Place Name
Thought to be where a Saxon royal had once made their home since the first recorded name, from 1244, was Adhelingestrate and later, in 1280, Athelingestrate from the Old English words ætheling and stræt meaning prince or princes (or perhaps more generally nobleman), and street. There are similar words with the same meaning in the Swedish language, namely: Adel and Adling. The name was used in various documents in the 16thCentury including Adlingstreet in 1591. It has also been suggested that the name could have derived from the the Saxon Athelstan, the first King of England and one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon kings. Nearby Watling Street, the super highway from the Roman to medieval periods, was itself called Aphelingestrate from the same Saxon words from at least the early 13thCentury. Yes, there was lots of confusion, even then. The road once ran from Carter Lane to Upper Thames Street, but in 1863 the southern end was knocked down to create Queen Victoria Street. There was until about the 1960s a nearby road called Addle Street, running between Wood Street and Aldermanbury. Despite having a similar name to that of Addle Hill, its etymology was very different, for it came from the Old English word Adela meaning filth or excrement. It was first mentioned as Adeline in 1304 and Adeline in 1360. It became Adelstrete in 1537, and 20 years later it was Addelstrete. The surrounding area suffered heavy bomb damage and the road largely disappeared, surviving as a stump before it too succumbed to the development.
