In trendy Islington in North London is Almeida Street.
Almeida Street and connected Almeida Passage are named after the Portuguese town of Almeida, which lies close to the border with Spain. Almeida’s location has made it open to invasion over the centuries, and resulted in the construction in 1641 of a 12 pointed star fortress, which stands even today.
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It was seized in July 1810 by Napoleon, but following his battle at Bussaco (some 100 miles west of Almeida) in September 1810 with Britain’s Duke of Wellington, Napoleon withdrew from Portugal via Spain back into to France. He was to meet Wellington again for the last time in Belgium at the Battle of Waterloo on 6th June 1815. 2015 is of course the 200th anniversary of that event.
In Almeida Street stands the remarkable Almeida Theatre, which simply takes its name from the street in which it stands. ‘Napier Terrace’ (General Sir Charles James Napier served with Wellington in Portugal) and ‘Waterloo Terrace’ are nearby.
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