Monopoly Square 8) Pall Mall

 

Aren’t word derivations fascinating? If your answer is no then you might want to skip the next few paragraphs.

Our 8^th stop on the London Monopoly Board is Pall Mall. The three properties in this pink set are linked by being thoroughfares radiating from Trafalgar Square. Whitehall is a major thoroughfare, Pall Mall and Northumberland Avenue, less so.

Pall Mall takes its name from the Italian game pallamaglio. The game was in some ways similar to croquet, because it involved hitting balls with mallets. The literal translation on the Italian is ball-mallet, and it’s clear to see how the Italian mutated into pall mall, the English name of the game. Charles II was fond of the game, which was played on a long, narrow rink, and so he had Pall Mall layed out so that he could stroll over from the nearby Palace of Whitehall for a leisurely game. Samuel Pepys mentions it in his diary, where he calls the game pell-mell. Nowadays to do something pell-mell means in a rushed and disorderly fashion. Sounds like the game would have been more unruly than croquet.

Pall Mall eventually developed with commercial properties a Gentlemen’s clubs. The name Mall thus became applied to many long, straight roads containing shops and commercial premises. From there, it’s only a small hop to applying the name to a building containing shops and outlets.

I used to think that Pall Mall and The Mall were the same place. No. The Mall is the long, wide road leading from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace and the idea of developing the road with buildings or hotels is pretty unthinkable. Maybe the fact that Pall Mall was home to some of London’s most famous and exclusive Gentlemen’s Clubs appealed to Victor Watson. Then again, maybe he was influenced by the fact that Pall Mall was, and is, the name of a well known brand of cigarette. It’s surprising how many properties on a London Monopoly Board are or have also been the names of cigarette brand. Off the top of my head, Pall Mall, Strand, Piccadilly, Bond Street, Park Lane and Mayfair have all been cigarette brands at one time or another. Not to mention Marlboro. Yes, Marlboro, a cigareetebrand which could not be more American if it tried, was actually named after Great Marlborough Street, where the Philip Morris company had its cigarette factory!