Several of the streets in Liverpool, England, were named after slave traders. The city contemplated renaming them, including Penny Lane, the inspiration for the Beatles song. There have been rumors for a long time that the street was named after 1700s slave trader James Penny. Beatles fans want to save the name, attesting that the cultural significance of the name comes from the song. A group of historians have been looking into the origin of the street's name for ten years.
Pressure mounted to change Penny Lane’s name when Stephen Guy, a press officer for National Museums, Liverpool, suggested that it was named after the slave trader when discussing the upcoming opening of Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum. In a later press release he wrote: “I confess to helping to raise awareness about the sinister origins of perhaps Liverpool’s best-known thoroughfare. Penny Lane — immortalized by the Beatles’ song — is probably named after notorious slave trader James Penny. Like other byways named after people, Penny or his family either owned land in the area or had strong associations with it.” (Guy did not respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.)
The reaction from Beatles fans and historians was decidedly negative — due both to the area’s significance to John, Paul, Ringo and George and also the dearth of evidence that the lane was associated with the slave trade. David Bedford, author of Liddypool: Birthplace of the Beatles and Liverpool resident, is quick to interject when the media discuss the possible link. Having done extensive research on the area and its famous former residents, he extolls the significance of Penny Lane.
While the exact origin of the name Penny Lane is still a mystery, the history of the road shows evidence that it was not named for James Penny after all. Read what we know about it at Rolling Stone. -via Damn Interesting