John Rowland wrote:
From: Benjamin Lukoff )
Subject: High Street Kensington Station
Date: 2000/01/29

If the actual name of the street is KENSINGTON HIGH STREET,
why is the station called HIGH STREET KENSINGTON?

Only 54 months late, but I think I've figured it out.

The London County Council decided at some point (1930s I think)
that it was going to ensure there were no duplicate road names in
its area, and took to renaming vast tracts of the county of London.
I suspect that prior to this date, Kensington High St, Clapham High
St, Stepney High St etc, and the biggest mouthful of them all St
Johns Wood High St, had all been called "High St". Obviously "High
St" would have been a crap name for a station. The station could
just as well have been called ""Kensington High St" but they
happened to pick "High St Kensington" instead.

According to Douglas Rose, the station was opened as "Kensington (High
Street)" in 1868, but was gradually renamed as "High Street Kensington"
by 1880, perhaps to avoid confusion with Kensington (Addison Road), the
present Kensington Olympia.

Before D stock was introduced on the District, the destination boards on
the front of the old CO/CP stock said just "High Street".

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)