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Roads J - Y

Road Name

Area

 Date

Grid Ref.

Person/ Place

Reason

Notes

Jackson Road

 

Hillmorton, off Coton Road

1962

 

SP 541740

William Jackson (died Nov 1758)

He was the vicar of St John the Baptist from 1747 to 1759, thereby benefitting when enclosure in Hillmorton took place in 1754.

Jackson Road is one of a small group of roads in Hillmorton that were named after former vicars of St John the Baptist.

James Street

Town Centre, off Albert Street

1851

SP 505758

James Richardson (25 Aug 1827 - 31 Aug 1827)

His mother, Mrs Anne Richardson (1791 - 1861) owned the land on which the street was made.

She inherited considerable land in 1828 on the death of her husband, James Richardson snr.  James jun. was her youngest son. See also Albert Street.

Jenkins Road

 

Hillmorton, off Featherbed Lane

1961

 

SP 531743

 

William Henry Jenkins (1874-1956) ~ He was usually referred to as W H Jenkins.

 

He had been the vicar of St John the Baptist from 1919 to 1927.

During his time at Hillmorton he had also been for three years a representative on the Rugby Board of Guardians and on Rugby RDC.

Jenkins Road is one of a small group of roads in Hillmorton that were named after former vicars of St John the Baptist.

After Hillmorton and then 13 years as vicar of Granby, Notts, he was appointed in 1940 as Rector of Yelvertoft, Northants until his retirement in 1953 to Barnstone Manor, nr Nottingham.

Johnson Avenue

 

New Bilton, off Addison Road.

 

1920

 

SP 489748

 

James Johnson (1850-1923)

 

He was elected to the Rugby Rural District Council 1n 1894 and was its chairman from 1907 until he retired in 1922.

He was of independent means who had taken up farming as a hobby.

 

John Thwaites Close

off Firs Drive

1981

SP 500748

John A Thwaites (1931 - 79)

He was the first Chief Executive of Rugby Borough Council following its re-organisation in 1974.

He moved to Rugby in 1970 as deputy town clerk. He died in a road accident.

Joyce Way

Cawston, off Stonehall Road

2002

SP 474739

Joyce Boughton (d. 1678)

Joyce was the wife of Edward Boughton (d. 1642), grandson of the Edward Boughton (d. 1589) who built Cawston Hall about 1585.

Ownership of Cawston Hall appeared to have descended by inheritance to Joyce’s husband, Edward, and then to their son, William, who was baptised in 1623 and died in 1663.

Jubilee Street

 

New Bilton, off Lawford Road

 

1900

 

SP 498754

 

The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.

 

The sixtieth anniversary of Queen Victoria's reign in 1897 was widely celebrated.

Due to the length of her reign, Queen Victoria is frequently commemorated by the naming of streets.

Judge Close

Long Lawford, off Chapel Street

2020

SP 471762

Ernest Keith Judge (1929-2020). He was known as Keith Judge.

Keith Judge was a member of Long Lawford Parish Council and Rugby Borough Council from 1973. He was appointed Mayor of Rugby Borough for 1980-81.

He was a builder by occupation.

Judith Way

Cawston, off Stonehall Road

2002

SP 473739

Judith Boughton (bapt 1713)

Judith was one of the co-heirs of Edward Boughton of Lawford (d. 1739), who in 1707 had inherited the Manor of Cawston from Francis Boughton (1642-1707).

Judith inherited that part of the Manor which contained Cawston Hall and probably sold it to John, 2nd Duke of Montagu (1st creation) and known as John the Planter (1690-1749), about 1744.

Juliet Drive

 

Bilton, Woodlands Estate, off Alwyn Road

 

1967

SP 485725

 

Juliet Capulet

 

She is one of the central characters in Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) in about 1595. (see also Capulet Close.)

 

When the Woodlands Estate was laid out in 1964 the Council selected road names "having regard to the quarter centenary of Shakespeare's birth" in 1564. There is also a Juliet who has a smaller role in Measure for Measure, as the wife of Claudio.

Juniper Way

Brownsover, off Magnolia Avenue

2018

SP 508780

Common Juniper, Juniperus communii.

The common juniper is an evergreen conifer, native to the UK and across Europe. Juniper berries are used to flavour the alcoholic drink. gin.

The roads in the area of Brownsover off Lower Lodge Avenue, to the west of Leicester Road, have been named after trees that can be seen in Britain.

Kalfs Drive

Cawston, off Gold Avenue

2004

SP 476735

Kalf is believed to have been the Saxon farmer after whom Calvestone was originally named. 

see also Calvestone Road

 

Kay Close

 

Brownsover, off Stonehills

 

1972

SP 513772

 

Herbert Samuel Kay (1878-1966) MBE

 

He was headmaster of Long Lawford County School (1906-39). He received his MBE for services to the National Savings movement. He had also been chairman of the Rugby Divisional Education Executive.

Kay Close is one of a small group of roads In Brownsover that were named after former head teachers in the Borough.

When St Matthew's Senior School closed in the early 1960s, it moved to a new school in Lawford Lane, Bilton, the Herbert Kay High School for Boys. Following its merger with the adjoining Westland Girls Secondary School in 1977, it became known as Bilton School.

Kennedy Drive

Bilton, Admirals Estate, off Cornwallis Road

1990s

SP 482749

Sir William Robert  Kennedy, GCB,  (1838 - 1916)

Admiral, RN (1901)

He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies in 1892 and Commander-in-Chief, The Nore in 1900.

Keppel Close

Bilton, Admirals Estate, off Frobisher Road

1961

SP 482744

Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel (1725 - 86)

Vice Admiral, RN (1770 - 79)

He was with Anson on his renowned voyage around the world. He was 1st Lord of the Admiralty (1782 - 83). HMS Keppel, a RN destroyer named after Viscount Keppel, was adopted by the town of Rugby during WW2.

Keswick Drive

 

Brownsover, off Newton Manor Lane

 

1994

SP 514776

 

Keswick, Cumbria

 

Keswick is a market town, just north of Derwentwater and about 4 miles from Bassenthwaite. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 4,821.

 

Keswick Drive is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

Keswick was associated with the poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey who wrote about the scenic beauty of the area.

Keyes Drive

Bilton, Admirals Estate, off Cornwallis Road

1990s

SP 483749

Roger John Brownlow Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes (1872 - 1945)

Admiral of the Fleet, RN (1930 - 31)

Became Director of Operations, 1940 to 1941.

Kilworth Road

 

Hillmorton, off Bucknill Crescent

 

1938

SP 536734

 

John Killworth (1832-1926)

 

John Killworth was a member of the Rugby RDC (1898-1919) and the Rugby Board of Guardians (1898-1926). He had also been a parish councillor and a trustee of the Little Church Close Charity.

He worked for 32 years as a blacksmith for the Oxford Canal Company. He then purchased a small farm and in his later life, assisted his wife with their grocer's shop.

 

Kilworth Road was one road of a Hillmorton estate laid out in 1937 by the Borough Council. This group of roads were all given names after people or organisations associated with the village.

Although the name of the road is spelt as 'Kilworth' suggesting it was named after the villages in South Leicestershire, it is believed this spelling to be an error as several of the roads in that part of Hillmorton have been named after prominent local individuals.

Kimberley Road

 

off Wood Street

 

1902

 

SP 507759

 

Kimberley, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

 

Originally a major diamond mining town, Kimberley was beseiged by the Boers from October 14, 1899 during the second Boer War until it was relieved by the Cavalry of Major General John French (1852-1925) on February 15, 1900.

Kimberley Road was built on land formerly part of the parish glebe.

Today, Kimberley City is the seat of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature and Administration.

 

King Edward Road

off Wood Street

1904

SP 506758

King Edward VII (1841-1910)

 

He was the reigning monarch (1901-10) at the time the road was opened.

 

In 1904 King Edward Road was laid out between Wood Street and Manor Road on land purchased by the Rugby Land Society from the Lodge Estate. It was later extended to Albert Street.

Kingsley Avenue

Hillmorton, off Hillmorton Road

1930

SP 525740

Kingsley Avenue, Daventry.

The developer of this small estate, William Henry Adams (1874-1934), named this road after the road in Daventry where he lived before coming to Rugby.

This information was provided by Cedric Thomas Adams, the son of the developer, in his letter to the Rugby Advertiser dated 11 August 1983.

Kingsway

Rugby, Rokeby Estate, off Dunchurch Road

1938

SP 500740

The reason why the name 'Kingsway' was chosen for this road is unknown.

It is presumed that Kingsway was named after the road of the same name in London, which contains the Head Office of the English Electric Company, which at that time was one of Rugby's largest employers.

The name has no apparent association with other road names on the Rokeby Estate.

Kinman Way

Rugby, off Projects Drive

1997

SP 511768

Thomas Hilary Kinman MBE, AMIEE, MIRE (1894-1981)

T H Kinman was awarded his MBE for his work on the design of RADAR systems at the BTH, Rugby.

He joined the BTH Research Laboratory at its inception in 1924, and was head of its high frequency engineering section.

Kinman Way was built on the former GEC/BTH factory site, having been sold off for development in about 1990.

Kirkby Road

Hillmorton, off Millfields Avenue

1940

SP 526740

Adeliza Adams, née Kirkby (1870-1953)

The developer of this small estate, William Henry Adams (1874-1934), named this road after the maiden name of his wife,

This information was provided by Cedric Thomas Adams, the son of the developer, in his letter to the Rugby Advertiser dated 11 August 1983.

Kirkby Close

 

Brownsover, off Charwelton Drive

 

1993

SP 520768

 

Kirkby-in-Furness, Cumbria

 

Kirkby-in-Furness is a village about 5 km south of Broughton in Furness and about 8 km northwest of Ulverston.

It is part of the civil parish of Kirkby Ireleth and is just within the border of the Lake District National Park.

Kirkby Close is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 1,174.

 

Kirkistown Close

Rugby, off Projects Drive

2012

SP 509770

Kirkistown Motor Racing Circuit, Kircubbin, County Down.

Kirkistown Motor Racing Circuit hosts racing of motor cars, motor cycles and trucks.

Kirkistown Close is one of the roads near to and off Projects Drive that are named after motor sport venues in the UK.

Kirkstone

 

Brownsover, off Ambleside

1980

SP 518773

 

Kirkstone Pass, Cumbria.

 

Kirkstone Pass is a mountain pass at an altitude of 1,489 feet (454 m). It connects Ambleside in the Rothay valley to Patterdale in the Ullswater valley. It is the highest pass in the Lake District.

Kirkstone is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

Near the summit of the pass is the Kirkstone Pass Inn, the third highest public house in England

Ladysmock

Brownsover, off Cornflower Drive

1998

SP 516779

Lady's Smock, Cardamine pretensis - often known as cuckoo flower.

Lady's smock is a springtime perennial of damp grasses like wet meadows, ditches and river banks as well as roadside verges. Its distribution in the UK is widespead.

Ladysmock is one of a group of roads in Brownsover adjoining the north of Newton Manor Lane centered around Campion Way, that are named after wild plants that can be seen in the British Isles.

The lady's smock is native to most of Europe and western Asia.

Landseer Close

Lower Hillmorton, off Constable Road

1966

SP 537740

Sir Edwin Henry Landseer RA (1802 – 73)

English painter and sculptor

Well known for his paintings of animals—particularly horses, dogs and stags. Best known as the sculptor of the lions in Trafalgar Square, London.

Langdale Close

 

Brownsover, off Foxons Barn Road

 

1973

SP 514770

 

Great Langdale valley, Cumbria

 

Great Langdale valley, usually known simply as Langdale, stretches from Ambleside through Elterwater to the National Trust owned Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. It is a popular location for outdoor enthusiasts who are attracted by the many fells around the head of the valley.

 

Langdale Close is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

There is also an adjoining valley known as Little Langdale.

The highest fell in Langdale is Bow Fell that reaches a height of 2,960 feet (see also Bow Fell). On the northern side of Langdale are also a group of peaks known as the Langdale Pikes, several of which reach a height of over 2,200 feet.

Langton Road

 

off Hillmorton Road

 

1920

SP 520741

 

John Allibone Langton (1842 - 1918)

 

John Allibone Langton was a landed gentleman whose properties included a farm of about 105 acres between Rugby and Hillmorton. Langton Road was laid out by the Rugby Land Society on part of the farm..

He made several donations to charity in his will, including £1000 each to St John's Church, Hillmorton, and St Cross Hospital. In 1876 he changed his name by deed from John Allibone to John Allibone Langton. Langton was the maiden name of his deceased mother, Mary.

Lawford Road

off Corporation Street

see ‘Reason’ column

SP 500750

This is on the route of the ancient track that joined Rugby and Church Lawford.

It was part of a longer track that ran parallel with the River Avon from the Fosse Way to Watling Street.

In the Domesday Book, Church Lawford is referred to as ‘Leileforde’. The meaning of this Old English name is probably ‘ford of  a man called Lealla (Leile)’.

This road attained prominence about 1870 with the establishment of the cement works and the subsequent development of New Bilton.

Lawrence Road

 

off Eastlands Road

 

1926

SP 516752

 

Lawrence Sheriff (c1515 - 67)
see also 'Biographies' section of this website.

He founded Rugby School in 1567.

It is presumed that this road is another reminder of this famous Rugbeian. (see also Lawrence Sheriff Street.)

Lawrence Sheriff Street

Town Centre, off Warwick Street

See ‘notes’ column

SP 502750

Lawrence Sheriff (c1515 - 67)

see also 'Biographies' section of this website.

He founded Rugby School in 1567 which now stands on Lawrence Sheriff Street.

In the 19th century this street was described as the "King's Highway"; it later was known as School Street before being given its present name in the mid 19th century.

Unusually, it has no street name signs, so it is unclear to the casual observer that Lawrence Sheriff Street extends from Drury Lane to Little Church Street.

Lea Crescent

Newbold, off Parkfield Road

1951

SP 482764

Reginald Stephen Lea MA (1846 - 1925)

In 1904 he donated to the town its first purpose built, horse drawn ambulance. It was named the 'Mary Wood' ambulance after his childhood nurse.

He was headmaster (1876 - 86) of the Oakfield Preparatory School in Bilton Road & a lieutenant in the Rugby Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Lee Drive

Houlton, off Pinetree Way

2019

SP 558736

Sir Albert George Lee OBE, MC, BSc, MIEE, (1879-1967).

He became a Knight Batchelor in 1937.

Sir Albert Lee helped with the design of the first transmitters at Rugby Radio Station and the development of long distancew radio-telephony. He later became the Engineer-in-Chief of the Post Office from 1932 to 1939.

The streets of Houlton have been named after people, events and equipment associated with the former Rugby Radio Station.

Lennon Close

 

Hillmorton, off Crick Road

 

1975

 

SP 545734

 

Ernest Patrick Lennon (1889-1965)

 

He had been a member of the Borough Council from 1938 to 1961.

He was also the head of Lennon Bros. Ltd, a local firm of wholesale tobacco distributors.

Lestock Close

Bilton, Admirals Estate, off Cornwallis Road

1961

SP 490746

Richard Lestock, (1679 - 1746)

Admiral, RN (1796)

Richard Lestock was involved in the defeat of the RN at the Battle of Toulon (1744).

Lever Road

 

Hillmorton. off Coton Road

 

1963

 

SP 538741

 

Robert Lever MA (1849-1929)

 

Robert Lever was the vicar of St John the Baptist from 1889 to 1919.

He had been also at one time a member of Rugby RDC and Hillmorton Parish Council.

Lever Road is one of a small group of roads in Hillmorton that were named after former vicars of St John the Baptist.

Lime Tree Avenue

Biltom, off Alwyn Road

1950

SP 481735

Common Lime, Tilia x europaea

The common lime is a hybrid between the small-leaved lime Tilia cordata, and the large-leaved lim Tilia platyphylio.

Although the common lime does now occur naturally in the UK, so can be considered a UK native. it has been widely planted alongside roads and in parks.

This road was so named because it originally formed a drive way lined with lime trees to Cawston House. Part of the avenue has since been lined with private residences.

Lindale

 

Brownsover, off Hollowell Way

 

1977

SP 516775

 

Lindale village, Cumbria

 

Lindale is traditionally known as Lindale in Cartmel. It is located in the civil parish of Allithwaite Upper in the South Lakeland district of the Lake District, and lies north of Grange-over-Sands on the north eastern edge of Morecambe Bay.

 

Lindale is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

Lindale's most famous resident was John "Iron-Mad" Wilkinson (1728-1808), an ironmaster and industrialist. In the late 1770s he bought Castlehead Hill at Lindale where he built a mansion and improved 1,000 acres of nearly worthless moss land so that crops could be grown. He was buried at Castlehead where a cast iron obelisk still stands in his memory.

Linnell Road

Hillmorton, Abbott's Farm Estate, off Lower Hillmorton Road

1956

SP 528744

William Henry Linnell (1850 - 1928)

He was chairman of Rugby UDC (1907 - 09)

His occupation was a builder.

Little Church Street

Town centre, off Lawrence Sheriff Street

See ‘notes’ column

SP 504750

St Andrew's Church

This street gave direct access to the parish church from the Hillmorton Road & Barby Road

The street features in a plan of 15th century Rugby, when it was known as 'Old Town Street'.

Little Elborow Street

off Corporation Street

1835

SP 501751

Richard Elborowe jun (c1645 - 1707)

Local benefactor & Freeman of City of London who founded in Rugby the Elborow charity school & almshouses.

The site of this street was owned in the 17th cen by Richard Elborowe and in the early 19th cen by Dr R R Bloxam (1765-1840), an assistant master at Rugby School (1791-1827), who sold it for residential development.

Little Pennington Street

off Plowman Street

1835 – 1845

SP 498751

This street is reputedly named after Mrs Rebecca Pennington.

In 1748 she sold to Rugby School the Old Mansion House and adjoining land that became the site of the present School House.

The Old Mansion House had previously been purchased about 1720 by Mrs Pennington’s father, Henry Plowman of Northampton, from the Burnaby family who had been Lords of the Manor of Rugby from 1594 to 1720.

Livingstone Avenue

Long Lawford, off Coventry Road

1938

SP 466757

James Livingston (1867-1935)

In addition to having been a member of the Rugby Rural District Council, James Livingston had been chairman of the Long Lawford parish council for many years. He became a farmer in Long Lawford when he moved south from Scotland in 1895.

The original 34 houses in this road were erected by the Land Settlement Association Ltd to provide homes for re-settled unemployed workers from depressed industrial areas of Britain.

The road name has always been spelt with a final 'e', contrary to way that James Livingston's name was spelt.

Liza Court

 

Brownsover, off Ennerdale

 

1987

SP 514775

 

River Liza, Cumbria

 

The Liza is a Lake District river that flows from its source on Great Gable through Ennerdale valley into Ennerdale Water.

Liza Court is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

Lodge Road

 

off Manor Road

 

1903

 

SP 505757

 

The Lodge

The Lodge was a house situated in what is now Caldecott Park and was the home of the last Lord of the Manor of Rugby, Thomas Caldecott (1798-1875). It had been built about 1720 by the Boughton family, when the former Manor House in Lawrence Sheriff Street was sold to Henry Plowman of Northampton (see also Plowman Street).

Lodge Road was laid out by The Rugby Land Society on the part of the Lodge Estate that they purchased from the Miss Harris sisters, two grand-daughters of Thomas Caldecott by his daughter, Ellen Harris (1832-62).

Longrood Road

Bilton, off Bawnmore Road

1934

SP 487733

Longrood House

Longrood was a large house that was originally built in a rural setting. It adjoined Longrood Farm.

The entrance to Longrood House was off Bawnmore Road between the present junctions with Beswick Gardens and Longrood Road.

Loverock Crescent

Hillmorton, Abbott's Farm Estate, off Lower Hillmorton Road

1956

SP 524745

Lewis Loverock (1858 - 1932)

He was a chairman of the Rugby UDC (1912 - 14 & 1921 - 23). He was also an Alderman of the Warwickshire County Council (1923 – 1932). At his death he was the Deputy Charter Mayor of Rugby and had been offered the position of first Mayor of Rugby.

His occupation was a draper. At his death he was chairman of Rugby Gas Company and was also a governor of Lawrence Sheriff School.

His father was George Loverock (1832 - 98), also a draper and a member of the UDC.

Lower Hillmorton Road

Rugby, off Clifton Road

 

SP 509751

It was one of two historic routes between Rugby and the village of Hillmorton

The road led to the low lying Domesday village of Moreton.

In medieval times Moreton became known as Hillmorton when it was merged with the hamlet or village of Hulle that had grown up on the higher land to the south of Moreton.

(see also Hillmorton Road.)

Luke Jeayes Close

Cawston, off Trustees Close

2020

SP 474732

Luke Jeayes (1810-81)

Luke Jeayes was Master of Elborow School (1844-52). He oversaw many improvements to the school's facilities. Following his retirement from the School, he went on to to be prominent in the local government and commercial lives of the town, most notably as a coal merchant, the Secretary of the Rugby Provident Permanent Benefit Building Society and the Parish Clerk.

The names of the roads adjoining Elborow Way, Cawston, are all associated with the Elborow Charity School, the 'second oldest school in Rugby'.

Lydden Close

Rugby, off Oulton Road

2009

SP 509768

Lydden Hill Race Circuit, Wooton, Kent.

This small circuit is mainly used for rallycross, drift, saloon and sports car racing, as well as motor cycle racing.

Lydden Close is one of the roads near to and off Projects Drive that are named after motor sport venues in the UK.

Lytham Road

 

Bilton, off Bilton Road

 

1938

SP 489744

 

Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire.

 

This road was named after one of their favourite golf courses by the builder, David Mitchell and his associates.

(see also St Annes Road)

The Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club was founded in 1886 and the present course constructed in 1897. It is one of the world's premier links courses, having hosted many major tournaments including eleven open championships.

Macaulay Road

off Shakespeare Gardens

1959

SP 494734

Thomas Babington Macaulay, (1800 – 59), Baron Macaulay of Rothley, Leicestershire.

See also ‘Notes’ section.

He was a historian, essayist and poet. He was also a Whig politician who became a Member of Parliament for most of 1830 – 1856. During that time he held office as Secretary of War (1839 – 41) and Paymaster-General (1846 – 48).

Possibly best known for his “History of England from the accession of James II”. The fifth and last volume, taking it to the death of William III in 1702, was completed and published posthumously by his sister.

He is buried in the Poets Corner of Westminster Abbey.

Alternatively Macaulay Road was named after Dame (Emilie) Rose Macaulay DBE (1881 – 1958), novelist. She was born in Rugby, the second of the seven children of George Campbell Macaulay (1852–1915), assistant master at Rugby School. Among her Macaulay antecedents was Thomas B. Macaulay, a first cousin of her paternal grandfather. Her family moved from Rugby in 1887.

She was made a DBE in 1958.

Macbeth Close

 

Bilton, Woodlands Estate, off Cymbeline Way

 

1966

SP 492726

 

Macbeth

 

Macbeth is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) in about 1606. In it Macbeth murders Duncan the King of Scotland and takes the throne himself.

When the Woodlands Estate was laid out in 1964 the Council selected road names "having regard to the quarter centenary of Shakespeare's birth" in 1564.

 

Madden Place

Bilton, Admirals Estate, off Cornwallis Road

1990s

SP 483749

Sir Charles Edward Madden, 1st Baronet, (1862 - 1935)

Admiral of the Fleet, RN (1924 - 30)

His son was also an admiral in the RN.

Madigan Close

Houlton, off Maine Street

2018

SP 552738

Madigan Street, Houlton, Maine, USA.

The first trans-Atlantic telephony signals from Rugby Radio Station were received in the USA at Houlton, Maine.

The streets of Houlton have been named after people, events and equipment associated with the former Rugby Radio Station.

Magnet Lane

Bilton, off Main Street

1921

SP 482736

‘The Magnet’ coffee room.

The Magnet coffee room had been set up in Bilton in 1875 by the Reverend Richard Orme Assheton MA (1836 – 1909), a noted member of the temperance movement, in an attempt to ‘draw’ working men away from the public houses of the village.

The Reverend Richard Orme Assheton was the Rector of St Mark’s Church, Bilton, (1862 – 95).

Magnolia Avenue

Brownsover, off Lower Lodge Avenue

2015

SP 509781

The magnolia is a large genus of flowering trees.

Various species of the magnolia have been introduced into the UK as ornamental trees or shrubs.

The roads in the area of Brownsover off Lower Lodge Avenue, to the west of Leicester Road, have been named after trees that can be seen in Britain.

Maine Street

Houlton, off Houlton Way

2018

SP 552738

Maine State, USA

The first trans-Atlantic telephony signals from Rugby Radio were received in the USA at Houlton, Maine.

The streets of Houlton have been named after people, events and equipment associated with the former Rugby Radio Station.

Mallow Way

Brownsover, off Campion Way

1997

SP 516777

Common Mallow, Malva sylvestris

Common mallow is part of a large family of Malvaceae plants. It can be found throughout the UK but is especially common in Wales and southern England. It grows on roadside verges, along footpaths, and on waste ground.

Mallow Way is one of a group of roads in Brownsover adjoining the north of Newton Manor Lane, centered around Campion Way. They are named after wild plants that can be seen in the British Isles.

Common mallow is native to Europe and Asia.

Manning Walk

Rugby, within Central Shopping Centre

N/A

SP 503752

William Arthur Manning (1896-1990)

Mr Manning was Mayor of Rugby (1954-55) and was a member of Rugby Borough Council (1945-74). He was also on Warwickshire County Council (1955-74).

Mr Manning worked in engineering (1910-28) and then was employed by the Rugby Co-operative Society.

As Manning Walk is within the Central Shopping Centre, it has no residents.

Manor Road

 

Rugby, off Park Road

 

1903

 

SP 504758

 

Thomas Caldecott 1798-1875)

 

Manor Road was so named because it was built on the former Lodge Estate, the home of Thomas Caldecott, the last Lord of the Manor of Rugby (1826-1875).

 

Manor Road was laid out by The Rugby Land Society on the part of the Lodge Estate that they purchased from the Miss Harris sisters, two grand-daughters of Thomas Caldecott by his daughter, Mrs Ellen Harris (1832-62).

Maple Grove

Rugby, off Lancaster Road

c 1915

SP 503758

The maple tree (Genus: Acer)

It is said to have been named so because the pavement was originally lined with Maple trees

See also Acacia, Poplar & Sycamore Groves.

Market Place

Rugby Town centre

See ‘notes’ column

SP 503752

Street market

This is at the historic centre of the town. Street markets were held in Market Place until April 1953, when they were moved to Church Street.

Prior to the end of the 17th cen. a market cross stood near to the site of the present clock tower and the site was known The Cross.

Market Street

Between Railway Terrace and Bath Street.

c 1903

SP 508755

Rugby Cattle Market

Believed to be so named because of its proximity to the then site of the cattle market.  (See also the entry for Sheep Street).

The cattle market was moved to a site near to the railway station when the lease on Reynolds Field expired in 1878. The market remained there until May 2008 when it was closed and the business moved to Stoneleigh Park near Leamington.

Matlock Close

 

Brownsover, off Stonehills

 

1975

SP 511770

 

Matlock, Derbyshire.

 

Matlock is the county town of Derbyshire. It is nine miles south west of Chesterfield.

Matlock is just outside the south eastern boundary of the Peak District National Park. The civil parish of Matlock Town had a population of 9,543 in the 2011 Census.

McKinnell Crescent

Hillmorton, Abbott's Farm Estate, off Loverock Crescent

1965

SP 534745

James Jesse McKinnell CBE (1869 - 1950)

JP for Warwickshire; Chairman of Rugby UDC (1914 - 19); County Councillor (1917 - 21); Mayor of Rugby (1932 - 34)

He was born In Rugby and had a grocery shop at 27 Sheep Street, Rugby, until his retirement about 1927.

Meadowsweet

Brownsover, off Cornflower Drive

1998

SP 515772

Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria

Meadowsweet is a perennial herb, a member of the Rosaceae (rose) family. It is common throughout the British Isles in damp habitats.

Meadowsweet is one of a group of roads in Brownsover adjoining the north of Newton Manor Lane, centered around Campion Way, that are named after wild plants that can be seen in the British Isles.

Mellor Road

Hillmorton, off Lower Street

1961

SP 538738

James Henry Mellor (1863-1951)

Mr Mellor was Mayor of Rugby (1940-42), having been continuously from 1920 a member of the former Rugby Urban District Council and its successor, Rugby Borough Council. He was also a JP from 1933 and for a short time a member of Warwickshire County Council.

Mr Mellor was born in Glossop, Derbyshire. In Rugby he was employed at Messrs Willan and Robinson for eight years and later he became chief clerk of the lamp sales department of the BTH.

He was a prominent Methodist, and had been a preacher for 65 years.

Merlin Close

Brownsover, off Coton Park Drive

2001

SP 513778

Merlin, Falco columbarius

The merlin is a smallish falcon that breeds throughout Britain where there is open country, particularly moorland. It also winters in Britain, generally moving from its summer range to lower coastal areas.

The roads off Cpton Park Drive, Brownsover, have been named after British birds.

Merttens Drive

Rugby, off Bilton Road

1964

SP 499749

Frederick Merttens (1849-1935)

He was a philanthropist and active promoter of Adult Education. He presented the Merttens’ Playing Field in Bilton Road to Warwickshire County Council for the use of local children. When the drive leading to the playing field was later made up by the County Council after the building of Brooke School, it was named after Mr Merttens.

Frederick Merttens was born in Germany. He established in Manchester a successful export business in textiles. Having earlier retired from business through ill-health, he came to Rugby in 1905. He took an active part in the affairs of the town, including being a Justice of the Peace for Warwickshire, and a member of the Board of Management of St Cross Hospital.

Merynton Close

Newbold, off Parkfield Road

2021

SP 490770

John de Merynton

John de Merynton was a tenant farmer of Newbold Grange in the fourteenth century.

In 1333, John de Merynton forcibly enclosed land ('la grene') in front of the grange for his own use that previously other tenants, great and small, had grazing rights.

Mica Close

Rugby, off Hopps Lodge Close.

2006

SP 515750

Micas are a group of silicate minerals.

Mica is widely used in industry to form ceramics with good electrical and heat resistance. An important use of Mica ceramic is as an insulator in sparking plugs for the motor and aircraft industries.

Mica Close is one of three residential roads that were erected on the former site of the Lodge Plugs factory in St Peters Road when Morgan Matroc Ltd moved production to a new factory in Central Park Drive, Brownsover.

Millbeck

 

Brownsover, off Dunnerdale

 

1984

 

SP 517774

 

Millbeck, Cumbria

 

Millbeck, by the slopes of Skiddaw, is a small hamlet about 3 miles north of Keswick, between Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwent Water

Millbeck is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

 

Millers Dale Close

 

Brownsover, off Hollowell Way

 

1975

SP 551773

 

Millers Dale, Derbyshire

 

Millers Dale is a valley in Derbyshire’s River Wye. It is a popular beauty spot about 1½ miles south of the town of Tideswell.

 

Millers Dale Close is one of the roads in Brownsover that has been named after places or features in the Peak District of Derbyshire.

Features of Millers Dale are the former Midland Railway viaducts and tunnels which now form part of the Monsal Trail for walkers and cyclists.

Millfields Avenue

Hillmorton, off Kingsley Avenue

1931

SP 520740

Hillmorton Windmill

The name Millfields was derived by the developer, William Henry Adams, from the windmill that formerly stood on the nearby mound in the Hillmorton Recreation Ground.

This information was provided by Cedric Thomas Adams, the son of the developer, in his letter to the Rugby Advertiser dated 11 August 1983.

Mill Road

off Murray Road

 

SP 512760

It is the name given to the historic lane leading to Brownsover watermill from Rugby town.

 

Mill Road led to the water mill at Brownsover. It originally ran north from Craven Road to the mill and was known until about 1901 as Brownsover Mill Road.

When a through connection with Murray Road was established in about 1905, the part of Brownsover Mill Road south of the station was renamed as Murray Road.

Milnerton Close

Houlton, off Maxwell Road

2017

SP 555736

Milnerton, Cape Town, South Africa

Milnerton was the receiving station in South Africa for the Short Wave Telephone service from Rugby Radio Station.

The streets of Houlton have been named after people, events and equipment associated with the former Rugby Radio Station.

Monks Close

Cawston, off Calvestone Road

2004

SP 475735

The monks of Pipewell Abbey.

The monks of Pipewell, a Cistercian abbey near Kettering in Northamptonshire possessed several granges in the vicinity of Dunchurch, with Cawston being the most valuable

Pipewell Abbey was established in 1143 by William Butevilain.

Montague Road

 

Bilton, Woodlands Estate, off Juliet Drive

1968

SP 485725

 

The Montague family of Verona, Italy.

 

"Romeo and Juliet" is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) about 1595. In it Romeo, a Montague, is one of the two lovers whose death reconciles the Capulets with their sworn enemies the Montagues. (see also Capulet Close.)

When the Woodlands Estate was laid out in 1964 the Council selected road names "having regard to the quarter centenary of Shakespeare's birth" in 1564.

 

Montgomery Drive

Bilton, off Nelson Way

1949

SP 481740

Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KGGCBDSOPC (1887 – 1976)

He served in the British Army from 1908 to 1958. He followed his success in defeating Rommel’s Panzer Corps in North Africa by being one of the outstanding Allied commanders in World War II and was appointed Field Marshal in 1944.

He commenced his career with the Ist Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment with whom he served in France in the WW1 until he was injured. Among his other appointments between the world wars was as Company Commander of the Regiment.

Following WWII, his commands included being Chief of the Imperial General Staff (1946 – 1948) and Deputy Supreme Commander, Europe, of NATO (1951–58).

Montrose Road

Rokeby Estate, off Kingsway

1938

SP 501740

The reason behind this street name is not known uncertain.

As the names chosen for most of the roads on the Rokeby Estate have clear associations with the family of R H Wood who owned the land on which the roads were built, ‘Montrose’ probably also has a family connection.

It has been speculated that ‘Montrose’ is a combination of the ‘Mont’ in Belmont Road and the ‘Rose’ in Rosewood Avenue (qv).

Morson Crescent

Hillmorton, Abbott's Farm Estate, off Loverock Crescent

1956

SP 524748

Arthur Morson MBE (1859 - 1931)

He was chairman of the Rugby UDC (1905 - 07); he later became clerk to the UDC (1907 - 27).

 In 1918he was one of the first members of the newly founded Order of the British Empire.

Mosedale

 

Brownsover, off Junewood Close

 

1988

 

SP 520773

 

Mosedale, Cumbria

 

Mosedale is a hamlet in the north of the Lake District National Park. It is on the River Caldew, about one mile north of Mungrisdale.

 

Mosedale is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

Mosedale, together with seven other hamlets, is part of the civil parish of Mungrisdale which in the 2001 Census had a poulation of 284.

Moss Close

Bilton, off Bracken Drive

1984

SP 493741

Mosses belong to a group of plants called bryophytes. Comprising the mosses, liverworts and hornworts, there are over 1,000 species of bryophyte in Britain and Ireland, which is around 58% of the species found in the whole of Europe.

Mosses are small, flowerless plants which typically form dense, green clumps, often in damp or shady locations. They include a broad and diverse range of types, with over 20,000 different varieties.

On the Woodlands estate, Moss Close is one of a small group of roads that have been nmed after plants that grow on heathlands, moors and bogs in the UK.

Moultrie Road

Town Centre, off Clifton Road

c1901

SP 507751

Rev John Moultrie (1799 - 1874)

Rector of St Andrews, Rugby (1825 - 1874). Also a poet & hymn writer.

He died of smallpox that he caught whilst ministering to patients at the isolation hospital in Barby Road.

Moyeady Avenue

 

Hillmorton, Paddox Estate, off Dunsmore Avenue

c 1915

 

SP 524738

 

Moyeady, Co. Wexford, Ireland

 

John Patrick Lennon, a Rugby tobacconist and the landlord of The Globe Inn, owned part of the Paddox land on which Moyeady Avenue was built. He named the Avenue after Moyeady as his father was born there.

 

Moyeady is a townland, the smallest administrative division of land in Ireland, in the parish of Marshalstown.

The individual building plots in Moyeady Avenue were sold at an auction of the Paddox estate in 1912.

Muirhead Rise

Houlton, off Maine Street

2019

SP 553739

Dr Alexander Muirhead BSc, DSc, FRS, MIEE (1848-1920)

Dr Muirhead was an electrical engineer specialising in wireless telegraphy.

Companies that he had formed provided equipment that was used at the Rugby Radio Station.

The streets of Houlton have been named after people, events and equipment associated with the former Rugby Radio Station.

 

Murray Road

Town Centre, off Clifton Road

1898

SP 508751

John Murray MA (1828 - 99)

Rector of St Andrews, Rugby (1875 - 98)

He sold about 18 acres of glebe land over which Murray Road now passes.

When first built, Murray Road only extended north from Clifton Road to Wells Street. At that time the present section of road between Craven Road and the railway was known as Brownsover Mill Road. (see also Mill Road). In about 1905, Murray Road was extended to Craven Road to make a throughway to the railway. The section of Mill Road south of the railway  was also renamed as Murray Road

Murrayian Close

off Murray Road

1983

SP 508752

St Andrew's Murray School (1882 - 1965)

This close was built on the site of the former school.

The close was named at the request of the Old Murrayian Association, the former pupils of Murray School.

Myers Road

Hillmorton, Low Hills Estate, off Packwood Road

1961

SP 539738

Richard Henry Myers JP (1866 - 1943)

Mayor of Rugby (1938 - 40). He was elected to the Rugby UDC in 1929, and was one of the first aldermen (1932-1943) of the new Rugby Borough Council.

He was also a member of the County Council (1931-43)

He was headmaster of St Matthew’s Boys School (1891-1926).

He was a Justice of the Peace (1928-43).

He held many positions, too many to list here, in local government and voluntary organisations.

Naseby Road

off Cromwell Road

1932

SP 511744

William Naseby (1816 - 1907)

He lived in Hillmorton Road near the present entrance to Cromwell Road. His cottage was known as Naseby House. Following his death his market garden land was later known as Southfields Farm.

Naseby Road was part of the Southfields residential estate which was developed when Southfields Farm was sold by its owner, Mrs E D Miller, following the death of her husband and its last occupant, Captain Harry Rich in 1930.

Nayler Close

Rugby, off Kinman Way

2000

SP 511768

Charles Henry Naylor (1870-1943)

He was head of Turbine Sales at the BTH from 1911 until his death in 1943. During his time there he wrote many papers on turbine efficiencies.

Nayler Close was built on the former GEC/BTH factory site, it having been sold off for development in about 1990.

It should be noted that the road should have been spelt as Naylor Close, having been named after Mr Naylor.

Nelson Way

Bilton, off Lawford Lane

1949

SP 481740

George Horatio Nelson, 1st Baron Nelson of Stafford (1887 - 1962)

Chairman of English Electric (1930 - 1962). He was knighted in 1943, created a baronet in 1955 and received his peerage in 1960.

243 homes in Nelson Way and the adjoining roads were built after WW2 by English Electric for key employees. When they were first built, the area was known as the Kingsway Estate after the English Electric head office in London, Kingsway House.

Newbold Road

Town centre, off Corporation Street

see Notes column

SP 501755

Newbold-on-Avon village.

This was the route of the historic road to Newbold-on-Avon, a continuation of North Street.

It was part of the Rugby & Lutterworth Turnpike (1785 - 1878). In the 1841 census it was known as Mill Street, but by the end of that decade it had been given its present name.

Nickleby Close

Rugby, off Technology Drive

2016

SP 505764

"Nicholas Nickleby."

This novel was writtern by Charles Dickens as a monthly serial from March 1838.

The streets in this area were given names associated with the works of Charles Dickens.

Nightingale Gardens

Brownsover, off Cotron Park Drive

2002

SP 514781

Nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos

The nightingale is a thrush of the family Turdidae. It is a summer visitor to southern England and winters in sub-tropical Africa.

The roads of Coton Park Drive, Brownsover, have been named after British birds. The nightingale is noted for its song in late evening.

Noble Drive

Cawston, off Clement Way

2002

SP 473735

The Peerage of England

Members of the peerage had from time to time owned Cawston.

Among the nobility who possessed Cawston was Turchil, the Saxon Earl of Warwick, who is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as the owner. Another prominent peer to own the Cawston Estate  was John, second Duke of Montagu, who purchased it about 1744.

Norman Road

 

Newbold, off Yates Avenue

 

1952

SP 497767

 

Thomas Goodman Norman (1846-1927)

 

He was a member of the Rugby Rural District Council for 44 years and was chairman of the Rugby Rural District Council (1901-07).

In 1911 he was described as a grazier and was living in Newbold on Avon.

Apparently he did not believe in "new-fangled notions" and did not alter his clocks when daylight was introduced.

Northcote Road

 

off Lawford Road

 

1913

SP 497751

 

Northcote House

 

The Rugby Land Society planned and laid out Northcote Road as part of their small Lawford Road estate.

 

As Northcote House was a large residence on the east side of Newbold Road, some distance away from Northcote Road, it is unclear why The Rugby Land Society used this name.

North Street

Town Centre, off Market Place

see Notes column

SP 503752

 

An ancient road that led to the north of the town centre.

It was part of the Rugby & Lutterworth Turnpike (1785 - 1878). In the 1841 census it was known as Mill Street, but by the end of that decade it was given its present name.

Norton Leys

off Goldsmith Avenue

1964

SP 497730

The village of Norton, about two miles east of Daventry, Northants.

A ley (or lea) is a grass covered field, suitable for grazing animals.

The Old English meaning of the name, Norton, was ‘north farmstead’.

The names of ‘The Leys’ were selected by the developers. Why they chose villages in Northamptonshire is not known.

Near to Norton, on Watling Street, is the Roman settlement of Bannaventa.

Oakfield Road

off Westfield Road

1938

SP 496746

Oakfield House, a house on the opposite side of Bilton Road was later used as a preparatory school.

The road was built on the 31½ acre estate attached to Westfield House in Bilton Road.

Oakfield Preparatory School for Boys existed from the middle of the 19th cen. to the 1920s. The house then became a private club and is now commercial offices.

Oak Street

Rugby, off Dunchurch Road

In the 1840s, see 'Reason' column.

SP 501746

The"Royal Oak" Inn.

This street, which runs from Barby Road to Dunchurch Road, historically separated the land to its south on which was an inn named the "Royal Oak" from land to the north owned by Rugby School.

It was originally known as Oak Terrace, but in about 1909 was arbitrarily given its present name of Oak Street.

The "Royal Oak" Inn was pulled down in 1846 and rebuilt nearer the town centre on the opposite side of Dunchurch Road, when the land om which it stood was bought to allow St Marie's Church to be built.

Many inns and public houses throughoutEngland are known as the "Royal Oak£, in commemoration of the tree at Boscobel, Shropshire, in which the future King Charles II is said to have hidden after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.

Oberon Close

 

Bilton, Woodlands Estate, off Cymbeline Way

1968

SP 486728

 

Oberon

 

Oberon is the King of the Fairies in a Midsummer Night's Dream, a comedy written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) in 1595/96.

When the Woodlands Estate was laid out in 1964 the Council selected road names "having regard to the quarter centenary of Shakespeare's birth" in 1564.

Old Farm Close

Cawston, off Calvestone Road

2007

SP 477741

Cawston Old Farm

The Close together with much of the Cawston Grange development was built upon the lands of the former Cawston Old Farm.

 

Omega Place

off Railway Terrace

1994

SP 508757

Omega Lamp Works Ltd

Omega Place is sheltered housing that was erected on land that at one time was used as a depot by the Omega Lampworks Ltd for the supply of Electric Lamps and Fluorescent Tubes.

The land on which Omega Place was built was originally a roller skating rink from 1910 to 1915. In 1926 it became the site of the BTH lamp stores. Later it was used for a similar purpose by the Omega Lampworks Ltd. From 1984 to 1992 it was owned by Websters Knitting Wools who used it as a factory and warehouse.

In June 1994 the building was demolished and the site used for a sheltered housing development.

Orlando Close

 

Bilton, Woodlands Estate, off Wolsey Road

 

1967

SP 488726

 

Orlando

 

Orlando is a character in the romantic comedy, As You Like It, which was written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) in about 1599. Orlando is in love with, and eventually marries, Rosalind the heroine of the play..

When the Woodlands Estate was laid out in 1964 the Council selected road names "having regard to the quarter centenary of Shakespeare's birth" in 1564.

 

Orson Leys

Rugby, off Dunchurch Road

1964

 

SP 498733

The origin of this name is not known.

A ley (or lea) is a grass covered field, suitable for grazing animals.

As all of the other Rugby ‘Leys’ are associated with communities in Northants, it is a possibility that this name should have been ‘Orton’, a village near to Rothwell, Northants.

The names of ‘The Leys’ were selected by the developers. Why they chose villages in Northamptonshire is not known.

The Orton Trust run short courses in Stone Masonry and Stone Carving in a converted medieval church at Orton.

Osier Close

Brownsover, off Juniper Way

2019

SP 507780

Common Osier, Salix viminalis

The common osier is a species of willow. It is a deciduous broad-leaf tree native to the UK and Europe that has very flexible branches that are traditionally used for basket making and weaving.

The roads in the area of Brownsover off Lower Lodge Avenue, to the west of Leicester Road, have been named after trees that can be seen in Britain.

Othello Close

 

Bilton, Woodlands Estate, off Montague Road.

1968

SP 486723

 

Othello, The Moor of Venice

 

Othello, The Moor of Venice, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) about 1603. He was a Moorish general in the Venetian army.

When the Woodlands Estate was laid out in 1964 the Council selected road names "having regard to the quarter centenary of Shakespeare's birth" in 1564.

Oulton Road

Rugby, off Projects Drive

2009

SP 508770

OUlton Park Circuit, near Little Budworth, Tarporley, Cheshire.

Oulton Park Circuit hosts motor car and motor cycle racing.

Oulton Road is one of the roads near to and off Projects Drive that are named after motor sport venues in the UK.

Oval Road

Hillmorton Paddox Estate, off Sidney Road

1926

SP 518539

 This road includes an 'oval' where it forms a 'tee' junction with Bowen Road.

The Rugby Freehold Land Society named this road on account of its shape.

Oval Road was built on Brown's Farm Estate, near the Paddox when it was developed by the Rugby Freehold Land Society.

Overslade Lane

 

Rugby, off Dunchurch Road

 

1930

 

SP 499739

 

Overslade, Bilton

 

Overslade is an area in the north of the parish of Bilton near to the former Westfield House estate.

The origin of the name ‘Overslade’ has not been established.

This lane was originally known as Featherbed Lane, presumably after the nearby Featherbed Farm. Its name was changed about 1930.

 

Oxford Street

Rugby, off Clifton Road

1877

SP 511751

 

The reason behind this street name is not known.

As Cambridge Street was built about the same time as Oxford Street, it is presumed that both were named after the famous University towns.

Most clergy of the established church at that time obtained their degree at either Cambridge or Oxford University.

The Old English meaning of Oxford is ‘ford used by oxen).

Packwood Avenue

Hillmorton, Low Hills Estate, off Mellor Road

1961

SP 539738

Sidney Packwood Smart  (1883-1955)

Mayor of Rugby (1943 – 44) and served on the borough council from 1932 – 52.

His occupation was a railway signalman.

Pantolf Place

 

Newbold on Avon, off Brownsover Road

 

 

SP 492772

 

William Pantolf (d. c1245)

 

William Pantolf was lord of the manor of Newbold on Avon, having inherited it from his father, Roger Pantolf. On his death his manor house, 3 caracutes of land and fishing rights in the Avon were left to the Priory of Monks Kirby.

As William Pantolf died without issue, the residue of his effects was divided between his co-heirs, his sisters Emma de Waver and Burga de Bending.

At the time of Pantolf the manor sometimes known as Newbold Pantolf, or Newbold Paunton.

Paradise Street

Rugby, off Clifton Road

1870

SP 511751

not known

This street received its name at the request of Theodore Marc Wratislaw (1831 - 1919), who as solicitor to the Freehold Land Society negotiated the purchase of the land from the executors of Mr Highton, the late owner of the land.

It may have been so named because it backs upon the Clifton Road cemetery.

Park Road

 

Rugby, off North Street

 

1903

 

SP 502764

 

Caldecott Park

 

This road was erected on the former Lodge Estate at the same time as Caldecott Park. The southern section of the road adjoins the south east side of the park.

 

The Lodge Estate was the former home of the last Lord of the Manor of Rugby, Thomas Caldecott (1798-1875). The Misses Harris, his grand-daughters by his daughter, Ellen, sold part of the Estate to the Urban District Council to provide a park and sold the remaining part for development, mainly for residential purposes.

Parnell Close

Rugby, off Oliver Street

1977

SP 498752

J Parnell & Son.

Parnell Close was built on land formerly occupied by this prestigious building and construction firm.

Parnell’s carried out much construction work for Edwin Lutyens, the famous architect. The founder of this firm was William Parnell (1791-1864). On his death his son, John (1816-85), took over the business, which became J Parnell & Son. It was acquired in 1968 by the construction firm, Miller Buckley.

Parsons Close

Rugby, off Edison Drive

2014

SP 510762

Charles Algernon Parsons KCB, OM, FGS (1854-1931).

C A Parsons was an engineer and scientist.

Among his many inventions C A Parsons was particularly known for designing steam turbines and high-speed generators to produce power on both land and sea.

Patterdale

 

Brownsover, off Hollowell Way

 

1977

SP 516774

 

Patterdale Village, Cumbria.

 

Patterdale is a small village in the Patterdale valley, also known as the Ullswater valley. Its population in the 2011 Census was 501.

 

Patterdale is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

Patterdale is the start point for a number of popular hill walks including the Striding Edge path up to Helvellyn.

Peat Close

Bilton, off Bracken Drive

1983

SP 492741

Peat is plant material which is partially decomposed and has accumulated in waterlogged conditions.

Peatlands include moors, bogs, and fens, as well as some farmed land. Peat bogs are particular types of wetlands waterlogged by direct rainfall.

On the Woodlands estate Peat Close is one of a small group of roads that have been named after materials found on heathlands, moors and bogs in the UK.

Pembrey Road

Rugby, off Oulton Road

2009

SP 510769

Pembrey Circuit, neart Pembrey Village, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire

Pembrey Circuit is the home of Welsh motorsport, which hosts racing of motor cars, motor cycles, karts and trucks.

Pembtrey Road is one of the roads near to and off Projects Drive that are named after motor sport venues in the UK.

Pendred Road

New Bilton, off Addison Road

1921

SP 490750

John William Pendred (1871 - 1934)

He was clerk to the Rugby and Crick Rural District Councils (1895 - 1934)

He was also clerk to the Rugby Board of Guardians for 29 years.

Pennington Street

Rugby, off Plowman Street

c1835

SP 499751

This street is reputedly named after Mrs Rebecca Pennington.

 In 1748 she sold to Rugby School the Old Mansion House and adjoining land that became the site of the present School House.

The Old Mansion House had previously been purchased about 1720 by Mrs Pennington’s father, Henry Plowman of Northampton, from the Burnaby family who had been Lords of the Manor of Rugby from 1594 to 1720.

The Pennington family of Westfield House, Rugby, came to Rugby in 1858, much later than the naming of Pennington Street. No relationship between them and Mrs Rebecca Pennington has been established.

Percival Road

Hillmorton Paddox Estate, off Hillmorton Road

1924

SP 519743

Dr John Percival MA (1834 - 1918)

Dr Percival was a headmaster of Rugby School (1887 – 95), later becoming Bishop of Hereford (1895 – 1917). The road was named by the Rugby Freehold Land Society, its developer.

Matthew Bloxam’s former home was purchased for a memorial to Dr Percival with subscriptions from Old Rugbeians. It became The Percival Guildhouse, an Adult Education Centre.

Pettiver Crescent

Hillmorton, off Featherbed Lane

1954

SP 531740

James Pettiver, FRS, (c1663 – 1718)

An apothecary & celebrated naturalist and botanist. He was born in Hillmorton.

He was a nephew of Richard Elborowe, junior. His collection of specimens was purchased by Sir Hans Sloane, PRS, (1660 – 1753), a collector of natural history objects and other curiosities which in 1759 became exhibits in the newly founded British Museum and later in the Natural History Museum.

Phipps Avenue

Abbotts Farm Estate, off Bromwich Road

1956

SP 528541

Henry Thomas Purdie Phipps (1896 - 1953)

He was a member of the borough council from 1943 to 1953. He was appointed as a Warwickshire JP in 1952

His occupation was an engineering estimator at the BTH. He had been President of the Warwickshire County AAA in 1938 & President of the English Cross Country Union in 1948.

Pickwick Place

Rugby, off Expectations Drive

2015

SP 504764

"Samuel Pickwick" and the "Pickwick Club."

Samuel Pickwick was the founder and leader of the Pickwick Club. The Club featured in Charles Dickens' first novel The Pickwick Papers, which was first published as a monthly serial in 20 parts from March, 1836.

The streets in this area were given names associated with the works of Charles Dickens.

Pinders Lane

Off Albert Street

pre 1837

SP 507756

The reason behind the naming of this ancient lane is obscure.

A pinder was an officer of a manor who was authorised to impound stray animals.

Pinder is a common surname throughout the parish records for Rugby and it is probable that the lane was named after one of these inhabitants.

There is no record of there ever having been an animal pound in this part of the town.

Pinders Lane features in the 1851 census returns. However it is said that the original name of the upper part was East Leyes.

Pinders Lane was reduced to its present length during the redevelopment of the James Street/ Railway Terrace area in the 1980s. Formerly the upper part continued through that area from Albert Street to Castle Street. (see also Charles Warren Close).

Pinetree Way

Houlton, off Houlton Way

2019

SP 556736

The 'Pinetree' aerial.

'Pinetree' was one of the many types of aerial used on the Rugby Radio Station.

The streets of Houlton have been named after people, events and equipment associated with the former Rugby Radio Station.

Pinfold Street

New Bilton, off Lawford Road

c1881

SP 493754

Jonathan Dumbleton Pinfold (1825 - 1910)

Pinfold built the street on his land to provide cottages for his brickmaking employees.

He had a business as an engineer and millwright in Pinders Lane and later in Plowman Street. He also became a brickmaker in New Bilton and a trustee of the Rugby Freehold Land Society (1871 - 89).

Pipewell Close

Bilton, off Montgomery Drive

1948

SP 483741

Pipewell was a Cistercian abbey in Northamptonshire near Corby.

Among the Abbey’s possessions were several granges in and around Dunchurch, including one on land where Rugby School Close is situated, The most important of these granges was Cawston.

In common with most other monasteries, Pipewell was suppressed by King Henry VIII in 1538 and its properties passed into secular ownership.

The old English meaning of Pipewell is a ’spring or stream with a pipe or conduit’.

Pipit Walk

Brownsover, off Coton Park Drive

2003

SP 514783

Pipits are members of the family Motacillidae.

There are four species of pipit resident in Britain, including the Meadow Pipit, Anthus pratensis, and the Tree Pipit, Anthus trivialis.

The roads off Coton Park Drive, Brownsover, have been named after British birds.

Plantagenet Drive

 

Bilton, Woodlands Estate, off Cymbeline Way

1966

SP 490727

 

Richard Plantagenet, 3rd .Duke of York (1411-60).

 

Richard Plantagenet is also a character in the historical plays entitled Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3 that were written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

When the Woodlands Estate was laid out in 1964 the Council selected road names "having regard to the quarter centenary of Shakespeare's birth" in 1564.

 

Planter Close

Cawston, off Turchill Road

2004

SP 472736

John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu KG GMB PC (1690-1749)

John Montagu purchased the Cawston estate about 1744 and was known as ‘John the Planter’ because of the avenues of trees he planted at or near his various properties. He was responsible for the avenue of trees alongside the Dunchurch to Coventry road.

A portrait of John Montagu by Godfrey Kneller in 1709 is in the National Portrait Gallery.

Plomer Close

Bilton, off Nelson Way

1948

SP 482738

John Plomer MA (1688 - 1759)

Headmaster, Rugby School (1731 - 42)

Also Rector of Bilton (1731 - 59)

Plowman Street

Rugby, off Lawford Road

Prior to 1848

SP 499751

Henry Plowman of Northampton (died 1722), gent.

In 1720 he purchased from the Burnaby family their former manorial estate of Rugby. The manorial rights were sold separately to William Boughton (1682 - 1720) of Bilton.

In 1749 his daughter, Mrs Rebecca Pennington, sold the former manor house to Rugby School (see Pennington Street). In 1853 the first purpose built police station in Rugby was erected in Plowman Street.

Until the 1990s Plowman Street included a short terrace of houses that is listed in the Rugby Almanacks as Cherry Terrace.

Pope Street

New Bilton, off Addison Road

1935

SP 490752

Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)

He was an English poet, satirist and translator of Homer.

In 1994 a memorial to Pope was erected in the Poets Corner of Westminster Abbey.

The Council felt that the road should be given a name associated with Addison's contemporaries because it was near to Addison Road.

Poplar Grove

Rugby, off Lancaster Road

c1915

SP 508758

 Two species of the genus Populus, the White Poplar Populus alba, and the Gray Poplar, Populus cenescens, are common in the UK.

Populus is a genus of deciduousd, broad-leaved flowering trees native to the UK and most of Europe. The genus also contains the Aspen (see Aspen Road).

See also Acacia, Maple & Sycamore Groves.

It is said that Poplar Grove was so named because the pavement was originally lined wiith Poplar trees.

Projects Drive

Rugby, off Boughton Road

2010

SP 511767

GEC Electrical Projects Ltd

GEC Electrical Projects Ltd was one of the tenants on this site, prior to the site being re-developed by its owners

The business of this company included the supply of "drives," eg electrical motors and their control equipment.

Pytchley Road

 

Rugby, off Cromwell Road

 

1934

SP 510743

 

The Pytchley Hunt

 

Pytchley Hunt was founded in 1750 and today covers an area of western and central Northamptonshire.

Its kennels were formerly in Pytchley, but today are near Brixworth.

 

Queensferry Close

Bilton, off Nelson Way

1953

SP 483539

Queensferry, Flintshire, North Wales.

Willans and Robinson, which was one of the businesses that amalgamated in 1918 to form the English Electric Co., had a manufacturing plant at Queensferry from 1899 to 1910. The turbine hall, built between 1901 and 1906, was designed by H B Creswell, and was described by Sir Nicholas Pevsner (1902-83) as 'a rare English precursor of Functionalism'. (see also Creswell Place)

The flats in Queensferry Close were built to provide accommodation for English Electric employees.

Queen Victoria Street

 

Rugby, off Lower Hillmorton Road

1880

SP 510750

 

Alexandrina Victoria (1819-1901)

 

She became Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1837-1901)

 

In 1880 this street was originally named Victoria Street. When Rugby became a municipal borough in 1932, this resulted in there being two Victoria Streets in the borough. This street was renamed c1935 as Queen Victoria Street, to distinguish it from its more extensive namesake in New Bilton.

Railway Terrace

Rugby, off Church Street

1841

SP 508751

London & Birmingham Railway and the Midland Counties Railway.

This street was built by the Midland Counties Railway to provide access from the town to the second of the railway stations.

The Rugby UDC decided in November 1910 that new name plates be fixed at convenient positions in the road in an attempt to dispense with its unofficial name of Station Road that was in frequent use at the time.

In its early years it was notorious for the bad image of the town that it presented to railway visitors due to its poor, muddy condition.

Rainsbrook Avenue

Hillmorton Paddox, off Hillmorton Road

1922

SP 528737

Rains Brook

Rains Brook runs through a valley to the south of Rugby and is a tributary of the River Leam.

For part of its length, Rains Brook forms the southern boundary of the Borough.

Rankine Close

Newbold, off Main Street

1974

SP 490772

Arthur Robert Rankine (1930 - 64)

The Rev. Arthur Robert Rankine was vicar of Newbold with Long Lawford (1959 - 64)

Mr Rankine collapsed and died during a tug-of-war at a Council of Churches party. He had previously been a curate at Bilton.

Rathbone Close

Hillmorton, off Deerings Road

1958

SP 531736

Thomas Rathbone (1815-94)

Thomas Rathbone, who resided in Hillmorton from 1840 until his decease, was a prominent builder in Rugby and the adjoining parishes.

Mr Rathbone took avery active part in various offices in the Hillmorton parish, including churchwarden, guardian and a member of the School Board.

Ravenglass

 

Brownsover, off Kirkstone

 

1980

SP 519772

 

Ravenglass, Cumbria

 

Ravenglass is a small coastal town located at a natural harbour formed by the estuary of the rivers Esk, Mite and Irt. The town dates back at least to the Romans who had an important naval base there.

 

Ravenglass is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

Ravenglass is the only coastal town in the Park and is the western terminus of the narrow gauge Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. The railway runs up the Eskdale valley for 7 miles, to its eastern terminus at Dalegarth Station near Boot.

Red Poll Road

 

Rugby, off Murray Road

 

 N/A

SP 511757

 

Red Poll cattle

 

The Red Poll is a dual purpose breed of cattle that was developed in the latter half of the 19th century as a cross between the Norfolk Red beef and the Suffolk Dun dairy breeds.

Red Poll Road was built on the site of the former Rugby cattle market, that closed in 2008, where presumably the Red Poll was one of the cattle breeds that were sold there. Both of the original breeds are now extinct.

Redwood Road

Brownsover, off Juniper Way

2018

SP 508779

Redwood, Sequoia sempervirens

The redwood is a giant coniferous tree of coastal regions of California. The largest speciman is over 120 metres tall.

The roads in the area of Brownsover off Lower Lodge Avenue to the west of of Leicester Road, have been named after trees that can be seen in Britain. Redwood trees can be seen in ornamental gardens and arboretums including examples in Rugby in the Clifton Road Cemetery and in the grounds of St Cross Hospital.

Regent Place

Town Centre, off Regent Street

1905

SP 504753

Part of the Regent Street development

Initially the western and northern sides of the undeveloped triangle of land on this site were named as St Andrews Street and Moat Street respectively.

In 1925 Moat Street was renamed as Regent Place.

Regent Street

Town Centre, off Church Street

1905

SP 504752

Regent Street, the famous shopping street in London.

When the Rugby Freehold Land Society developed the Moat Estate, their intention was that Regent Street was to become Rugby's main shopping street.

The developers’ intentions have largely been unfulfilled, but this has meant that Regent Street remains remarkably unspoilt and retains many of its Edwardian features, especially the upper floors.

The western side of the undeveloped triangle of land was formerly named as St Andrews Street, but was given its current name in 1925.

Reynolds Close

Lower Hillmorton, off Constable Road

1966

SP 537740

Sir Joshua Reynolds RA, FRS, FRSA,  (1723 - 92)

English Artist.

Famous for his portraits. He was the 1st President of the Royal Academy (1768 – 92).

Richard Hodgkinson Close

Cawston, off Elborow Way

2018

SP 476721

Richard Hodgkinson (d 1726)

Richard Hodgkinson was appointed in 1707 as the first Master of Elborow Shool. He served until his death in 1726.

The names of the roads adjoining Elborow Way, Cawston, are all associated with the former Elborow Charity School, the 'second oldest school in Rugby.'

Richmond Road

Rugby, off Slade Road

1932

SP 514547

Joseph Richmond MA (1720 - 1816)

Headmaster, Rugby School (1751 - 55)

He made no entries in the School Register, so there are no records by which to judge his time as headmaster.

Robotham Close

 

Newbold on Avon, off Cotterell Road

 

 

SP 498767

 

William Arthur Robotham (1902-77)

 

W A Robotham had been a member of the Rugby Borough Council (1936-70), including being the Mayor (1952-53). He was a JP from 1949 to 1972.

 

He was a draughtsman in the BTH Control Gear Engineering Department. Apart from his many political interests he also had an interest in the local brass bands. He was appointed an Honorary Freeman of the Borough in 1966.

Rodney Close

Bilton, Admirals Estate, off Frobisher Road

1961

SP 480743

George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney,  (1718 - 92)

Admiral, RN (1778 - 82)

He was active at sea for most of his service career (1732 - 82). During his career he made a large amount of prize money.

Rosewood Avenue

Rokeby Estate, off Anderson Avenue

1955

SP 502738

Stanley Rose Wood (b 1848)

He was the nephew of Richard Henry Wood. “Rose” was the maiden name of the latter’s mother.

Rokeby Estate was built on part of the former Rokeby Farm that had been owned by Richard Henry Wood. (see also Belmont Road).

Rothley Drive

 

Brownsover, Avon Park, off Staveley Way.

 

1995

SP 521771

 

Rothley, Leicestershire

 

Rothley is a village and civil parish within the Borough of Charnwood. It is about 5 miles north of the city of Leicester. It has been inhabited since Saxon times.

The population of the civil parish was 3,897 in the 2011 Census.It has a station on the heritage railway line, the Great Central Steam Railway.

Rounds Gardens

Rugby, off Oliver Street

1964

SP 500755

Stephen Round (d 1818)

The buildings in Rounds Gardens were erected on what had been allotment gardens. Stephen Round had owned this land in the early 19th century. The land had been acquired in 1928 by the local authority.

The 11-storey flats in Rounds Gardens were the first multi-storey flats to be erected in Rugby by the local authority and were described as "a milestone on the road to solving the problem of the slums of Britain."

However clearance of the Rounds Gardens site due to safety concerns was started in 2022 in readiness for a major social housing development.

Round Street

Rugby, off Lawford Road

1848

SP 498751

Stephen Round (d 1818)

The Round Street estate was built on land that he owned.

Stephen Round was a prominent Rugby landowner & an Attorney of HM Court of King’s Bench. He did not live in Rugby.

Rowse Close

 

Brownsover, off Stonehills

 

1972

SP 511770

 

Joseph Yates Rowse (1880-1955)

 

He had been headmaster of Eastlands Boys School (1907-46).

 

Rowse Close is one of a small group of roads In Brownsover that were named after former head teachers in the Borough.

Rupert Brooke Road

Rugby, off Shakespeare Gardens

1960

SP 493734

Rupert Chawner Brooke (1887 – 1915)

see also 'Biographies' section of this website.

Poet. He is particularly known for his five war sonnets written during WW1.

He is one of 16 WW1 poets who are named on a memorial slab that was unveiled on 11 November 1985 in Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey.

He was born in Hillmorton Road, Rugby and attended Rugby School. During WW1 he obtained a commission in the Royal Navy and died from blood poisoning whilst in a hospital ship moored off the Greek island of Skyros in the Aegean.

Ruskin Close

Hillside, off Norton Leys

1973

SP 497729

John Ruskin (1819 – 1900)

He was an influential art and social critic whose ideas had an important role in the shaping of the cultural values of the nineteenth century.

A memorial to Ruskin is in the Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey.

Brantwood, his country home overlooking Coniston Water, is now a museum dedicated to Ruskin.

Russelsheim Way

Rugby town centre gyratory road system

1981

SP 500749

Russelsheim, Germany

This road marks the twinning in 1977 by Rugby Borough with Russelsheim in Germany

Russelsheim is noted for manufacturing Opel cars, now part of General Motors.

Rydal Close

 

Brownsover, off Lloyd Road

 

1972

SP 515768

 

Rydal Water, Cumbria

 

Rydal Water is one of the smallest lakes (¾ mile long and ¼ mile wide) in the Lake District. The small village of Rydal is near to the lake and is spread along the main road between Grasmere and Ambleside.

 

Rydal Close is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

Rydal Water is a popular spot for visitors, bcause the area has many connections with Wordsworth (1770-1850) who lived for much of his life at Rydal Mount. Dr Thomas Arnold, headmaster of Rugby School, had a summer home at Fox Howe in nearby Under Loughrigg and Dr Arnold's son Matthew was a frequent visitor.

Sandpiper Close

Brownsover, off Coton Park Drive

2002

SP 514781

Common Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos

The common sandpiper is a freshwater wader that is a summer visitor to Britain, where it breeds widely throughout Scotland, Wales, northern England and Northern Ireland.

The roads off Coton Park Drive, Brownsover, have been named after British birds.

Sarawak Place

Cawston, off Gold Avenue

2004

SP 476736

Sarawak is one of two states in the Federation of Malaysia on the island of Borneo.

Sarawak is in the North West of Borneo. From 1841 to 1946 it was governed by a ‘White’ Rajah. It was a British Crown Colony from 1946 to 1963, when it became a founding member of the Malaysian Federation.

Princess Gold, the eldest daughter of the then Rajah of Sarawak, became in 1933 the second wife of the 2nd Earl of Inchcape (1887-1939). They lived in Cawston House until 1937. (see also Gold Avenue.)

Saxon Close

Cawston, off Cawston Grange Drive

2002

SP 472735

The first inhabitants of Cawston were Saxons.

The Saxons were a group of Germanic tribes that were first mentioned as living near the North Sea coast in the Roman empire.

The Saxons settled in England during the fifth century following the collapse of the Roman empire.

Saunton Road

 

Overslade Estate, off Mellish Road

 

1948

SP 494742

 

Saunton, Devon

 

Saunton is a village close to the North Devon coast about 2 miles from Braunton, and about 8 miles north east of Barnstaple.

Saunton Road is another road in Overslade that was named after a golf course. Saunton is listed as one of the best courses in the UK.

Scafell

 

Brownsover, off Dunnerdale

 

1982

SP 516774

 

Scafell, Cumbria

 

Scafell is a mountain in the Southern Fells of the Lake District. The height of 3,162 feet (964 m) of its summit makes it the second highest mountain in England, with only its neighbour, Scafell Pike at 3,209 feet (978 m) being higher.

Scafell is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

 

Scholars Drive

Cawston, off Gerards Road

2004

SP 474738

Cawstin Grange Primary School

Scholars Drive leads to the entrance to the school

The land on which the school was built was formerly part of Cawston Grange.

The Grange was owned by the moks of Pipewell (see also Cawston Grange Drive).

Seabroke Avenue

Rugby, off Lawford Road

c1919

SP 496451

George Mitchell Seabroke (c1848 - 1918)

Solicitor (1870 - 1918), Clerk to the Justices for Rugby Petty Sessional Division (1871 - 1918), Chief Officer of Rugby Volunteer Fire Brigade (1875 - 1918), a member of Board of Health & the Urban District Council (1875 - 1900).

Some time after 1891, Seabroke moved to 'Rosemount', a large house in Lawford Road situated opposite to the present junction with Seabroke Avenue.

Seathwaite

 

Brownsover, off Ennerdale

 

1975

 

 

SP 513774

 

Seathwaite, Cumbria

 

There are two places in Cumbria named Seathwaite, both situated in the Lake District National Park. There is a hamlet named Seathwaite in the civil parish of Borrowdale. Further south in the Duddon Valley there is a village with the same name which is in the civil parish of Dunnerdale with Seathwaite.

Seathwaite is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

In the 2011 Census the population of the civil parish of Borrowdale was 417 and the population of the civil parish of Dunnerdale with Seathwaite was 119.

 

Selside

 

Brownsover, off Hollowell Way

 

1977

 

SP 517774

 

Selside, Cumbria

 

Selside is a village in South Lakeland, about 6 miles north of Kendal.It is just within the border of the National Park

 

This is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

Selside is now within the civil parish of Whitwell and Selside which in the 2011 Census had a population of 296.

Sessile Oak Close

Brownsover, off Juniper Way

2020

SP 508780

Sessile Oak. Quercus petraea

The sessile oak is a deciduous broad-leaf tree native to the UK and most of Europe. Its acorns are carried directly on its outer twigs, unlike the English oak, Quercus ruba, whose acorns are on stalks.

The roads in the area of Brownsover off Lower Lodge Avenue to the west of Leicester Road, have been named after trees that can be seen in Britain.

Shakespeare Gardens

off Dunchurch Road

1959

SP 497733

William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)

Poet and dramatist. As a playwright he has a world-wide reputation.

In 1740 a memorial to Shakespeare was erected in Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey.

William Shakespeare was born at Stratford-upon-Avon. He was buried in Holy Trinity, the parish church of Stratford-upon-Avon.

Shapfell

 

Brownsover, off Scafell

 

1982

SP 518774

 

Shap Fell, Cumbria

 

Shap Fell is a mountainous area about 14 miles south of Penrith. The A6 road crosses Shap Fell at 1,397 feet above sea level. Before the opening of the M6 in 1970, the A6 was the main north-south route from north west England to Scotland and often had notoriously bad road conditions during winter.

 

Shapfell is one of the roads in Brownsover  that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park

 

Shaughnessy Way

Houlton, off Maine Street

2018

SP 555739

Edward H Shaughnessy OBE, MIEE, MIRE.(1871-1942)

He worked for the Post Office from 1887 to 1931. He became Staff Engineer-in-Charge of the Radio Section in 1913. He became a member of the Wireless Telegraphy Commission that was deeply involved with the design of Rugby Radio Station.

The streets of Houlton have been named after people, events and equipment associated with the former Rugby Radio Station.

Shearwater Drive

Brownsover, off Nightingale Gardens

2003

SP 514781

Manx Shearwater, Puffinus puffinus

Shearwaters are pelagic seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The British birds normally breed on inshore islands along the western coast of Britain and around Ireland.

The roads off Coton Park Drive, Brownsover, have been named after British birds.

As shearwaters are pelagic, they spend most of their life out at sea and only come to land for breeding.

Sheep Street

Town Centre, off Market Place

see ‘Reason’ column

SP 503752

 

This was at the historic centre of the town in which a livestock market was held.

 

The livestock market was held in this street until 1870, when it was moved to Reynolds Field, a piece of the glebe land leased from the Rector of St Andrews Church.

Sheep Street became one-way for traffic in 1938 and pedestrianised in 1994.

Sheridan Close

Hillside, off Norton Leys

1964

SP 498731

Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751 – 1816)

Irish playwright and politician. He has been described as the greatest comic dramatist of modern times. He later became a Whig MP at Westminster (1780 -1812)

He is best known today as the author of the comic plays, The Rivals and The School for Scandal.

He was buried in Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey.

Sheriff Road

off Eastlands Road

1926

SP 517750

Lawrence Sheriff (c1515 - 67)

see also 'Biographies' section of this website.

He founded Rugby School in 1567.

It is presumed that this road is another reminder of this famous Rugbeian.

Shuckburgh Crescent

 

off Balcombe Road

 

1937

SP 518735

 

Lower Shuckburgh

 

Lower Shuckburgh is a small village in eastern Warwickshire near to Napton on the Hill.

 

A little to the south of Lower Shuckburgh is the deserted village of Upper Shuckburgh. Shuckburgh is of Saxon origin and is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Socheberge, meaning a ‘hill or mound haunted by an evil spirit’.

Sidney Road

Hillmorton Paddox Estate, off Hillmorton Road

1925

SP 521741

Sidney John Dicksee (1855 - 1922)

Sidney Dicksee was the head of the well known building and contracting firm of Foster & Dicksee of Rugby and London. He was also president of the Rugby Freehold Land Society (1920-22);

Sidney Road was a development on Brown's Farm Estate, near the Paddox by the Rugby Freehold Land Society. The road was named by the Society to perpetuate the memory of their recently deceased president.

Signalman Court

Rugby, off Barnaby Road

2017

SP 504765

"The Signalman."

The Signalman is a horror mystery syory written and published by Charles Dickens in 1866.

The streets in this area were given names associated with the works of Charles Dickens.

Siskin Close

Brownsover, off Coton Park Drive

2002

SP 514778

Siskin, Carduelis spinus

The Siskin is a small resident finch in Britain, breeding primarily in afforested areas, particularly conifer plantations.

The roads off Coton Park Drive, Brownsover, have been named after British birds.

Skiddaw

 

Brownsover, off Grizedale

 

1976

SP 513774

 

Skiddaw, Cumbria

 

Skiddaw is a mountain just north of Keswick. At 3,054 feet it has the sixth highest summit in England.

Skiddaw is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

Somers Road

New Bilton, off Addison Road

 1960s

SP 490753

Sgt. James Somers VC (1893 - 1918)

Sgt Somers was briefly billeted with Mr & Mrs William Burn at 16, Corbett Street, Rugby, early in 1915. After his investiture in 1915 at Buckingham Palace he revisited Rugby and received a civic welcome.

Somers Road is part of an industrial estate and has no residential properties.

James Somers came from Clough-Jordan, Tipperary and was in the 1st Inniskilling Fusiliers. He was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1915 for gallantry in holding a trench against overwhelming odds at the Dardanelles.

Somers Road was erected on the site of the former Newland's Farm that was farmed at that time by Mr Upton.

Southbrook Road

Rokeby Estate, off Kingsway

1941

SP 500741

Sow Brook

South Brook is an alternative name for the more generally accepted Sow Brook. The brook runs through the land on which the Rokeby Estate was built.

Rokeby Estate was built on part of the former Rokeby Farm. (see also Belmont Road).

 

Southey Road

off Macaulay Road

1959

SP 494733

Robert Southey (1774 – 1843)

Southey was a poet and reviewer and another of the main figures of a group of poets who lived in the Lake District at the turn of the nineteenth century who were called the Lake Poets. He was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1813 until his death in 1843.

His memorial is in Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey.

Southey was also a prolific letter writer, literary scholar, essay writer, historian and biographer. His biographies include those for John Bunyan, John Wesley, William Cowper, Oliver Cromwell and Horatio Nelson, with the latter probably his best known.

Southfield Road

Rugby, off Cromwell Road

1932

SP 510743

Southfield Farm

Southfield Road was built on the former Southfield Farm (or Lodge).

Southfield Farm was sold by its owner, Mrs E D Miller, for residential development following the death of her husband in 1930.

Speedwell Close

Brownsover, off Campion Way,

1990

SP 519775

Soeedwell, one of several species in the genus Veronica.

The speedwell are perennial flowers in the genus Veronica. Slender speedwell (Veronica filiformis) was introduced to Britain from Turkey and the Caucasus during the early 19th century and is now a native in British grasslands.

Speedwell Close is one of a group of roads in an area adjoining the north of Newton Manor Lane, centered around Campion Way, that are named after wild plants and flowers that can be seen in the British Isles.

Spicer Place

Bilton, off Bilton Road

1973

SP 486741

Walter Harold Spicer (1890 - 1965)

He was the Engineer and Surveyor to Rugby Borough Council from 1930 to 1950 when he retired.

During his employment from 1921 to 1950 in the Engineering Department of the Borough Council (and its predecessor the Rugby Urban District Council), he had also been their Water Engineer and Gas Examiner.

Walter Spicer died at his home in Hampden Way, Bilton.

Spicer Place was built on the site of Bilton Rise, a large Victorian house with extensive grounds.

Spinney Lane

Brownsover, off Lower Lodge Avenue

2013

SP 511779

A spinney is a small wood or copse.

A spinney is where many of the trees named in the adjoining roads may be found.

The roads in the area of Brownsover off Lower Lodge Avenue to the west of Leicester Road, have been named after trees that can be seen in Britain.

Spottiswood Close

Cawston, off Gerard Road

2002

SP 473736

Alicia Anne Spottiswoode (1810-1900)

Alicia was a Scottish songwriter and composer. Today she is chiefly known as the composer of the tune for “Annie Laurie”.

(see also Alicia Close.)

In 1836, Alicia married the Rt. Hon. John Douglas Montagu-Douglas-Scott, who, in 1827, had inherited the Buccleuch estates in the Dunchurch area, including Cawston, which became their chief residence.

Although her surname is spelt by most authorities as ‘Spottiswoode’, the close has always been spelt without the final ‘e’.

Spruce Close

Brownsover, off Magnolia Avenue

2020

SP 508779

Norway Spruce, Picea ables

The Norway spruce is an evergreen coniferous tree. It is the original Christmas tree.

The roads in the area of Brownsover off Lower Lodge Avenue to the west of Leicester Road, have been named after trees that can be seen in Britain.

Stanley Road

 

Hillmorton, off Hillmorton Road

 

1983

SP 520741

 

Edward Marmaduke Stanley MA (1808-91)

 

The Rev E M Stanley was the vicar of Hillmorton St John (1864 to 1889). He attended Rugby School from 1816 to 1828 when he matriculated at Worcester College, Oxford University. He was awarded his BA in 1833 and his MA in 1836.

 

Stanley Road is one of a small group of roads in Hillmorton that were named after former vicars of St John the Baptist.

He was born at Rugby, where his father was an assistant master at Rugby School. On his retirement from the Hillmorton living he removed himself to Horton Street (now Horton Crescent) where he subsequently died.

Staveley Way

 

Brownsover, off Crowthorns

 

1993

SP 518768

 

Staveley, Cumbria

 

Staveley is a village in the South Lakeland District of Cumbria about 4 miles northwest of Kendal.and about 4 miles east of Windermere. It is split between the civil parishes of Nether Staveley and Over Staveley.

 

Staveley Way is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

Staveley had a population of 1,147 at the 2011 Census.

There is also a small village named Staveley-in-Cartmel which is also in the Lake District and is near to the south end of Windermere. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 405.

Staverton Leys

off Orson Leys

1970

SP 500731

Staverton a village near to Daventry, Northants

A ley (or lea) is a grass covered field, suitable for grazing animals.

The Old English name for Staverton was Stӕfertun, meaning a ‘farmstead made of or marked by stakes’.

The names of ‘The Leys’ were selected by the developers. Why they chose villages in Northamptonshire is not known.

Steele Street

New Bilton, off Addison Road

1935

SP 490751

Richard Steele (1672 - 1729)

He was an Irish writer and politician, who co-founded with his friend, Joseph Addison, the Tatler magazine in 1709 and The Spectator magazine in 1711.

The Council felt that the road should be given a name associated with Addison's contemporaries because it was near to Addison Road.

Stonechat Road

Brownsover, off Coton Park Drive

2003

SP 515782

Stonechat, Motocilla torquata

The stone chat is a small member of the Turidae family which contains thrushes and chats. It is resident in Britain, mostly in western coastal areas.

The roads off Coton Park Drive, Brownsover, have been named after British birds.

Stonehills

 

Brownsover, off Crow Thorns

 

1973

SP 511770

 

Stonehills Tarn, Cumbria

 

Stonehills tarn is an artificial tarn, privately owned, near Winster, southeast of Bowness-on-Windermere. It has the alternative name of Barrow Plantation Tarn.

 

Stonehills is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

Stonehills Tarn covers about 3 acres and has a maximum depth of 6½ feet.

St Annes Road

 

Bilton, off Lytham Road

 

c.1939

SP 489742

 

Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire.

The road developers, David Mitchell and his associates, named it after one of their favourite golf courses. (see also Lytham Road.)

The Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club was founded in 1886 and the present course constructed in 1897. It is one of the world's premier links courses, having hosted many major tournaments including eleven open championships.

St Gabriels Way

Houlton, off Houlton Way

2018

SP 556734

 St Gabriel's Primary School.

St Gabriels Way leads to St Gabriel's Primary School.

St Gabriel is the patron saint of communication.

The streets of Houlton have been named after people, events and equipment associated with the former Rugby Radio Station.

St Georges Avenue

 

off Kingsway

 

1951

 

SP 500740

 

St George (about 278-303)

 

St George is the patron saint of England. He was reputed to be a Roman soldier of Greek origin who was sentenced to death for failing to give up his Christian belief.

 

Although St Georges Avenue was built after St George's Church, it is unlikely to be named after the church, as it is not within the parish area, which is centered around Hillmorton Paddox. The church was dedicated to St George in September 1940.

St Johns Avenue

 

Hillmorton Paddox Estate, off Fareham Avenue

1931

SP 520738

 

St John's Church, Hillmorton

 

Although St Johns Avenue is about a mile in distance from St John's Church, it was then within the parish boundaries of this church.

Today (2017) the avenue is within the new parish of Rugby St George. The parish Church of St George's was built in 1960 in St Johns Avenue.

St John Street

 

off Newbold Road

 

c 1856

SP 501754

 

St John's Chapel

 

St John Street was named after the chapel which was built for Evangelical Christians in 1845.

 

The life of the chapel was short lived as it was first offered for sale in 1851 and then converted into four cottages abutting on to the south side of St John Street in 1859.

Although the chapel is shown on a detailed 1850 map of Rugby, St John Street is shown as building land. but not identified by name.

St Marks Avenue

Bilton, off Cawston Way

1914

SP 484735

St Mark’s, the parish church of Bilton.

A church in Bilton features in the Domesday Book. Pevsner in his “Buildings of Warwickshire”, states that the current building dates from the early 14th century with much 19th century restoration.

The name was suggested by the developers, the Rugby Provident Permanent Benefit Building Society. This Society has now merged with the Hinckley Building Society to become the Hinckley and Rugby Building Society.

St Matthews Street

off Lawrence Sheriff Street

1842

SP 502750

St Matthew’s Church, Warwick Street

The street was built shortly after the church

The land upon which both the church and the street were built was previously owned by Dr R R Bloxam (1765-1840), an assistant master at Rugby School (1791-1827) and father of Matthew Bloxam (see Bloxam Place).

St Peters Road

off Clifton Road

1905

SP 515752

St Peter's Church, Clifton Road.

The road was made adjacent to the church.

St Peters Road runs from Clifton Road to Lower Hillmorton Road.

Studland Avenue

Hillmorton, off Kingsley Avenue

1939

SP 525741

Studland Bay, Dorset.

Studland Avenue was named by the developer, William Henry Adams (1873-1934) after Studland Bay which was a favourite holiday resort of his family.

This information was provided by Cedric Thomas Adams, the son of the developer, in his letter to the Rugby Advertiser dated 11 August 1983.

Sycamore Grove

off Lancaster Road

1913

SP 504757

 Sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus

The sycamore is a deciduous, broad-leafed tree native to central, eastern and southern Europe. It was probably introduced into the UK in the Middle Ages and is now a naturilised species.

See also Acacia, Maple & Poplar GrovesNamed so because the pavement was originally lined with Sycamore trees

Sywell Leys

off Norton Leys

1977

SP 500729

Sywell is a village in the Borough of Wellingborough, Northants

A ley (or lea) is a grass covered field, suitable for grazing animals.

The origin of the name Sywell is Old English, meaning ‘Seven Springs’.

The names of ‘The Leys’ were selected by the developers. Why they chose villages in Northamptonshire is not known.

Sywell has an aerodrome that caters for private flying, flight training and corporate flying. It opened in 1928 and was used in WW2 initially for basic pilot training and later as a repair base for Wellington bombers.

Tainter Close

Rugby, off Bell Road

2015

SP 508763

Charles Summer Tainter (1854-1940)

C S Tainter was an American scientific instrument maker, engineer and inventor.

C S Taintter was best known for his collaborations with Alexander Graham Bell and for his significant improvements to Thomas Edison's phonograph which resulted in the first dictaphone.

Tanser Court

Dunchurch, off Done Cerce Close

1980

SP 482713

William Tanzer or Tanser or Tans'ur, (1706-1783)

William Tans'ur was baptised in Dunchurch on 6th November, 1706. He was a prominent composer of hymnal tunes particularly with regard to the setting to music of the Psalms.

Many of these tunes were named after local villages and included one named 'Rugby'.

William Tans'ur introduced this spelling of his surname possibly to hide his background as the son of a farm labourer. By 1735 he had moved to Ewell in Surrey and later in the 1740s to St Neots, Cambridgeshire, where he remained until his death.

Temple Street

Brown’s Farm Estate, off Hillmorton Road

1879

SP 511747

Dr Frederick Temple DD (1821 - 1902)

Headmaster, Rugby School (1858 - 1869), Archbishop of Canterbury (1896 - 1902).

He was also Bishop of Taunton (1869 - 85) & Bishop of London (1885 - 96). He was the first president (1866 – 1902) of the Rugby Freehold Land Society which was responsible for the development of many residential estates in Rugby from 1866 to 1927. His memorial in Rugby is the Temple Speech Room in Hillmorton Road.

The land upon which Caldecott Street and Temple Street were built, was purchased by The Rugby Freehold Land Society (their Rugby Estate # 2) in 1868 from the executors of the late Count Wratislaw (1788-1853).

Tennyson Avenue

off Shakespeare Gardens

1959

SP 492735

Alfred Tennyson (1809 – 92), 1st Baron Tennyson of Aldworth in the County of Sussex.

He was a poet. On the death of Wordsworth in 1850 he was appointed Poet Laureate until his own death in 1892, the longest that any laureate has held this position. Today’s laureates are appointed for a ten year period.

He was buried in the Poets Corner of Westminster Abbey.

Among his works are The Charge of the Light Brigade, Maud, In Memoriam A H H, Locksley Hall and Idylls of the King. Edison recordings of him reading some of his poems are still available.

Many phrases from his poems have passed into the English language as everyday quotations, e.g. :-

·      ‘Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die,’

·      ‘In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love,’ and

·      ‘For men may come and men may go,

But I go on for ever.’

Thackeray Close

Hillside, off Norton Leys

1965

SP 498731

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811 – 63)

He was an author who established a reputation by writing novels that satirised the social values of his day.

There is a memorial bust of him in Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey.

Although in his day he was ranked second only to Charles Dickens, he is today mainly remembered only for his novel Vanity Fair.

The Locks

 

Lower Hillmorton, off Brindley Road

see 'Notes' column.

 

SP 536742

 

The Hillmorton Locks, Oxford Canal.

 

This road leads to the three Hillmorton locks on the Oxford Canal.

 

Houses and other buildings on this road have been known as The Locks since the locks were built about 1773.

Thirlmere

 

Brownsover, off Copeland

 

1976

SP 511773

 

Thirlmere Reservoir, Cumbria

 

Thirlmere is a reservoir about three miles south of Keswick in Cumbria. Before construction of the reservoir in 1894 to provide water for Manchester, there was a smaller natural lake which had been known by several names.

 

Thirlmere is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

The original dam raised the water level by twenty feet providing a capability for supplying 10 million gallons a day. Subsequently the dam was raised to provide a water level fifty feet above natural and allow a possible supply of 40 million gallons per day.

Thruxton Place

Rugby, off Projects Drive

2012

SP 508767

Thruxton Motor Sport Centre, Thruxton, Hampshire.

Thruxton Motor Sport Centre hosts racing of motor cars, motor cycles and trucks. The site also includes a karting circuit.

Thruxton Place is one of the roads near and off Projects Drive that are named motor sport venues in the UK.

Thurnmill Road

Long Lawford, off Townsend Lane

1953

SP 481759

Thurnmill Spinney

Thurnmill Road leads to Thurnmill Spinney part of the land owned by the monks of Pipewell Abbey from the late 12th century.

The land included Thurn Mill, a water mill just east of of Long Lawford that is referred to in the Domesday Book. The mill at various times was driving corn and fulling mills. THE MILL WAS NO LONGER THERE BY THE 19TH CENTURY.

Tom Brown Street

Town Centre, off Bath Street

1937

SP 509755

Tom Brown

Fictional hero of 'Tom Brown's Schooldays' by Thomas Hughes (1822 - 96)

This well known NOVEL about Rugby School was written in 1857.

Torrance Road (unadopted)

New Bilton, off Lawford Road

1889

SP 495752

Dr David Torrance (1798 - 1874)

He had a medical practice in Rugby from about 1827 having before been a surgeon in the Royal Navy.

He was also the Medical Officer to the Rugby Union and a director of the Rugby Gas Company (1841 -55).

Tower Road

Rugby, off Naseby Road

1932

SP 511744

The former water tower in Barby Road.

It is said that Tower Road was so named because, if it was extended through Faraday Road it would bring one to the Barby Road water tower.

Tower Road was built on the site of Southfield Farm following its sale in 1930 by its owner, Mrs E D Miller, for residential development.

The water tower was demolished in 1966.

Troubridge Walk

Bilton, Admirals Estate, off Cunningham Way

1973

SP 483746

Sir Thomas Troubridge, 1st Baronet (c1758-1807)

Rear Admiral of the Royal Navy (1804-7). He was 1st Sea Lord from 1801 to 1804.

He died at sea whilst travelling in HMS Blenheim to take up a new command. His son, Sir Edward Thomas Troubridge (c1787-1852) the 2nd Baronet, was also an Admiral in the RN.

Trussell Way

Cawston, off Cawston Grange Drive

2007

SP 471736

Margaret Trussell, née Boughton (bapt 1581)

Margaret married Thomas Trussell at Dunchurch in 1603.

Margaret’s father was Edward Boughton (d. 1589) who built Cawston Hall in 1585.

Turchil Road

Cawston, off Calvestone Road

2004

SP 475736

Turchil of Arden

Turchil was the son of Alwin, Sheriff of Warwickshire and was one of the few great Saxon landowners who continued to hold properties following the Norman invasion in 1066.

The Domesday Book shows that by 1086, Cawston, then known as Calvestone, was one of his estates, having previously in 1066 been held by Edwin (see Edwin Close).

Thorkell was one of the alternative spellings of his name.

Turner Close

Lower Hillmorton, off Constable Road

1966

SP 536741

Joseph Mallord William Turner RA (1775 - 1851)

English painter.

He was buried in St Paul’s Cathedral, London,

British Romantic landscape painter, water-colourist, and printmaker.

Turnstone Close

Brownsover, off Coton Park Drive

2002

SP 513779

Turnstone, Arenaria interpres

The turnstone is a member of the large family of sandpipers. It is smallish winter visitor to Britain, preferring coastal shores which are stony , rocky or covered with seaweed and also constructions such as sea-walls, harbours and jetties.

The roads off Coton Park Road, Brownsover, have been named after British birds.

The turnstone obtained its name from its habit of turning over stones etc whilst looking for insects, crustaceans and molluscs.

Twist Court

Rugby, off Expectations Drive

2016

SP 505763

"Oliver Twist"

Oliver Twist was the hero of the eponymously entitled novel written by Charles Dickens in 1839.

The streets in this area were given names associated with the works of Charles Dickens.

Ulverston

 

Brownsover, off Buttermere

 

1980

SP 519771

 

Ulverston town, Cumbria

 

Ulverston is a market town on the Furness peninsula. It became a market town in 1280 when it was granted a Royal Charter by Edward I. It is also a civil parish that covers a quite extensive area around the town.

 

Ulverston road was so named because the town of Ulverston is close to the Lake District National Park.

Ulverston is the birthplace of Stan Laurel and now has a museum dedicated to him and his film partner, Oliver Hardy.

At the 2011 Census the civil parish had a population of 11,678, most of whom were in the east of the parish.

Union Street

Town Centre, within the gyratory system, off Russelsheim Way

It is shown in a map of 1849

SP 501749

The origin of this street name is not known.

Before the gyratory system development, Union Street extended from Warwick Street to just beyond East Union Street

It was built on part of Rugby Field where stood The Butts, an area outside the then town where young men were obliged by statute to practise their archery skills.

Upton Road

New Bilton, off Somers Road

1973

SP 489753

Upton Farm

The Somers Road Industrial Estate was built on the former Upton Farm.

Being part pf an industrial estate, Upton Road contains no residential properties.

Upton Farm was the successor to Newland Farm (see also Campbell Street.

Vere Road

Hillmorton, off Lower Hillmorton Road.

1955

SP 526744

James Vere

James Vere was Loed of the Manor of Hillmorton from 1771 to 1778, having bought the estate from Sir Edward Astley for £10,120.

Vere Road is one of the roads in Hillmorton that have been named after former Lords of the Manor of Hillmorton.

Vere road was one of the roads on the Abbotts Farm estate.

Vicarage Road

Rugby, off Lawford Road

c 1893

SP 499751

St Matthew’s vicarage.

The road was built on part of the St Matthew's glebe land behind the original vicarage in Bilton Road.

The land was sold by the church to Rugby Freehold Land Society for 18 building plots.

Victoria Street

 

New Bilton, off Lawford Road

 

 

SP 494752

Alexandrina Victoria (1819-1901)

 

She became Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1837-1901)

This street was laid out by the Harris family,

 

Voyage Road

Rugby, off Barnaby Road

2014

SP 503765

"The Long Voyage"

The Long Voyage is a New Year's Eve short story written by Charles Dickens in 1853.

The streets in this area were given names associated with the works of Charles Dickens.

Walmesley Road

Houlton, off Maine Street

2018

SP 555738

Dr Thomas Walmesley CBE, PhD, BSc, M.Inst.C.E., AMIEE, MIRE.(1886-1962)

Dr Walmesley joined the Metropolitan Power Section of the Post Office in 1908. He was staff-engineer in charge of the GPO Wireless Broadcasting  Branch from 1937 to 1940, when he was seconded to the Ministry of Aircraft Production.

The streets of Houlton have been named after people, events and equipment associated with the former Rugby Radio Station.

Dr Walmesley was appointed Resident Engineer during the erection of Rugby Radio Station and helped design its Short Wave Beam aerials.

Warren Road

Hillmorton Paddox Estate, off Percival Road

1925

SP 516742

Robert Edward Warren Hawksley (1874 - 1947)

The road was named by the Rugby Freehold Land Society after Warren Hawksley, an architect and surveyor employed by the Society. He was also secretary of the Rugby Town Hall Company (1910 – 1920)

Warren Hawksley was one of the vendors of the land when the former Brown's Farm, near the Paddox, was developed by the Rugby Freehold Land Society.

Warwick Street

Town centre, off Lawrence Sheriff Street

see Reason column

SP 500750

see Reason column

This street was the start of the ancient road that led from Rugby to the county town of Warwick. Prior to the nineteenth century it was known simply as "The King's Highway".

In the mid Victorian period, Warwick Street included the Rugby end of Bilton Road from its junction with Lawford Road to, but not including, Oakfield House.

Warwick is of Old English origin, probably meaning ‘dwellings by the weir or river-dam’.

Webb Ellis Road

off Bilton Road

1950

SP 495748

William Webb Ellis BA, MA (1807 - 72)

See also 'Biographies' section of this website.

Attended Rugby School (1816 - 25) where, according to Matthew Bloxam, he was originator in 1823 of carrying the ball, the distinctive feature of the Rugby Football game.

Rugby Football Club's premises are in Webb Ellis Road.

Wells Street

off Bath Street

1895

SP 507755

Wells Cathedral, Somerset.

Thomas William Jex-Blake BA, BD & DD (1832 - 1915), headmaster of Rugby School (1874 - 87), became Dean of Wells Cathedral in 1891.

Dr Jex-Blake was an Old Rugbeian, who had also been an assistant master at Rugby (1858 - 68) and Principal of Cheltenham College (1868 - 74).

Welton Place

 

off Percival Road

 

1937

SP 516736

 

Welton, Northamptonshire

 

Welton is a village 9 miles south east of Rugby.

 

Welton is of Saxon origin and is mentioned in the Domesday Book with the various names of Waletone, Weletone and Welintone, probably meaning ‘farmstead by a spring or stream’.

The population in 2011 was 608.

Wentworth Road

Overslade Estate, off Dunchurch Road

1938

SP 500741

Wentworth Golf Club, Virginia Water, Surrey

The road developers named it after one of their favourite golf courses.

Wentworth Golf Club includes one of Britain's leading golf courses. It was founded in 1926.

Westfield Road

off Bilton Road

1945

SP 497748

Westfield House

The road was built on the 31½ acre estate attached to the large house in Bilton Road.

Among the former owners of the house was Richard Pennington (1799 - 1885), a retired cotton manufacturer and merchant.

West View Road

New Bilton, off Pendred Road

 

1921

SP 480749

Mrs Agatha Mary West (1884 - 1970) MBE

 

She was one of the first women members of the Warwickshire County Council and of the Rugby RDC.

The road could not be named “West Road” because this may have caused confusion with the then existing West Street in Rugby. Note that West Street was later demolished when Corporation Street was built and no longer exists.

Her husband, Lt Col Francis Charles B West of Bawnmore, Bilton, lost his life in France in 1916. Her father was William Dewar, a master at Rugby School (see Dewar Grove).

Mrs West married Randall Garfield Hosking CBE (1882-1951) in 1924.

Wetherell Way

Brownsover, off Hollowell Way

1974

SP 515773

Wilfrid Pattison (Pat) Wetherell (1912-78)

W P Wetherall was an Alderman on Rugby Borough Council (1958-70). He was also chairman of the housing committee when the Council purchased the 214 acre Brownsover Estate from the Boughton-Leigh family.

Wetherall Way is one of a small group of roads In Brownsover that were named after former head teachers in the Borough.

In addition to his work as a councillor, Mr Wetherell was also a teacher at Elborow Junior School (1948-1959), having been acting headmaster from 1957 until the school was closed. He then became head of Binley Woods First School.

Whernside

 

Brownsover, off Hollowell Way

 

1978

SP 514773

 

Whernside, North Yorkshire

 

Whernside is a mountain in the Yorkshire dales on the border with Cumbria. It is about 6 miles north of Ingleton and about 8 miles north west of Horton-in-Ribblesdale.  It is the highest point in North Yorkshire at 2,415 feet (736 m).

 

Whernside is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is climbed as part of the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, the other peaks being Ingleborough, 2,372 feet or 723 m, and Pen-y-ghent, 2,277 feet or 694 m. Whernside also lies about 2 miles northwest of the spectacular Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle to Carlisle railway.

Whimbrel Close

Brownsover, off Coton Park Drive

2002

SP 513779

Whimbrel, Numenius phaecopus

The whimbrel is a medium- to-large sized member of the family of Sandpiper waders. Small numbers are summer visitors to the northern Scottish islands.

The roads off Coton Park Drive, Brownsover, have been named after British birds.

Whitefriars Drive

Cawston, off Calvestone Road

2004

SP 477741

The Carmelite Friary, Coventry

The church of the Carmelite Friars in Coventry is known as the Whitefriars Church. Following its dissolution in 1538, the church was partially demolished and some of the materials were used by Edward Boughton (d. 1589) in the building of Cawston Hall in 1585.

The Carmelites are a mendicant religious order. They were known as the Whitefriars because of their white cloak in comparison with the grey cloak worn by the Franciscans.

Whitehall Road

off Clifton Road

1879

SP 508751

Named after Whitehall, an old house that was formerly at the present junction of Clifton Road and Whitehall Road.

Whitehall was probably a 15th century open hall house that by the mid 19th century had become three tenements or cottages

The old building was purchased in 1879 by the Local Board of Health for road widening. Before the widening, Whitehall Road was known as Bridle Lane.

Whittle Close

Bilton, off Bawnmore Road

1964

SP 489731

Sir Frank Whittle OM, KBE, CB, FRS, FRAeS (1907 - 96)

Inventor of the turbojet engine

His first demonstration turbojet engine was manufactured and tested at the BTH factory, Rugby in 1937.

Wigston Road

 

Hillmorton, off Coton Road

 

1962

 

SP 532739

Robert Wigston

 

Robert Wigston was the vicar of St John the Baptist from 1565 to 1606.

Wigston Road is one of a small group of roads in Hillmorton that were named after former vicars of St John the Baptist.

Wilf Brown Close

Brownsover, off Brownsover Lane

2015

SP 511777

Wilfred Frank Brown (1941 – 2004)

Leading Ambulanceman and Technician (1966 – 2001).

Wilf Brown Close was built on the site of the former ambulance station in Brownsover where Wilf Brown was based for the latter part of his career.

William Street

off Railway Terrace

1841

SP 506752

Count William Ferdinand Wratislaw (1788 - 1853)

The street was built on land owned by Count Wratislaw, a solicitor & attorney who resided and practised in Church Street, Rugby.

When this street was first laid out it was about a quarter of its present length and was a cul-de-sac.

Willoughby Place

 

off Balcombe Road

 

1938

SP 518735

 

Willoughby village

 

Willoughby is a Warwickshire village about 5 miles to the south of Rugby.

 

Willoughby is of Saxon origin and is variously mentioned in the Domesday Book as Wilebere, Wilibene, Wilibei,and Wilebec. Its origin is a combination of Old English, Wilig, and Old Scandinavian (i.e. Viking), by, meaning ‘farmstead by the willow-trees’.

In 2011 it had a population of 398.

Wilson Close

Bilton, Admirals Estate, off Cornwallis Road

1990s

SP 482749

Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson, GCB (1842 - 1921)

Admiral of the Fleet, RN (1907 - 11).

1st Sea Lord (1910 - 11)

Windermere Close

 

Brownsover, off Stonehills

 

1973

SP 513772

 

Lake Windermere, Cumbria

 

Windermere is the largest natural lake in England.

The town that developed around the railway station that was opened in 1847 became known as Windermere.

 

Windermere Close is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District National Park.

The civil parish of Windermere had a population of 8,359 in the 2011 Census.

Winfield Street

off Clifton Road

1897

SP 514753

Rev Henry Whinfield BA, DD (1726 - 93)

He was the largest landowner to benefit from the enclosure of the Parish of Rugby in 1774.

Winfield Street was built on land that he owned jointly with a “Mr Round”.

Although he was born in Dunchurch, he never lived in Rugby and its surrounds following his matriculation at Peterhouse, Cambridge University, in  1746.

The street name has always been spelt without the letter "h".

Windmill Close

 

Hillmorton, off Crick Road

 

 2012

SP 538736

 

‘Hillmorton' Windmill

 

Windmill Close was built on or near the site of a windmill at Hillmorton that was demolished in 1899.

 

This windmill had been erected by 1787 and became disused about 1890. It replaced an older windmill that had been erected by 1584. The later mill was a brick built tower mill.

Wise Grove

Abbotts Farm Estate, off McKinnell Crescent

1956

SP 525748

Thomas Arnold Wise MA (1861 - 1940)

He was the charter mayor in 1932. He was also a chairman of Rugby UDC (1903 - 5 & 1923 - 24).

He was also a headmaster of a boys’ preparatory school at Oakfield in Bilton Road.

Wolsey Road

 

Bilton, Woodlands, Estate, off Cymbeline Way

 

1967

SP 488728

 

Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal (1473-1530)

 

Wolsey was a churchman and statesman who became a cardinal. Cardinal Wolsey is a prominent character in Henry VIII, the historical play written about 1613 by William Shakespeare, (1564-1616), ,

When the Woodlands Estate was laid out in 1964 the Council selected road names "having regard to the quarter centenary of Shakespeare's birth" in 1564.

 

Woodsia Close

Brownsover, off Mallow Way

1997

SP 515777

Woodsia, Woodsia livensis

Woodsia is a fern typically found on sunny exposed cliffs and rocky slopes. It is confined to a small number of localised areas of the northern half of the British Isles

Woodsia Close is one of group of roads in an area adjoining the north of Newton Manor Lane, centered around Campion Way, that are named after wild plants and flowers that can be seen in the British Isles.

As the woodsia fern is on the edge of its natural range in the UK, it is cosidered to be endangered, and has been given UK legal protection.

Wood Street

off Newbold Road

See notes

SP 501760

Frederick Wood (c1807 - 93)

He was a surveyor and land agent who lived and worked in Rugby from about 1840 until 1881. His employment included being assistant chief engineer and Chief Engineer of the Oxford Canal Co (1824 - 53) and as a land agent for the L&NW Railway (1853 - 81). Whilst in Rugby he was also an Inspector and a director of the Rugby Gas & Coke Co. In 1868 he became a founder member of the Institution of Surveyors (now the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors).

This street was built in two phases. The eastern end was constructed 1872 and was extended in 1890 to provide direct access to Newbold Road from the station.

Wooll Street

off Sheep Street

This short passage is of ancient origin, but was not named until 1956.

SP 502751

Dr John Wooll, DD (1767 - 1833)

Headmaster, Rugby School (1807 - 28). During his time as headmaster, the school was entirely rebuilt and its fortunes changed considerably. By 1818 pupil numbers had increased to over 380, making Rugby second only in size to Eton. Pupil numbers then declined progressively to only 123 in 1828.

Why this short passage, with no residences or shops, was named as a street has not been explained.

Wordsworth Road

off Shakespeare Gardens

1959

SP 496733

William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850)

He was one of the major English ‘romantic’ poets and was one of the main figures of a group of poets who lived in the Lake District at the turn of the nineteenth century who were called the Lake Poets. He became the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom in 1843 following the death of Robert Southey.

He has a memorial in Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey.

Among his major works are Wandered Lonely as a Cloud and The Prelude.

In Grasmere, Cumbria, the Wordsworth Trust maintains Dove Cottage, where he wrote some of his greatest poetry, and the adjoining Wordsworth Museum.

Wortley Close

Cawston, off Gerard Road

2004

SP 474739

Sir Richard Wortley (c1565-1603), Kt, of Wortley Hall, Yorkshire.

Sir Richard was married in 1578 to Elizabeth (1568-1642), daughter of Edward Boughton of Cawston (d. 1589). (see also Devonshire Close)

This Edward Boughton who died in 1589, built the original Cawston Hall in 1585. The building of the hall is believed to have impoverished Boughton and he had to borrow money from Richard Wortley.

Wroughton Drive

Houlton, off Maine Street

2018

SP 555739

Wroughton, near Swindon, Wiltshire.

The first public trans-Atlantic radio telephony service in 1927 was made via Wroughton Receiving Station.

The streets of Houlton have been named after people, events and equipment associated with the former Rugby Radio Station.

Wynter Road

Rugby, off Somers Road

1973

SP 487751

Thomas Wynter

William Wynter was Rector of Rugby sometime between 1507 to 1527.

Being part of an industrial estate, Wynter Road contains no residential properties

Wythburn Way

 

Brownsover, off Scafell

 

1982

SP 518774

 

Wythburn Village, Cumbria

 

Most of Wythburn Village was submerged when Thirlmere Reservoir was completed in 1894 leaving a few cottages and a church. The village was about 10km to the south of Keswick and about 3km from the summit of Hellvellyn.

Wythburn Way is one of the roads in Brownsover that was named after a place or feature in the Lake District.

Wythburn village is now part of St John's, Castlerigg and Wythburn civil parish which had a population of 422 in the 2011 Census.

Yates Avenue

Newbold-on-Avon, off Leicester Road

1950

SP 501754

Henry (known as Harry) Yates (1879 - 1929)

In 1913 he became the first Labour member of the Rugby UDC and was its elected chairman from 1924 to 1926.

Mrs Edith Yates, his widow, on July 4th 1929 became the first woman to be elected as a councillor of the Rugby UDC.

He died whilst contesting the 1929 General Election as the local Labour candidate. In the 1911 census his occupation was described as a tripe dresser.