The locations on the standard British version of the board game ''Monopoly'' are set in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and were selected in 1935 by Victor Watson, managing director of John Waddington Limited. Watson became interested in the board game after his son Norman had tried the

Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known by Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. Among its products wer ...

original US version and recommended the company produce a board for the domestic market. He took his secretary Marjory Phillips on a day-trip from the head offices in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

to London and the pair looked for suitable locations to use. The London version of the game was successful, and in 1936 it was exported to Continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, becoming the ''de facto'' standard board in the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

. It became such a success in the UK that Waddingtons ran ''Monopoly'' competitions in locations depicted on the board; one such contest was held on platforms 3 and 4 of

Fenchurch Street station Fenchurch Street railway station, also known as London Fenchurch Street, is a central London railway terminus in the southeastern corner of the City of London. It takes its name from its proximity to Fenchurch Street, a key thoroughfare in th ...

. The resulting board has been perennially popular around the world, with the chosen locations becoming familiar to millions. Tourists from as far as Canada, Singapore and Saudi Arabia have been known to visit specific locations in London because of their presence on the Monopoly board. In 2003, Watson's grandson (also called

Victor Watson Victor Hugo Watson (26 September 1928 – 25 February 2015) was a British businessman and philanthropist. He served as the Chairman of Waddingtons 1977 to 1993. Waddingtons employed over 3,000 people, mainly in Leeds, and were involved in ...

) unveiled a plaque at what is now a branch of

The Co-operative Bank The Co-operative Bank plc is a retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom, with its headquarters in Balloon Street, Manchester. The Co-operative Bank is the only UK high street bank with a customer-led Ethical Policy which is incorporat ...

, the original location of

the Angel, Islington The Angel, Islington, is a historic landmark and a series of buildings that have stood on the corner of Islington High Street and Pentonville Road in Islington, London, England. The land originally belonged to the Clerkenwell Priory and has ha ...

, to commemorate the elder Watson's contribution to British popular culture. The set has been celebrated by the ''Monopoly''

pub crawl A pub crawl (sometimes called a bar tour, bar crawl or bar-hopping) is the act of visiting multiple pubs or bars in a single session. Background Many European cities have public pub crawls that serve as social gatherings for local expatriates a ...

, which attempts to visit all the locations on the board and have a drink at a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in each one. The relative wealth of the various places has changed slightly.

Whitechapel Road Whitechapel Road is a major arterial road in Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It is named after a small chapel of ease dedicated to St Mary and connects Whitechapel High Street to the west with Mile End Road to the east. ...

is now the cheapest (as opposed to

Old Kent Road Old Kent Road is a major thoroughfare in South East London, England, passing through the London Borough of Southwark. It was originally part of an ancient trackway that was paved by the Romans and used by the Anglo-Saxons who named it Wæceli ...

) but Mayfair remains the most expensive; in 2016 an estimate by loan provider West One showed the average house price on each was £590,000 and £3,150,000 respectively. __TOC__

Locations

The final list mixes well-known landmarks with relatively obscure locations. There appears to be no specific motivation for how they were chosen; when the travel writer Tim Moore searched the Waddingtons' company archives he did not uncover any relevant documentation. The light blue set are all part of the

London Inner Ring Road The London Inner Ring Road, or Ring Road as signposted, is a route with an average diameter of formed from a number of major roads that encircle Central London. The ring road forms the boundary of the London congestion charge zone, although t ...

, this section of which opened in 1756 as the New Road. From west to east the road runs as Euston Road to King's Cross, then Pentonville Road to the Angel, Islington. The three streets in the pink (or purple) set all converge at

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

, and the red set are all adjacent to each other as part of the

A4 road This is a list of roads designated A4. A4 is the name of several roads: * A004 road (Argentina), a road connecting Buenos Aires-La Plata highway with the Juan María Gutiérrez circle * A4 motorway (Austria), a road connecting Vienna and Nickels ...

, a major road running west from Central London. The orange set is related to locations dealing with the police and law. The yellow set has an entertainment and nightlife-based theme; Leicester Square is known for cinemas and theatres,

Coventry Street Coventry Street is a short street in the West End of London, connecting Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square. Part of the street is a section of the A4, a major road through London. It is named after the politician Henry Coventry, secretar ...

for clubs and restaurants, and Piccadilly for hotels. The streets in the green set have a background in retail and commercial properties. The stations were the four London termini of the London and North Eastern Railway, principally King's Cross, which served Waddingtons' home town of Leeds. Original ''Monopoly'' boards manufactured before the

Transport Act 1947 The Transport Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6 c. 49) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under the terms of the Act, the railway network, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were nationalised and came under ...

and the nationalisation of the railways use the name "L.N.E.R." on each

title deed A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

card; later boards showed " British Railways" instead. Some elements of the US board were unchanged, leading to apparent idiosyncrasies. The police officer on Go To Jail is wearing a

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

hat, not a Metropolitan Police

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

, while the car on Free Parking has a Whitewall spare tyre, which was uncommon in the UK. The term Community Chest was a welfare support system present in the Great Depression and has not been used in Britain. :''Note: the table excludes the non-specific "Go", "Jail", "Electric Company", "Free Parking", "Water Works" and "Go To Jail" squares. Chance and Community Chest squares are also omitted.''

References

Notes Citations Sources * * * *

External links

London ''Monopoly'' Map
from

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

''Monopoly'' Board Pub Crawl website
{{featured list

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...

Monopoly (game)