Names which are relics of places that no longer exist

[EdinRH]

There was a discussion in the Bus forum about bus stops still being officially named years later after long-demolished buildings, railway stations that closed in the Beeching cuts, pubs that had long since changed their names etc and asking whether the bus flags should be changed to something up to date.

I posted about two examples of a similar phenomenon in Edinburgh with the advice plate for reporting faults with electricity substations.

The substation at Tesco Broughton Road still says that any fault should be reported as occurring at William Low, Broughton Road even though Tesco bought over and renamed the supermarket accordingly in 1995.

The Arneil Place housing development near Crewe Toll has substations which are called Ainslie Park School. This school was closed in 1991, later becoming an extra building for Edinburgh's Telford College in addition to the main site about five minutes walk away. The building (except the listed facade) was demolished when the houses were built in the late 2010s.

This was not deemed sufficiently relevant to the Bus and Coach discussion. However, I was advised that it may make a good topic for the General Discussion.

Does anyone have any examples of names (other than bus stop flags) that reflect proximity to a place that no longer exists?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Singer station, in Scotland, named after the Singer sewing machine factory that closed back in 1979/1980 & which was demolished in 1998 and is no longer there.

 

[yorksrob]

Dover Priory no longer has a Priory.

The Eleanor crosses are no longer at Charing Cross or Kings Cross.

Does Maidstone Barracks still have a barracks ?

 

[Enthusiast]

Woolwich Arsenal

Battersea Power Station (it's no longer a power station)

Does Maidstone Barracks still have a barracks ?

Yes. Invicta Park Barracks accommodate part of 36 Engineer Regiment. Two Gurkha Squadrons (69 and 70 Gurkha Field Squadrons) form part of that Regiment and are based there.

 

[d70g]

Those travelling to Paisley Canal to see the narrowboats might be disappointed.

 

[PeterC]

Last time I was in the Sevenoaks area the Bat and Ball had closed.

Not on the railway, well passenger anyway, but in South Wales the hamlet of Forge Side near Blaenavon no longer has a forge while down the valley the hamlet called The British was named after the ironworks whose workers it housed.

 

[Ediswan]

The Eleanor crosses are no longer at Charing Cross or Kings Cross.

There never was one at Kings Cross.

 

[Pinza-C55]

Station Town in County Durham never had a station and hasn't had a railway since the mid 60s.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

There's no junction at Burscough Junction, and hasn't been for quite a while.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Station Town in County Durham never had a station and hasn't had a railway since the mid 60s.

Surely 'Station Town' was named after the one time nearby railway station at Wingate?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

There are no coal mines around Coalville any longer, though I assume there were at some point, hence the name.

Colliers Wood might be similar in that vein.

 

[Springs Branch]

I wonder whether any of the trees have survived at Newton-le-Willows?


Despite housing development in the vicinity, looking at the Google satellite view, it seems there are still odd small patches of woodland around Clayton-le-Woods and Whittle-le-Woods. So maybe these two can still get away with it.


In Greater Manchester between Hindley Green and Atherton, there's a district long known as Dangerous Corner, and which is marked on Ordnance Survey maps as such. This is where Westleigh Lane joins the A577 road at a very standard T-junction - and was once famously (to some) the terminus of one of Leigh Corporation's bus routes.

Even 50-odd years ago I could never work out what was particularly Dangerous about this Corner - it looked quite innocuous to me. Even today, it seems there are neither traffic lights, roundabout nor any other traffic calming measures at the junction, so presumably that Corner is not that Dangerous after all.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

In Greater Manchester between Hindley Green and Atherton, there's a district long known as Dangerous Corner, and which is marked on Ordnance Survey maps as such. This is where Westleigh Lane joins the A577 road at a very standard T-junction - and was once famously (to some) the terminus of one of Leigh Corporation's bus routes.

Even 50-odd years ago I could never work out what was particularly Dangerous about this Corner - it looked quite innocuous to me. Even today, it seems there are neither traffic lights, roundabout nor any other traffic calming measures at the junction, so presumably that Corner is not that Dangerous after all.

Supposedly named after an overturned hearse (where the coffin's occupant apparently sprang back to life) according to a local folklore tale. Not sure why that makes the corner so particularly dangerous, though!

 

[yorksrob]

Woolwich Arsenal

Battersea Power Station (it's no longer a power station)



Yes. Invicta Park Barracks accommodate part of 36 Engineer Regiment. Two Gurkha Squadrons (69 and 70 Gurkha Field Squadrons) form part of that Regiment and are based there.

Thanks for the up to date info !

Last time I was in the Sevenoaks area the Bat and Ball had closed.

Not on the railway, well passenger anyway, but in South Wales the hamlet of Forge Side near Blaenavon no longer has a forge while down the valley the hamlet called The British was named after the ironworks whose workers it housed.

And famously, Sevenoaks lost six of them during the great storm of 1987.

There never was one at Kings Cross.

Even better then

 

[DelW]

The village of Ratho Station west of Edinburgh, which is quite separate from Ratho itself around a mile away, is named after the station which closed in 1951.

Similarly for Halwill Junction village in Devon, located a mile from Halwill village proper, where the station closed in 1966.

 

[GCRS]

No pub at Berney Arms any more.

 

[birchesgreen]

Is the Craven Arms pub in Craven Arms still shuttered?

 

[DelW]

The station at Stromeferry on the line to Kyle of Lochalsh is named after the ferry which closed in the 1970s, after a new stretch of the A890 was built along the south side of Loch Carron.

 

[GCRS]

Is the Craven Arms pub in Craven Arms still shuttered?

Yes, it is. (Or at least it was when I drove past it a couple of week ago).

 

[brad465]

King George V DLR station, as George V is long dead

 

[nw1]

Singer station, in Scotland, named after the Singer sewing machine factory that closed back in 1979/1980 & which was demolished in 1998 and is no longer there.

Incidentally has the surrounding area become known as Singer since?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Incidentally has the surrounding area become known as Singer since?

Think it's still just Kilbowie/Clydebank, but I'll defer to local expertise if anyone knows for definite otherwise.

 

[nw1]

Think it's still just Kilbowie/Clydebank, but I'll defer to local expertise if anyone knows for definite otherwise.

Thanks. For many years I thought Singer was a suburb of Glasgow and the identical name to the sewing machine company was just coincidence!

 

[Haywain]

There never was one at Kings Cross.

King's Cross was named after a monument to King George IV at a nearby crossroads. As the monument was only there for 15 years the name has vastly outlasted that from which it originated.

No pub at Berney Arms any more.

The pub is still there, but closed. However, the Berney Arms windmill is still very much there.

 

[androdas]

Bedlington Station (the settlement) started out as a place called Sleekburn before the railway arrived, it then became known as Bedlington Station when the railway came despite being some distance from Bedlington Town centre. The name stuck after the station closed in the 60s and the station is now in the process of being reopened as part of the Northumberland Line with the station being called Bedlington, as the settlement is somewhat distinct (known by locals as just 'The Station') perhaps the new station should be called Bedlington Station Station

 

[D6968]

Dudley Port? I believe the name came from something to do with the Mainline Canal there’s not a port there any more, nor is it a new type of dinner wine

 

[Pinza-C55]

Surely 'Station Town' was named after the one time nearby railway station at Wingate?

There was already a village called Wingate but no railway station called "Station Town Station" hilarious as that would have been.

There's a cast iron road sign in Coxgreen village near Penshaw pointing to Coxgreen Station despite the station having closed to passengers in 1964 and goods in 1967.

 

[yorksrob]

Is there still a flowery field near Flowery Field station ?

 

[nw1]

Dudley Port? I believe the name came from something to do with the Mainline Canal there’s not a port there any more, nor is it a new type of dinner wine

I don't know, but I thought it might be from the Latin (?) word for gate. So it's the gate to Dudley, which seems apt as the railway crosses a main road at that point which heads in that direction.

 

[AlterEgo]

Woolwich Arsenal

Woolwich Arsenal still exists, it's just not an actual arsenal any more. It's the name of the development, Royal Arsenal Riverside.