What is "eia"

Eia or Eye was a Medieval manor in Middlesex and now part of Central London. A smaller manor called Ebury or Eybury, and the village of Eye Cross, were originally part of the manor of Eia – and derive their names from it. Both Ebury and a corruption of it, Avery, can still be found in the names of local streets and other places.

The broader area covered by the original manor of Eia included much of the present SW1 postcode area, including: Hyde Park (which dates from 1536), the grounds of Buckingham Palace (1703) and Belgravia, a country road known later as Park Lane and most parts of Mayfair, Pimlico, and Knightsbridge.

The name Eia is believed to have originated as a latinisation of the Anglo-Saxon toponym eyai, which means "island", in reference to a marsh that once dominated the area.