Whipmawhopmagate
The shortest street in York – with the longest name
What this street lacks in distance (80 metres) it makes up for in name length.
The gate part will be pretty familiar after a short time in York, as a word of Viking origin meaning "street" but the rest? There are several opinions ....
• The plaque on the wall makes it open-and-shut, as What a street!
• But a second view refers to a nearby whipping post for petty criminals in medieval times.
• Another explanation refers to a custom, whereby one day a year, dogs were whipped.
• A fourth interpretation points to a dialect version of Neither one thing nor another.
Each version is as (im-) plausible as the another; take your pick!
TIME A few minutes
Whip-ma-whop-ma-gate, Footstreets Area