Charles Pratt, the first Earl of Camden (hence Camden Town) was also titled Viscount of Bayham. The street appears on maps as early as 1804 although, with the exception of the alms-houses built 1818, most of the period houses are Victorian.

Bayham Street is a busy one-way main road running south east from the centre of Camden Town, connecting Camden Road with Crowndale Road with Camden Town tube station at the top and Mornington Crescent at the bottom. It runs parallel to Camden High Street.

It's a mix of modern and old buildings, some commercial and some residential and flanked either side with whitebeam, ash and Norway maple trees. Terraces of four-storey period houses rub shoulders with modern developments of commercial buildings and local authority maisonettes. Some of these period houses are in good condition, others in need of refurbishment. Many have been converted into flats. The local authority housing varies also, such as large yellow-brick blocks such as Darfield, Ravenscar and Westerham offer a range of flats. Many are maisonettes with secure parking and patio gardens.

Commercial premises range from high tech to archaic, restaurants to mechanical workshops. Up until recently, one company supplying piano parts had been here since 1883, when the whole area was famous for this industry. Talking of famous, number 141 occupied the site where Charles Dickens lived (No.16,now demolished)