Northern Ireland’s festive house and street names are revealed

New Royal Mail research has revealed that 7% of the UK’s named homes sport a festive-linked moniker – with a number of them located in Northern Ireland.

etailed analysis of the Royal Mail postcode address file showed that more than 50,000 UK streets and houses bear a name relating to Christmas.

King Street is the most popular festive-linked street name in the UK, alongside Ivy Cottage for houses. There are also over 7,600 addresses in the country bearing the term Holly.

In Belfast, street names with a Christmas-themed moniker included Bell Tower, Chestnut Gardens, Garland Avenue, Garland Crescent, Garland Green, Garland Park, Holly Mount, Joy Street and King Street.

There are a number of streets in Londonderry too, such as Chestnut Drive, Fir Road, Ivy Mead, Ivy Mead Close, Ivy Mead Mews, Ivy Terrace, Mary Street, Stable Lane and Star Fort Lane.

The Royal Mail’s Address Management Unit analysed over 31m addresses to evaluate the impact that the season of goodwill has had on the naming of the nation’s streets and houses.

Aside from London, York is officially the UK’s most festive city, boasting 480 festive street and house names, including Winter Close and Holly Beck. Norwich follows closely behind with 459 addresses, such as Angel Road and Carol Close.

Holly and ivy were used on the largest number of Christmas related street and house names – over 15,000 in total.

However, many other yuletide customs, including chestnuts, snowmen and mistletoe, have also inspired many a moniker for a British address, ranging from Mistletoe Lane in Shepton Mallet to Chestnut Brae in Craigavon.

Some of the most festive monikers for addresses include Wassail in Bodmin, Cornwall, Christmas Tree Crescent in Hockley, Essex and Elf Meadow in Cirencester, Gloucestershire.

Steve Rooney, Head of Royal Mail’s Address Management Unit, said: “Street, house and building names chiefly reflect our nation’s heritage and primary interests.

“The enduring spirit of Christmas clearly extends well past December 25 in the UK, as so many festive terms are resonant in the names of our streets and houses.”

There are over 250 ‘Christmas Cottages’ peppering the nation, and some of the more unusual festive house names include Mince Pie Cottage in Lincolnshire and Jingle Joys in Worcestershire.

York (371) and Bristol (212) house the highest number of festive-linked named homes.

Belfast Telegraph