Buckwell Street

The original Buckwell Street ran from what is now the middle of Bretonside Bus Station to the top of Looe Street. In the post-war re-development of the area it was restyled and restructured to embrace what was once known as high Street and now runs as far as Notte Street. The original street was undoubtedly one of Plymouth's oldest and the name is one of several in the area that comes from one of the wells in use prior to the days of Drake's leat bringing fresh water into the town. There wa Westwell Street and there still is Finewell and Buckwell street. The name of each appears quite logically to say something about the well and its significance; in the case of the Buckwell it has been suggested that this was "notorious as a place were women washed or bucked their clothes in the water that came from the well".

The word buck has, over the years, been used in many senses in this context including as a verb (to wash or buck), as a noun, (a washing tub), or even in another instance as a quantity of clothes, cloth or yarn put through the process of bucking.

EH 29 October 1994