Place name
Originally called Spencer Road it was renamed sometime around 1938 after the poet Caedmon (AD657 – AD684) who is the earliest English poet whose name is known by name. A Northumbrian lay brother who cared for the animals at the monastery now known as Whitby Abbey, he was originally ignorant of “the art of song” but learned to compose one night after a dream, according to the 8thCentury historian Bede. He later became a zealous monk and an accomplished and inspirational Christian poet. The road name most likely changed as part of a Post Office reorganisation of London’s street names to reduce duplications which were confusing for its service. Hence swapping one poet’s name for a more unusual one.
