Arbitrary road name changes

The study of British and Irish roads - their construction, numbering, history, mapping, past and future official roads proposals and general roads musings.

There is a separate forum for Street Furniture (traffic lights, street lights, road signs etc).

Registered users get access to other forums including discussions about other forms of transport, driving, fantasy roads and wishlists, and roads quizzes.

Moderator: Site Management Team

Post Reply
Skipsy
Member
Posts: 197
Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2019 19:53

Arbitrary road name changes

Post by Skipsy »

Trying to find examples where at a certain point, the road changes name for no apparent reason.
I'm talking about places where there's no obvious point like a junction or bridge that would explain the name change.
I have some good examples:

- Here, where the road name changes between these two properties.
- Here, same as above
- Here
User avatar
JohnnyMo
Member
Posts: 6982
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 13:56
Location: Letchworth, Herts, England

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by JohnnyMo »

Follow the Great North Road from London north, it will keep changing names between Great North Road, London Road High Street and sometimes something else. Generally from a settlement the road north was Great North Road and south was London Road or <next settlement> Road. Half way to the next settlement the name would change.

Often Arbitrary name changes occurred when there is or was a local authority boundary.
“The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie" - Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
Johnny Mo
SteelCamel
Member
Posts: 600
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2020 15:46

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by SteelCamel »

There are some that seem arbitrary because the reason for the change is no longer visible. In Sheffield, Ecclesall Road turns into Moore St at the pedestrian crossing (not at the roundabout as many people think). There's no junction there now, but there used to be. The front of Waitrose is on the line of Ecclesall Road, and in fact there's a small part the other side (Baan Thai's address is Ecclesall Road).
User avatar
trickstat
Member
Posts: 8738
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 14:06
Location: Letchworth Gdn City, Herts

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by trickstat »

JohnnyMo wrote: Wed Jun 01, 2022 17:53 Follow the Great North Road from London north, it will keep changing names between Great North Road, London Road High Street and sometimes something else. Generally from a settlement the road north was Great North Road and south was London Road or <next settlement> Road. Half way to the next settlement the name would change.

Often Arbitrary name changes occurred when there is or was a local authority boundary.
The second of the OP's examples possibly falls in this category as it appears that Sheen Road may be in Richmond and Upper Richmond Road West may be in Sheen.
User avatar
trickstat
Member
Posts: 8738
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 14:06
Location: Letchworth Gdn City, Herts

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by trickstat »

Where the A505 in Letchworth changes from Baldock Road to Hitchin Road here appears somewhat arbitrary.
User avatar
vlad
Member
Posts: 2586
Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 16:20
Location: Near the northern end of the A34

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by vlad »

I can give you a few examples where the change is at an administrative boundary - or where a boundary used to be.

Anson Road / Upper Brook Street here.
Claypath / Gilesgate here.
Chapel Bank / High Street here.
"If you expect nothing from somebody you are never disappointed." - Sylvia Plath
User avatar
MotorwayGuy
Member
Posts: 1000
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 15:37
Location: S.E. London

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by MotorwayGuy »

pjr10th
Member
Posts: 194
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2020 23:35

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by pjr10th »

La Rue Carrée becomes Le Mont à la Brune at this bend. The actual hill doesn't start until a little while further east.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/m8YP7CepyZDW2oKr6

Similar at Rue de la Sergenté and Mont de la Pulente. Though now a crossroads, both estates are fairly modern so there's no natural reason for a change here. https://maps.app.goo.gl/MsWL6KtXwLGmSK2z7

Mont de Grouët and Rue du Grouët meet here at a somewhat random point.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/VPMbx4JH8DYTa9tG8

Most often this happens where two parish roads authorities did not agree on a road's name so issued different names for it. E.g.:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/zqjo4yPFu6fTxtGF8

I also don't entirely trust Google's naming of roads on its map as I would guess their attention to detail is lacklustre, so there may be more.
User avatar
RichardA626
Member
Posts: 7809
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2012 22:19
Location: Stockport
Contact:

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by RichardA626 »

The road between Romiley, Bredbury & Woodley changes it's name from Dooley Lane, Otterspool Road, Hatherlow, Barrack Hill & George Lane in a short distance.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.41843 ... 179776,14z
Beware of the trickster on the roof
PhilC
Member
Posts: 468
Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2018 21:18
Location: West Midlands

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by PhilC »

Here are a few

Rectory Park Road/Goldthorne Avenue
https://goo.gl/maps/NSt2ZCexzxY7BhvV8

Rowlands Crescent/Henley Crescent
https://goo.gl/maps/BHCFYAyVJpGPNmpj6

The Avenue/Lincoln Road
https://goo.gl/maps/WsPBJ4hgiYqzVT98A
User avatar
Big L
Deputy Site Manager
Posts: 7517
Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2010 20:36
Location: B5012

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by Big L »

The A449 through Penkridge morphs seamlessly from Stafford Road to Stone Cross to Clay Street to Wolverhampton Road in something like 200 metres.
Make poetry history.

Did you know there's more to SABRE than just the Forums?
Help with maps using the new online calibrator.
Add your roads knowledge to the SABRE Wiki.
User avatar
wrinkly
Member
Posts: 8986
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:17
Location: Leeds

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by wrinkly »

In Cambridge (on routes now partly pedestrianised) you have within a few hundred yards

On the former A10, Trumpington Street becomes King's Parade becomes Trinity Street becomes St John's Street;

on the former A604, Hills Road becomes Regent Street becomes St Andrew's Street becomes Sidney Street becomes Bridge Street becomes Magdalene Street becomes Castle Street becomes Huntingdon Road.

Because of pedestrianisation, many current maps omit some of these names, but maps from a few decades ago show them all.
User avatar
KeithW
Member
Posts: 19205
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2014 13:25
Location: Marton-In-Cleveland North Yorks

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by KeithW »

Its what happens when villages merge into a larger towns and cities like London. Look at the OS 6 inch maps and you will see where things were 120 years ago.
https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps/ind ... 9,-0.37025,

The A174 heading south from Middlesbrough has road names like Marton Road, Dixons Bank and Stokesley Road.
Middlesbrough, Marton and Nunthorpe were separate entities in the 1960's, now they are all part of Middlesbrough
KevS
Member
Posts: 88
Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2006 21:08
Location: Norwich

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by KevS »

The Salthouse Street/Key Street change in Ipswich was always a bit baffling to me. Now, if you look at this you'd quite rightly say that the dividing line is the gap to the right which is an alleyway down to the river, and I'd agree...but it's only recently been there. Before the street nameplates for both streets were affixed to the wall either side of the lamp post you can see a few yards back on the right hand side.

The switchover at that point was bizarre itself, but I can't fathom why it appears that Salthouse Street has been extended another ten yards or so. The picture shows the rear of the buildings on the right - they all have their frontages, and therefore their postal address on Neptune Quay. There's only one building on the left, and the entrance for that is a little way down into Key Street anyway. Whether it was thought the switchover looks neater if there is a physical gap or not I don't know - so the original position didn't make any sense, and neither does the new one.
It's a ticket to plastic death
User avatar
Chris5156
Deputy Treasurer
Posts: 16908
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2001 21:50
Location: Hampshire
Contact:

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by Chris5156 »

My favourite example of this is just off Parliament Square, where the road heading south along the river passes through what was once a short street leading to an open square and then on to another street. Now it's largely indistinguishable and looks like a single road, but still has four street names in the space of about 250m.

Here you can see pretty much the whole length of St Margaret Street. But at that point you're standing in Old Palace Yard. Turn around 180 degrees and the street in front of you is Abingdon Street, but only as far as the slight bend, at which point it becomes Millbank.
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35755
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by Bryn666 »

Going out from Blackburn eastwards you go:

Salford
Eanam
Higher Eanam
Copy Nook
Bottomgate
Furthergate

The change points are quite arbitrary but presumably made sense long ago.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
tom66
Member
Posts: 821
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2016 16:47

Re: Arbitrary road name changes

Post by tom66 »

I used to live in Gildersome and the main road through the town centre has six or seven different names along its length. It's a hair over 1.5 miles long.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.76113 ... 645,16.35z

Gildesome Lane from the lights:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.76966 ... 384!8i8192

... to here, then Scott Green onwards:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.76313 ... 384!8i8192

... to this building, then Church St:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.76086 ... 384!8i8192

...then Church St onwards to Town St. after the mini roundabout (arguably, a junction, but a minor one at that)
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.75902 ... 384!8i8192

(the junction also has the dubiously named "Street Lane", I mean, pick one guys, not both.)

...then Harthill Parade:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.75782 ... 384!8i8192

(maybe, Google seems to think so, but then there's a Town Street road-sign further up, so who knows really.)

...then Branch Road, which morphs into Branch End somewhere:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.75762 ... 384!8i8192

Following through the lights, you'd arguably be able to include Asquith Ave, too, until you reach Morley. That's the longest continuous "name" on that segment of road.
Post Reply