Place Name
In 1285 it was referred to as Bechestrete and a few years later as Bechelane in 1333. It is thought to come from one of two Old English words bēce referring to the beech trees that grew here, or bece meaning stream. Sheila Fairfield in The Streets of London writes: “Named from beech trees, either because there was a natural grove, or because beech hedging had been used as a windbreak by a householder on the flat, exposed ground North of the City.” John Stow in his Survey of London of 1598 claimed it was named after Nicholas de la Beech, Lieutenant of the Tower in the reign of Edward III, but this is thought unlikely.
