Thursday, April 11, 2024
While I was in Willesden, round the back of Taylors Lane Power Station, I came across this oddly-named cul-de-sac. That's an odd name for a cul-de-sac, I thought. Why was Energen Close named after a private company?
I assumed Energen might have been something to do with the power station, or a company who owned something that used to be here, probably in the 1980s/1990s judging by the age of the housing. Then I remembered the name of the electricity company was actually Powergen, not Energen, although they were founded in 1989 so they hit the time bracket perfectly. Energen was merely a company that made crispbreads for dieters and small light rolls for postwar ladies, so I was clearly on completely the wrong track.
I did some Googling, but it wasn't very helpful because Energen Close was the site of a tragic shooting in 2020 and a lot of the results were about that. So I did what I normally do next and checked the old maps on the National Library of Scotland website... and what do you know this genuinely was the site of the factory that made Energen bread rolls! The map showed a large building labelled Energen Works (Food Products), the date being 1955, and further research then revealed that the company had been up and running since 1929.
Which got me wondering if there are any other residential streets in London named after private companies originally based there.
» Not streets on industrial estates, nor access roads to factories, but places people actually live.
» Not streets coincidentally named after companies, like Dunelm Grove or Cadbury Close.
» Not streets thematically named after businesses based elsewhere.
» Not companies named after streets but streets named after companies, most likely streets on the sites of things.
Or is it just bread rolls in Willesden?
• Energen Close, Willesden NW10 [now/then] (bread)
• Philips Close, Carshalton SM5 [now/then] (TV sets)
• Mullards Close, Carshalton SM5 [now/then] (valves)
• Wilkinson Way, Chiswick W4 [now/then] (razorblades)
• Stanley Close, Eltham SE9 [now/then] (optical instruments)
• Ediswan Way, Ponders End EN3 [now/then] (lightbulbs)
• Belling Crescent, Ponders End EN3 [now/then] (cookers)
• Vickers Road, Erith DA8 [now/then] (armaments)
• Nestle's Avenue, Hayes UB3 [now/then] (coffee)
• Lucas Gardens, Finchley N2 [now/then] (car components)
• Hawker Place, Walthamstow E17 [now/then] (transformers)
• Hughes Road, Hainault IG6 [now/then] (navigation)
• Sigrist Square, Kingston KT2 [now/then] (instrumentation)
• Sunlight Close, Wimbledon SW19 [now/then] (laundry)
• Grunwick Close, Dollis Hill NW2 [now/then] (photo processing)
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