THE ORIGIN OF SOME SHIRLEY STREET NAMES A map of 1830 shows a very large part of Shirley was farmland, and was owned by Arthur Atherley Esq. It is from this gentleman and his heirs that many of the streets and roads, particularly those stretching the length of Hill Lane, get their names. Male heirs were Arthur Harry Howard Atherley and Francis Henry Atherley, so we have Atherley Road, Arthur Road, Henry Road and Howard Road. Arthur H. H. Atherley married Eleanor Gertrude Lumsden, so Lumsden Avenue was named after her. The two daughters of this marriage were christened Isabel Eleanor Evelyn and Helen Myrtle Dorothy, this Evelyn Crescent and possibly Myrtle Road in Maybush as he owned land in this area also. Daughter Isabel Eleanor Evelyn married Edward Pease who came from Radway Hall, Kineton, Warwick, thus Radway Road, Kineton Road and Warwick Road as well as Edward Road. Helen Myrtle Dorothy married Edward Orlando Kellett, hence the name for Kellett Road. The Atherley family residence was Landguard Manor, Shanklin, Isle of Wight, so Landguard Road, Shanklin Road, Luccombe Road and Pentire Avenue are all Isle of Wight place names. Melrose Road was named after a large house situated at the junction of Hill Lane and Winchester Road, which was a boarding school for young gentlemen. The playing fields stretched as far as Misselbrook & Westons in Winchester Road. The manor of Hill which gives Hill Lane its name must have been very picturesque until around the 1900s when large houses were being built. Upper Shirley developed in the 1930s. Most of the length of Hill Lane prior to the 1900s was farmland and smallholdings. In 1886, Edward Stafford Howard, of Thornbury Castle in Gloucester, and William Erasmus Darwin - together with Walter Joy of Cockroads Farm (in Hill Lane) and Francis Henry Atherley - indentured to build six houses in Hill Lane just above the Bellemoor Inn. This terrace of cottages survives today and is known as Atherfield Cottages. From the combination of these people we have been given the names of Stafford Road, Thornbury Avenue and Darwin Road. -- Taken from "Shirley - a series of personal reminiscences" published 1984 --
Posted on: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 18:49:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015