Streats of London: Ephemera

According to my best estimates, there are 489 streets in the 33 London Boroughs with an item of food or drink in their names. Of these there are 143 unique foods. The 489 is an estimate based on my reading of the London A–Z index, 2006 edition, but I'm fairly confident in the 143 unique foods as my friends – and people I meet in pubs – can no longer suggest any that I may have missed. I will, however, almost certainly be proved wrong at some point and shall buy that person a pint.

That aside, of those 489, over half consist of fruit and herbs & spices. The three nuts – almond, chestnut and walnut – make up the next biggest slice with 15%; there are 43 Chestnuts alone (9%).

The chart below shows the proportion that each of the 14 food categories makes up of the Streats in London.

This second chart shows how the categories are proportioned based just on the 143 actual items of food or drink. It shows clearly how the lack of originality in nut names across London reduces them to a bit-part player here, but conversely, the variety of unique marine-life names results in a far bigger slice of the pie.

The top ten items of food or drink that feature on London's street signs is as follows:

1. Chestnut (43 instances)
2. Lavender (29)
3. Mulberry (23)
4. Lime (22)
5. Cherry (19)
6. Mead; Rosemary (16)
8. Almond (15)
9. Mallard (12)
10. Water (11)

These 10 items feature on 42% of all food or drink names in London.