Skip to main content

Do You Know The Muffin Man?

It is true that every road has a story to tell. Some roads tell the story of blood, sweat and tears of hard working people building the Interstate Highway System, or the vast network of parkways around New York City. Other roads tell the stories of families crisscrossing the landscape to create a better life for themselves or a gateway to a fun vacation where discoveries are sure to be at every corner.

Speaking of vacation, picture it, London, 2014. I am walking to Trafalgar Square from where I was staying in Holborn for a day of sightseeing around London, passing through Covent Garden and Seven Dials on my way to catch a tourism bus. While discovering all these nooks and crannies, it should have been no surprise that I stumbled upon a sign for Drury Lane, and stumbled I did. Street signs in London tend to be either low to the ground or affixed to the corner of a building, much different than what I come across in the United States.


After I returned home to Upstate New York from my vacation to London and Ireland, I was going through the photos I took from the trip and decided to look up if this is the same Drury Lane that is mentioned in the popular children's song "The Muffin Man". The short answer is yes, this is the same Drury Lane that you learned to sing about as a child, whether it was in the English language or in the Dutch language.

Drury Lane in the first quarter of the 21st Century is a far cry from the Drury Lane that was mentioned when the Muffin Man was first written in 1820. Now a typical city street in London's Theatre District, Drury Lane was a bit of a red light district in the old days, as well as an area where poor Londoners resided. But poor Londoners have to eat too! So enter the Muffin Man, who baked cheap foodstuffs such as English muffins and sold them fresh to the local residents. How that translated into a catchy nursery rhyme is beyond me, but it is another shining example of the stories that the streets can tell.

 Sources & Links:

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dillon Road

Dillon Road is a 34.2-mile highway located in northern Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California.  Dillon Road begins at Avenue 48 on the outskirts of Indio and ends to the west at California State Route 62 near San Gorgonio Pass.  Dillon Road was developed the 1930s as a construction road for the Colorado River Aqueduct.  Dillon Road serves as a northern bypass to much of the development of Coachella Valley.  Dillon Road is known for it's frequent dips and spectacular views of San Gorgonio Pass.   Part 1; the history of Dillon Road Dillon Road was constructed as a haul road for the Colorado River Aqueduct through Coachella Valley.  The Colorado River Aqueduct spans 242 miles from Parker Dam on the Colorado River west to Lake Mathews near Corona.  Construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct began during January 1933 near Thousand Palms and was made functional on January 7, 1939.  West of Berdoo Canyon Road the alignment of Dillon Road is largely concurrent with the Colorado

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road is an approximately 21-mile highway located in southeast Kern County.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road begins at Tehachapi Boulevard (former US Route 466) in Tehachapi and crosses the Tehachapi Mountains via the 4,820-foot-high Oak Creek Pass.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road enters Antelope Valley of the wider Mojave Desert and passes by the historic stage station of Willow Springs to a southern terminus at Rosamond Boulevard.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road has historic ties to the Havilah-Los Angeles Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road due to the once reliable presence of water at Willow Springs. Part 1; the history of Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road Oak Creek Pass and Willow Springs were known to the local tribes of the Tehachapi Mountains for generations.  The first documented European crossing of Oak Creek Pass was during 1776 as part of an expedition by Francisco Garces.  Oak Creek Pass is as used again by John C. Fremont during an 1844-1845 expedition to e

The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge

The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge is a derelict structure located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Placer County, California.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge can be found between the communities of Colfax and Iowa Hill.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge is a wire suspension structure which spans the North Fork American River.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge was replaced by a modern span and converted to pedestrian use following floods during 1963.   Part 1; the history of the 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge During 1853 gold was discovered at what to become Iowa Hill.  The gold mining claims soon led to a small community known as Iowa City being established.   By 1854, Post Office Service began at the mines of Iowa City.  By 1856 gold production at Iowa City was estimated to be around $100,000.  Iowa City was burned in fires during 1857 and 1862 but the community was rebuilt with more modernized structures.   The location of Iowa City can be seen as "Iowa Hill" on the 1873 Bancroft