THE

tonight there was an announcment on the tube that there is no bakerloo line between paddington and THE elephant and castle.

please can someone tell me, why it is THE elephant and castle, and not just elephant and castle.

(or why it is not THE paddington when it is THE elephant and castle).

many thanks

The station is named after a pub called 'The Elephant and Castle', whereas Paddington is a simple place name, so I think it's a remant from that.

I have always wondered as well why Londoners speak of THE King's Road and THE Fullham Road while both street names officially don't have an article. The don;t say THE Leicester Square so it seems a bit random.

#2 -- The road to Fulham would have become the Fulham road in popular speech before it had an official name. The same is probably true of the king's road.

It's called 'Elephant and Castle' (well, they are both called this, which is another story) despite the announcement :)

do you know how the elephant and castle name was created? It (dunno if pub, street or the train station itself) was firstly named "Enfant of Castille" but in Londoner´s language the name turned into elephant and castle. Just try to say several times with english pronaunciation "Enfant of Castille". This is interesting example of how the words and expressions can be changed within spoken language and become a part of official one.

#5 - I've heard this too (but with 'infanta' rather than 'enfant'). Do you think this is true or just an urban myth?

#6 Myth.

I've heard funny pronunciations by tube workers so many times. I put it down to tiredness, as they have to repeat the same things all the time!!

#6 and #7, I've spoken to some historians, and they have actually confirmed that it is not a myth at all.