I was looking at a map of the area where I used to work, and noticed that one of the nearby roads is called Letsby Avenue (http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&X=440000&Y=388500&width=700&height=400&gride=&gridn=&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=pc&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&inmap=&table=&ovtype=&zm=0&scale=10000&upright.x=64&upright.y=7)! As tis is the road where the Police have one of their operations centres, I was wondering which came first; the road name or the police presence?

I'm referring to the old joke:

Q. Where do the police live?

A. 999 Letsby Avenue (try saying it outloud if you don't get it!)

haha

they're new roads built for the airport


methinks "in joke"

Nope, its for real! From my experience, where a new road is created, the local authority (usually in the building control dept.) will have a person who, as part of their job, has to name / rename roads.

It was probably put forward by SYP, based on the fact that the operations HQ is there. Bit like Gillette Corner in London, where the Gillette building is.

Only slightly less odd than Butt Hole Road in Conisbrough- yes, I had to drive past it a few times to check.

Originally posted by medusa666
Only slightly less odd than Butt Hole Road in Conisbrough- yes, I had to drive past it a few times to check.

My friend lived on that road; apparrently the roadsign was stolen several times! :hihi: I think there's a thread about it on here somewhere.

I grew up very close to Pratt's Bottom in Kent. Sad but true.

Originally posted by Kristian
My friend lived on that road; apparrently the roadsign was stolen several times! :hihi: I think there's a thread about it on here somewhere.

If Letsby Avenue's sign got stolen, would that mean a load of coppers had been out tanked up and on the rob??????????

It was in the Star a few years ago. Yes, the police came up with the name... isn't it where the helicopter is?

Ha ha I just noticed this road on the map and thought it was a joke I was falling about laughing at it, hilarious, was going to start a thread but decided to be good and do a search and hey presto already one here!

There is a ****terton and a Piddletown in Dorset,Brown Willy in Cornwall,and a Penistone in South Yorks.

Some roads on an A to Z don't actually exist but they are included as a sort of copyright check to make sure other map makers aren't just replicating the A to Z and passing it off as their own.

Boring but true.

I was looking at a map of the area where I used to work, and noticed that one of the nearby roads is called Letsby Avenue (http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&X=440000&Y=388500&width=700&height=400&gride=&gridn=&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=pc&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&inmap=&table=&ovtype=&zm=0&scale=10000&upright.x=64&upright.y=7)! As tis is the road where the Police have one of their operations centres, I was wondering which came first; the road name or the police presence?

I'm referring to the old joke:

Q. Where do the police live?

A. 999 Letsby Avenue (try saying it outloud if you don't get it!)

From memory the whole area was an open cast mine when this was filled in the airport and buildings was built. It also an access rd layed at the rear. At the time the road had no official name and an officer from the traffic department named it (unofficially).

Some roads on an A to Z don't actually exist but they are included as a sort of copyright check to make sure other map makers aren't just replicating the A to Z and passing it off as their own.

Boring but true.

do you know - i thought you were pulling my leg (sorry) so I googled it and it actually is true...... well well learn something new every day... thank you.

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Copyright_Easter_Eggs

a couple of my faves are Pocket Handkerchief Lane, Warning Tongue Lane and Memory Lane

..................................................

Aparntly when the plans for the police operations centre went to the police the road was marked but not named , someone put letsby Avenue on the plans as a joke , it then appeared as the name for the council to approve and it stuck


Its the only one in the country its humerous so whats the problem ?

Its the only one in the country its humerous so whats the problem ?

There isn't a problem, is there? No one has moaned.

On the way to skeggy there's a road called fanny hands lane!

Some roads on an A to Z don't actually exist but they are included as a sort of copyright check to make sure other map makers aren't just replicating the A to Z and passing it off as their own.

Boring but true.

I saw this on one of Nicholas Crane's programmes about mapmaking ages ago, and it got me wondering: is there one in the Sheffield A-Z and if so, does anyone know which road it is?

I saw this on one of Nicholas Crane's programmes about mapmaking ages ago, and it got me wondering: is there one in the Sheffield A-Z and if so, does anyone know which road it is?

Not the A-Z, but my copy of the OS South Yorkshire street atlas has the mini roundabout on Montgomery Road at the wrong junction.

Why has 2222terton been asterisked when Penistone is left uncensored.I am surprised you did not remove my Brown Willy!

Real answer: Letsby Avenue is a real road. When Sheffield Airport (dec'd) was being planned, a police station was part of the design. The access road to it was un-named. A wag in SY Police wrote-in 'Letsby Avenue' on the layout plan, as a prank, when the design proof was submitted and no-one at The Sheffield City Council twigged. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2000/feb/12/martinwainwright

Went to the Brecon Beacons a while ago and climbed Fan Y Big.

Some roads on an A to Z don't actually exist but they are included as a sort of copyright check to make sure other map makers aren't just replicating the A to Z and passing it off as their own.

Boring but true.

Maybe that's why Google maps has Sheffield down as Norton? :hihi:

On the way to Southampton I went through a village called "Lickey End" :hihi:

It's a pity that the SY Police station wasn't named 'Evening Hall' at the same time...

I think we should have more names like that. I think its good, and there should be a Last Laugh Lane like in the arctic monkeys song.

Well I think its brilliant no matter how it came about, and I like the idea that they should have called the Police building 'evenin hall' also.

It show's that the Police are almost human too :D

Real answer: Letsby Avenue is a real road. When Sheffield Airport (dec'd) was being planned, a police station was part of the design. The access road to it was un-named. A wag in SY Police wrote-in 'Letsby Avenue' on the layout plan, as a prank, when the design proof was submitted and no-one at The Sheffield City Council twigged. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2000/feb/12/martinwainwright

It's not true that no-one at the Council "twigged", we saw the joke and felt lets try it, and if no one objects to the name why not use it - OS were happy to go along once it had been through all the processes involved in street naming.

One of the names which has amused me for quite a while; a small village on the east coast of Scotland north of Inverness, is Ardgay. Unbelievably, just along the bridge across the Dornoch river estuary from there is another village called... Bonar Bridge.

It was in the Star a few years ago. Yes, the police came up with the name... isn't it where the helicopter is?

yes thats were the helecopter is kept

The Coppers' chopper.

It's not the opertations comlex, thats on europa link. The helicopter, which is based at the next round-a-bout up, address is actually 999 Letsby Avenue!!

There is an area in Plymouth called Pennycomequick, and another called Ernesettle.