Place Name
Until 1935 these were called Eton Stables, clearly even the street names moved with the times. It is one of a number of roads around Primrose Hill named after the Kynge’s College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore, or simply Eton. The public school for boys was founded in 1440 by Henry VI who endowed it, nine years later, with the manor of Chalcots, today better known as Chalk Farm, and previously owned by St James’s Leper Hospital. Eton also owned Primrose Hill itself, which in the 19thCentury they planned to develop, but had no takers, instead house building elsewhere on the estate began in 1829. The name Eton derives from Old English Ēa tūn, meaning River-Town. The school’s website says: “Henry wanted his subjects to have the opportunities of gaining knowledge that he had enjoyed, and he made provision for 70 poor boys, known as King’s Scholars, to be housed and educated at Eton free of charge. Alongside them, other boys could also benefit from the free education, but they would have to pay for their accommodation.” The school which currently charges around £42,000 a year in fees, the school has educated 20 prime ministers including David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Nearby streets include Eton Villas and Eton College Road plus many others.
