also, the sorting office where you went to collect undelivered mail was in Blackwater, Hampshire.

After a few years the powers that be decided that this should be rationalised. Residents were asked to vote if they wanted to keep a Guildford postcode, or have a Reading one. The majority voted for Guildford so the postal address became:
1 Your Street, Sandhurst, Berkshire, GU47 xxx

The sorting office is now in Sandhurst as well.
 

BrianW

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If I remember right ... Harrow was the only London Borough created in 1965 that was the same as it was before. Middlesex continued to exist postally for a long time after its absorption into the then GLC.
Newham, Havering and Haringey (with an e) come to mind too.
I was never sure about Kingston and Staines in relation to Surrey and Greater London; and Croydon? ... Sorry- Middlesex for Staines! The university boat race still navigates a Middx and a Surrey side!! And there's the cricket ...
And is there still a Royal County of Berkshire since the creation of the unitary authorities?
Tally ho!
 

dorsetdesiro

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If I remember right ... Harrow was the only London Borough created in 1965 that was the same as it was before. Middlesex continued to exist postally for a long time after its absorption into the then GLC.
Newham, Havering and Haringey (with an e) come to mind too.
I was never sure about Kingston and Staines in relation to Surrey and Greater London; and Croydon? ... Sorry- Middlesex for Staines! The university boat race still navigates a Middx and a Surrey side!! And there's the cricket ...
And is there still a Royal County of Berkshire since the creation of the unitary authorities?
Tally ho!

The boroughs of Newham, Havering & Haringey could have been named after their largest settlement like London Borough of Romford in Havering's case. Newham probably would be Stratford, Harringay for Haringey. There may be political reasons for this, there may be overspill areas in the borough not wishing to be considered as part of the larger town, likely postcode snobbery.

Even the weathly Yorkshire town of Ikley is in Bradford, but a long way from the city centre, however has a Leeds postcode.
 

dorsetdesiro

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New housing developments cropping up around the country appear to have inventive names such as "Wimborne Chase" and "Horsforth Vale" etc
 
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Slightly off-topic, but I have (had) acquaintances on the Wirral who refer to Rock Ferry as ‘Roche Ferr-ay’. Is this widespread, or are they just being sarcastic and snooty?
 

prod_pep

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Slightly off-topic, but I have (had) acquaintances on the Wirral who refer to Rock Ferry as ‘Roche Ferr-ay’. Is this widespread, or are they just being sarcastic and snooty?

Sarcastic without a doubt as - meaning no offence - Rock Ferry is the pits. The local pronunciation of the first word is a perfect rhyme with the Scottish 'loch'.

As well as 'Birkenvegas', I've also heard 'Skegvegas', 'Stalyvegas' and 'Glasvegas'. It's a bit like 'Fort Bill' in that it's somewhat childish but mildly amusing, at least to me.
 
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