Place Name
Named after the residence of the antiquarian Lord William Howard (December 19, 1563 – October 7, 1640), sometimes known as Belted or Bauld (bold) Will. The 16thCentury property was originally called Belmont, which later became Mount Pleasant sometime in the following century, and was the only large house within the tongue of the parish which projected south of Cockfosters. By the end of the 19thCentury it had become Heddon Court and was the home of a preparatory school for boys, Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman famously taught at the school from 1929 to 1930. In 1933 the school was closed shortly after the house was demolished. Development of the street began soon after but was still incomplete by 1951. Belmont comes from the Norman French meaning fine hill. It was a popular name around London and beyond.
