Place Name
The Lady Well, which was used until the 1850s, was beside Ladywell Road and was first featured on a map as Ladywell Fields adjoining St Mary’s Church, in 1592 in reference to a spring that was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, which was said to have healing powers. However, it clearly took a while for it to catch on as even though it featured as Ladywell on a 1793 map, it was simply marked as Well on an Ordnance Survey map in 1816. The full name appeared on a later map of 1876. Perhaps it should not be a surprise since this area was wasteland up until the 1850s. Bridge House Farm was the only dwelling here until the second half of the 18thCentury, so Bridge House was sometimes used to designate the area. David Mills in A Dictionary of London Place Names writes: “The spring was near to the west bank of the River Ravensbourne, on the site of the present-day Ladywell Bridge.”
