I had always heard of 'Honey Lane' as a cow path; we still have honey trucks
in the US at campsites--particularly motor home campsites. 
Scott
-----Original Message-----
From: The English Place-Name List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Jeremy Harte
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2008 2:45 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [EPNL] Silver Street

Dear All,

The earliest Silver Street is the one in London, Selvernestrate 1279
(Ekwall, Street-Names of London p76). Stow (1 p299 of the 1908 ed of his
Survey) mentions it as 'Siluer streete, (I thinke of siluer smithes dwelling
there)'. This suggests that even in his time the derivation was opaque, but
his etymology does at least make sense in a big city. The same could be said
for the 14th-century form of the name in Lincoln (Room, Street Names p96).
But all the other Silver Streets are modern, most of them being found in
small towns and villages, which could never have provided employment for
silversmiths. The earliest form is at Billockby in coastal Norfolk, 1595 (PN
Norfolk 2 p51). This is an isolated lane in an area of deserted medieval
villages and about as far from a commercially viable jeweller's outlet as
you can get. The only other early examples I've found are Silver Streate
1623 at Cheshunt (PN Herts p221) and Silver Street c.1630 at Edmonton (PN
Midd p68). 

The London form Selvernestrate 1279 comes from the adjective seolfern, not
the noun 'silver', which sounds as if it is referring to the road itself
rather than its inhabitants. I suspect that it's a folk-image for bad
drainage. Just as a Honey Lane is sticky and brown with mud, so a Silver
Street has a shining surface because it's flooded with water. That would fit
with John G's Newcastle example, and it would account for the Continental
analogues as well as explaining why the names appear in settlements of all
sizes. Does anyone know a Silver Street? Is it low and flat?

Incidentally, alliterative names tend to have a pejorative sense - cf.
Rotten Row - so that fits too.

Jeremy Harte

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-----Original Message-----
From: The English Place-Name List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
David Horsey
Sent: 02 June 2008 11:25
Subject: Re: [EPNL] Silver Street

Richard Coates wrote:
> 
>Given how many Silver Streets there are (so many I can't be bothered to
count them), it's interesting that the number of Gold Streets is far
smaller. And it's interesting that there are no Silversmith(s') Streets at
all, and only a few instances of Goldsmith Street, which might involve a
surname.
>
>Richard
>
Being a sad person, I counted the Silver Streets listed by Streetmap. There
are roughly 251 of which 32 are in Somerset, 19 in Devon, 18 in Wiltshire, 6
in Gloucestershire. 3 in Dorset and 1 in Cornwall. The ones in Somerset are
mainly in places that were medieval boroughs and I suspect had springs.

David.

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There is a Silver Street in the village of Congresbury,south of Bristol,
which I have some knowledge of since this is where my mother's family
originated from.
Historically this village is typical in that it was mainly agricultural with
farmers & labourers & a few small traders. Might the name silver be
descriptive of some geographical feature. It runs into Venus Street by the
way but I guess that is another story !!

Stephen Emlyn-Jones
Newton
Porthcawl

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From: The English Place-Name List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
John Griffiths
Sent: 02 June 2008 10:42
Subject: Re: [EPNL] Silver Street

Silver Street in Newcastle upon Tyne (which is now called Dog Bank) was also
formerly known as Jew Gate: it might be interesting to know whether this is
a one-off or whether there are other links between Silver Streets and
medieval Jewish communities. Also in Newcastle, in the western suburbs, is a
road called Silver Lonnen (lonnen = lane), supposedly named for its pale
road surfacing.

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> Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2008 09:54:13 +0100
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Silver Street

> Keith Briggs wrote:
> > Silver Streets are also found in the east (e.g. Cambridge) and on the
continent -Zilverstraat in Brugge and at least 9 Dutch towns, at least 40
Silberstraßen in Germany, and several Rues d'Argent in France. I also have
never seen a proper explanation of these.
> 
> The usual explanation is that it is where the silversmiths worked.
> 
> John Briggs

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-----Original Message-----
From: The English Place-Name List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
Simon Kidner
Sent: 01 June 2008 18:42
Subject: Silver Street

I hope that this isn't an old chestnut - there appears to be no mention in
the EPNL archives. I am interested to know the reason why so many towns in
the West Country have a "Silver Street".  Settlements large and small often
have a street so-named.  An explanation would be welcome.

Best wishes,
Simon

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