Place Name
Agricultural heritage. Takes its name from the local area, which itself is named after a field that used to be to the north of Green Street. David Mills in A Dictionary of London Place Names says there “has been a curious change in initial consonant” over the years. It was first recorded as Grymesdoun in 1420. Through the years it had numerous spellings Grymesdoune 1441, Grymes downe, Brymesdowne 1610, Grymsdown, and eventually, in 1686, it was written as Brimsdown. There are two possibilities behind the name, the first is that Gryme may have been the surname of the landowner or farmer. An alternative theory is that, like Grim’s Ditch in Pinner, it refers to some earthwork, dedicated to an ancient deity, Grïm thought to be a reference to the Norse god Woden. The second part of the name comes from Middle English meaning slightly raised ground in a marshy area beside the River Lea. The street was first occupied in 1899.
