Queen Street, Salisbury and Queen Street, Wilton

Queen Street in Salisbury runs along the Eastern edge of the Market Square.




Queen Street 1950. Reproduced courtesy of Francis Frith. Click on the photo to buy

In 1348, it was part of the original High Street, which comprised Endless Street, Queen Street, Catherine Street and Exeter Street ¹.

The current High Street was so-called at some stage in the 14th Century ², so it might be surmized that ‘Queen Street’ was named after a Queen who reigned at some stage between 1348 and the end of the 14th century.

This, of course, assumes that Queen Street didn’t have some other name between being part of the High Street and becoming Queen Street. However, if we did make this assumption then Queen Street would be named after one of the following:

• Philippa of Hainault, wife of King Edward III (queen from 1330 until 1369)


• Anne of Bohemia, wife of Richard II (queen from 1383 until 1394)


• Isabella of Valois, Richard II’s second wife (queen from 1397 until 1399)


• Joanna of Navarre, wife of Henry IV (queen from 1403 until 1413)


• Catherine of Valois, wife of King Henry V (queen from 1421 until 1422)


• Margaret of Anjou, wife of King Henry VI (queen from 1445 until 1471)


• Elizabeth Woodville, wife of King Edward IV (queen from 1465 until 1483 )


• Anne Neville, wife of King Richard III (queen from 1483 until 1485)


• Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII (queen from 1487 until 1503) ³

Queen Street in Wilton is part of the A36. It adjoins King Street at one end and Warminster Road at the other. As with Queen Street in Salisbury, I have no clear idea of which Queen the street is named after.

Queen Street is, though close to the Kingsway, which I believe is a reference to Charles II.

Footnotes

1. Salisbury: St Thomas’s parish’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 81-83. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41785 Date accessed: 06 January 2009. [↩]
2. Salisbury: St Thomas’s parish’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 81-83. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41785 Date accessed: 06 January 2009. [↩]
3. List of English consorts – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [↩]