Old London

[oldman]

Something that I have often wondered about and maybe someone from the U.K. can clear it up. A lot of cities that I have traveled to have a particular part of the city called “Old Town.” Like the last time I was in Albuquerque, my friends there took me to “Old Town Albuquerque.” Same for Key West and even New York. Not sure about Chicago, but I did visit an area what a friend referred to a section of the city as “Old Chicago,” which was on the south side.

These are generally areas that have not been updated or were refurbished to depict to look like the city as it was “back in the day.”

Is there a section in London referred to as “Old Town?”

I see a lot of pictures in different magazines that label them as “Old London” or “Old Town London.

 

[Mike]

Hi Oldman, there are many parts of London that
are old, but I don't know of any that are called
old ????

Where I live is part of London on the South East,
it is called Croydon, a London Borough there is
an area called "Old Town", it is a bit quaint as it
has never been upgraded, though it looks OK.

The building I live in was built in the 1890s, but
it is normal for the area, again, not called "Old"

In central London there are small areas that are
old and some will claim to be the "Old or Oldest"
something, without any real proof, comapnies come
to London, buy an elderly building then knock it
down and build a mega "Skyscraper", there are
many buildings that are really old and they are all
protected, they are called "Listed", "Grade 1 or 2"
building, then you can do very little with it, you
may alter it slightly inside, but not usually outside,
these building are dotted all around the city, one
listed building that I really don't understand why
it is listed grade ll is the Royal National Theatre
which to me is a concrete monstrosity, it is listed
because it is an example of 1960s building methods
and because of the man who designed it Denys Lasdun.

I just checked the A to Z of London to make sure that I
am telling you the truth, there a few "Old ???" places
but they are like where I live, an outlying area, still part
of London, but not central.

In Google Maps, "Old London" gives roads and streets
no districts.

Mike.

 

[CrackerJack]

I am a Londoner and brought up there in what's known as the East End and lived in South East London until 1964. Not heard of any area called Old Town and agree with Mike. There are no Downtown areas either as far as I know and never was back in those days of the 40's and 50's.

Mike..hi. I remember Croydon was Surrey and considered the Home Counties and select. The Home Counties were Surrey, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire (fondly called leafy Bucks) Hertfordshire Kent and Essex and Sussex.The Commuter Belt and Gin and Tonic Land was a popular nickname for areas of outer London.

Copied and pasted:

The home counties are the counties of England that surround London (although not all of them border it). The counties generally included are Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex.
Home counties - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Home_counties

 

[hollydolly]

I live in a leafy Home county

 

[toffee]

never heard of old town -- not many mention old London now as the sky line is all changes with high rise offices and hotels.

 

[oldman]

I find these comments interesting. I remember seeing in a magazine not too long ago a picture of a snowy street and under the picture it stated, “_______Street, Old Town London.” Maybe the photographer just depicted it that way.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[oldman]

I live in a leafy Home county

What is that?

 

[CrackerJack]

I live in a leafy Home county

Lovely county ☺

 

[Capt Lightning]

Oldman, the "Home counties" are the counties surrounding London. They include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and East and West Sussex.

 

[Mike]

Mike..hi. I remember Croydon was Surrey and considered the Home Counties and select. The Home Counties were Surrey, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire (fondly called leafy Bucks) Hertfordshire Kent and Essex and Sussex.The Commuter Belt and Gin and Tonic Land was a popular nickname for areas of outer London.

Hi Crackerjack, Croydon is still in Surrey Geographically, or Historically,
but since the M25 Motorway was built things have changed, most of the
towns inside the circle created by that road are now classed as part of
"Greater London", it is also a "London Borough" and my phone number
is a Greater London number beginning with 0208, inner London is 0207.

So this part of Surrey is not so leafy, more concretey.

Mike.