Elephant and Castle: Explain the Name

Probably the strangest-named place in London. It's time to Explain the Name! As best we can.

[davidgwr]

I still like Del Boy's explanation of Richard the Lionheart having a castle where the roundabout is now and Hannibal and his elephants attacking it.

[heptanesykes]

Fascinating. I had always assumed that the "elephant and castle" was simply a snail built to military specifications.

[cav]

"You can probably tell from the architecture...", yes, that life draining, suicide inspiring 1960/70s architecture.

[Kevinfordsynthesizers]

Aphex Twin dwelling underground in an electricity substation in the Elephant and Castle is sufficient for me - I hadn’t heard that one before, thank you again sir.

[andrescannell]

There's a pub in Camden called Elephants Head.
Well worth a visit.

[OffTheRailsUK]

This is so funny... I get this video as soon as I'm waiting for a driver at this exact station to get a cab ride 😂

[duncanmacpherson]

When Elanor of Castile came to England as wife of Edward Longshanks [later King Edward 1st] in 1255 she landed at Dover and then proceeded up the Dover road [later known as the A2] where she was met by a large welcoming party just south of London. In those days the court and aristocracy spoke French. the clergy Latin and Elanor, her ladies and the Spanish ambassador Spanish. One has to imagine the English people present then asking each other what that girl's name was and receiving the reply that it sounded like Elephant and Castle so this is the name still given to this junction on the Dover road

[WMD]

I went on a tour of the Worshipful Company of Cutlers. The significance of ivory is that it used to be hugely expensive: if you wanted to show off how rich you were, you'd have a sword with an ivory handle.

[daviemaclean]

Dumbarton in Scotland also had an Elephant and Castle pub, one of the oldest buildings in the High Street, which unfortunately fell into disrepair and was knocked down as part of the access to a new housing developement. Part of the rock at Dumbuck quarry in the town resembles an elephants head and there is a castle whose rock is said to resemble one too, but I'm not so sure!

[davidchurch]

I remember my Dad, who was born in that area now covered in 60's high rise blocks, telling me it was named after a pub/Inn was built on that spot. using the timber from a broken up ship named "Le' Enfant Castille". And that the rest was just typical south London mispronunciation.

[kristofkozari]

There is a chivalric order in Denmark called the Order of the Elephant, which badge is an elephant (what a surprise) carrying a castle.

[stevetaylor]

it is my belief that due to the illiteracy of the people in that area, the French children's home between the the corner of the start of the Old Kent road and the railway bridge, which did not exist back then, was called, Le Enfant terrible, which the people pronounced as, The Elephant and Castle. The same applies to Bedlam, a half mile away, a well known madhouse and used in everyday speech to describe chaos, it's true name being Bethlehem Church.

[djdissi]

There's an Elephant & Castle, a (British inspired) pub in Toronto. It's actually in an Eduardian era building (1908) - originally part of Upper Canada College and originally known as the Canadian General Electric Company Building, built by architect Frank Darling and John A. Pearson

[roberthuron]

As a military aside, the name, "Infanta", was the origin of what is now, the combat INFANTRY, as they were the first designated foot soldiers, armed with pikes, and flintlocks! So another layer of history can be added, Jago, as there are always multiple paths, in any given historical review! Thank you 😇 😊! P.S., Jago, you really should open a ballet studio, as you definitely keep people on their toes!! Thanks again!! 😊

[MrGreatplum]

It’s is a curious name! Over the last week, I have been on the Isle of Thanet and I went down the WWII tunnels in Ramsgate (well worth a look - lots of railway history too!) - one of the entrances comes up next to a pub called the Elephant and castle! - I think this makes the blacksmith idea plausible as Ramsgate, with its royal harbour, would have needed a lot of blacksmiths!

[cjr]

Thanks Jago for an extremely interesting (Well at least to me) and informative video. Many moons ago we had a cleaner in one of the Telephone exchanges I worked in who always used rhyming slang. Whenever he spoke of the Elephant and Castle he always called it the "Envelope and Parcel" which I found mildly amusing and possibly a better name for the place!

[apollo.c.vermouth]

That first Elephant & Castle video was how I discovered your channel, Jago! I can just hear some of Aphex Twin's more sparse, whimsical tracks as soundtrack material for future episodes...maybe he's already a subscriber?

[jasonschubert]

I used to work at the Dept of Health there back in the day, still spotted the building, although most of the others have changed in the probably more than 15 years since I have been there. Distinctly remember you could get high just walking through the old shopping centre there! 😅

[johncamp]

JAGO: Living in the U.S., I have wondered about this place name, and (reliably so), you have given me FAR MORE information than I could have ever expected from any other source!!👍

[the-real-iandavid]

In a garden in the Cheshire hamlet of Peckforton, there stands a large (I would guess about 12 feet tall) carving of an Elephant with a castle on its back. It dates from 1859, and was hewn from two blocks of Cheshire's famous red sandstone.
It's a fascinating sight, peering above the hedgerows. Its origins are also unclear, but could be a nod towards the Coat of Arms of the Corbett family who once owned Peckforton.
The garden is situated close to the imposing mid-19th century "Peckforton Castle", now a luxury hotel and wedding venue.
If you google "Elephant and castle Peckforton", you will find lots of images of it.