There are over 24,000 UK streets and houses sporting a romance-related name, according to new research from Royal Mail.
In fact, so popular is love and all its wonders amongst the nation’s addresses that it has inspired 1 in 10 British house names (over 21,500). ‘Rose’ and ‘Dove’ Cottage are the most popular love-related house monikers – accounting for over 11,000 entries on the Company’s Address Management Unit file.
With its beautiful chocolate box aesthetic, Hereford officially has the densest population of houses with love-related names (148) in the country. 85 ‘Rose Cottage’ addresses exist in the town and surrounding area alone. Towns with a high proportion of period properties, such as Norwich and Colchester, also feature a particularly weighty density of love-related house names.
The nation’s ‘romantic hotspots’ (towns and cities with the highest number of love-related street and house names) are:
| 1. London (725) |
| 2. Bristol (330) |
| 3. York (302) |
| 4. Norwich (299) |
| 5. Salford (178) |
| 6. Doncaster (166) |
| 7. Romford (158) |
| 8. Colchester (153) |
| 9. Hereford (151) |
| 10. Solihull (147) |
| 11. Southampton (138) |
| 12. Stoke-On-Trent (133) |
| 13. King’s Lynn (130) |
| 14. Birmingham (129) |
| 15. Telford (119) |
| 16. Cheltenham (118) |
| 17. Ashbourne, Derbyshire (114) |
| 18. Coventry (114) |
| 19. Peacehaven, East Sussex (109) |
| 20. Stroud (106) |
| 21. Maidstone, Kent (105) |
‘Rose’, ‘Dove’ and ‘Valentine’ are the most popular terms for romantic-related addresses (over 21,000), however there are nearly 200 houses named ‘The Heart’ spanning the nation. Over 150 ‘Love Lane’ addresses also exist across the UK, from Darlington to Dorchester.
Other fascinating snippets from the research include:
- Starry-eyed lovers may want to investigate Kissing Tree Lane in Stratford-Upon-Avon, the French bistros of Bleeding Heart Yard in Farringdon or the rolling fields surrounding Dear Love Gate in Lincolnshire this week.
- Some of the more unusual choices for house names include ‘The Love Shack’ and ‘Lovelynest’ – both in Cumbria. And for road names, ‘Honey Ditches Drive’ in Seaton, Devon stood out, as did ‘Heol Valentine’ in Swansea.
- Boasting Brontë country and the heady romance of the moors, Yorkshire is officially the county with the greatest number of romantic addresses (354). This is closely followed by Essex (349).
Steve Rooney, Head of Royal Mail’s Address Management Unit, said: “Delivering mail to over 30 million addresses, six days a week, gives us an unparalleled view of the nation’s street and house names, and sometimes the results are fascinating.
“Street, house and building names chiefly reflect our nation’s heritage and primary interests. With our proud history of romantic literature and music, it’s wonderful to see our appreciation for all things love and romance reflected in our addresses.”