How do streets get "high"?

[starlionblue]

I hope this is the right forum. I'm curious, when I was in London two years ago, I was eating in a great Chinese restaurant and I noticed the street sign said Kensington High Street. There were a few other streets with the word "high." What is the word referring to? Why is it not called simply Kensington Street?

 

[wils]

Our 'High Street' is the street in an area where the majority of the banks, shops and restaurants are found

Wikipedia suggests that it is an equivalent of 'Main Street' and I suppose it suggests, in your example, that it is the main street of Kensington.

Funily enough the 'High Street' of my area is now fully residential. I remember going to suss it out when we moved here as I thought it was going to be where I'd find all the shops!

 

[Richard Bruvofetc]

Mediaeval towns and cities had a Cross in the centre of them where the public executions took place. This was known as the "High" cross. The road leading to this was usually known as the High Street (I think ).

 

[UKDEB]

Well, our "High Street" is definitely the equivalent of the American "Main Street", but I've never considered the origin of the term. This is one definition I've found:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-hig2.htm

 

[starlionblue]

Interesting. I didn't know that. I was wondering, did they have roundabouts back in the days of horse-drawn carriages? I wish the US would use them. My parents live in Switzerland and there are tons of roundabouts. I find them very handy because there's no need to wait for a stoplight.

 

[UKDEB]

I was wondering, did they have roundabouts back in the days of horse-drawn carriages?

LOL, that's conjured up a wonderful image in my warped mind. Imagine this - one huge long road running between, say London and Bristol, another crossing it and stretching from Southampton to York. About 3 horse-drawn carriages a week tops using them and 2 turn up at the crossroads together! I know, we'll put in a roundabout!

 

[Cyrano]

LOL, that's conjured up a wonderful image in my warped mind. Imagine this - one huge long road running between, say London and Bristol, another crossing it and stretching from Southampton to York. About 3 horse-drawn carriages a week tops using them and 2 turn up at the crossroads together! I know, we'll put in a roundabout!

So you know a road engineer then

 

[Graeme]

Interesting. I didn't know that. I was wondering, did they have roundabouts back in the days of horse-drawn carriages? I wish the US would use them. My parents live in Switzerland and there are tons of roundabouts. I find them very handy because there's no need to wait for a stoplight.

The country's first roundabout is on Marton Road in Middlesbrough and is still there now. It was built in the seventies and is only small. Ironically it now causes more traffic jams than it solves.

 

[Richard Bruvofetc]

The country's first roundabout is on Marton Road in Middlesbrough and is still there now. It was built in the seventies and is only small. Ironically it now causes more traffic jams than it solves.

Pardon? I've known round-abouts as long as I can remember....so that's in the sixties.

I believe the first one was in Letchworth Garden City in 1910, five year's after New York's Columbus Circle, and they were introduced in France in the 1870's.

 

[Graeme]

Pardon? I've known round-abouts as long as I can remember....so that's in the sixties.

Don't tell my old geography teacher, he was very proud of that roundabout.

I Can't believe I've just spent ten minutes of my life searching the web for the 'History of traffic roundabouts'.

Did you know that the world's first was in America in 1903, Letchworth was the first in Britain, and there is a book called 'Roundabouts of Great Britain' available for £6.39 on Amazon. There are also Roundabout Spotters, who actually have conventions and meets!