The streets of Burpham…
Moira MacQuaide’s history of Burpham
But it turned out that there are no streets! Roads, drives, lanes, ways, avenues, drives, etc, but no streets. 100 years ago there was only the London Road in Burpham, plus Burpham Lane, New Inn Lane, and Merrow Lane.
London Road was the main, and very busy, route from London to Portsmouth, but until the early 20th century Burpham was made up of farmland and not much else. Housing developments from the 1920s onwards have brought some large estates, including Winterhill, New Inn, Weylea and Bowers Farms.
The roads on the New Inn Farm estate, begun in the 1950s, are often referred to as the Herb Estate, with many old herb names such as Coltsfoot, Burnet, Bryony, Fennell and Woodruff. Whereas many roads on the Weylea Farm estate, built in the 1980s, are named after past residents of the village, such as Sutherland Drive (the Duke owned Bower’s Mill), Elkins Gardens (after the brewing family), Turner Close (William and Emma ran the village shop), Gatley Drive (George and Percy were farmers), Pimm’s Close (William was a farmer). Some refer to trees, such as Elder Close and The Cedars.
The Paddocks estate, Paddocks and Meadow Roads off Burpham Lane, was built in the 1920s, on the site of the Marlyn’s paddock and meadow. Further along is Howard Ridge, named after Roy and Percy, local builders. Clay Lane was built to replace the old Jacob’s Well Road, when the A3 was built, and refers to the heavy clay soil in the area. Bower’s Lane is part of the old road, now blocked for the A3 and after the hump-backed bridge, but giving access to Bower’s Mill.
There were no houses on New Inn Lane until the late 1920s when Glendale Drive was developed as part of the Winterhill Farm estate and the old brick works. Several roads in the area reflect the local flora, such as Hawthorne and Briar Ways, Great Oaks Park, Oak Hill, Oak Tree Close and Orchard Road.
Weybrook Park is the newest of the large estates, many of the road names reflect the type of farming on Bower’s Farm such as Dairyman’s Walk and Jersey and Guernsey Closes. Some relate to local farms including Lady-grove, Whipley Manor, Tithebarn and Hazelhurst. Newark refers to the Priory at Ripley; Ockley and Abinger are local villages; Cotts Wood is near West Clandon. Watersmeet means where two rivers meet, so probably where the Merrow stream flows into the River Wey.
One of the most recent developments is Wroth Place, named after Robert Wroth, who was MP for Guildford in the early 1700s and Lord of the Manor for Burpham. He sold the village to Lord Onslow, but there doesn’t seem to be anything named after that family.
There are lots of road names in Burpham that I can’t identify their source, if you know what your road is named after, then please let me know moira.macquaide@gmail.com
If you are willing to share your memories and/or photos to tell us more about Burpham then please contact Moira MacQuaide, either by e-mail (moira.macquaide@gmail.com) or by phone or text (07963 756543). My two books (‘The History of Burpham Primary School’ and ‘Burpham – A Gateway to Guildford’) are still available from me for £10 (free delivery locally) or on Amazon.
We moved into our bungalow in Chasefield Close just over a year ago and come from Colchester in Essex. When there I was involved in street names, firstly as a Borough Councillor and latterly through Colchester Civic Society. The Society is keen to ensure that Colchester’s rich heritage continues to be reflected in its street names.
One of the first things I did when we were settled in here was to enquire of Guildford Borough Council where our street name came from. I was very surprised to be told that they did not know. Had I made a similar enquiry in Colchester I would have been told the age of the street and the meaning of the street name. Admittedly the Borough was helped in that in 1935 a prominent Alderman of the then smaller Borough published a booklet detailing the background to the names of all the streets then existing. This has been built on to produce a good record for all streets in the new, larger Borough.
One of the things Colchester found helpful in modern times is that, when a street is named for an individual, to include both first name and surname in the street name. This makes it clear who the street is named for. This policy has unintended, beneficial results. A street was named in the 1950’s Catherine Hunt Way after our second lady Mayor from the 1920’s. Clearly Hunt Drive would have entirely different connotations. When a more recent Mayor, Martin Hunt died, it was possible to name a road for him with no problems with Royal Mail on addresses.
Can I suggest the following actions:
1. You complete your record of street names and publish it on your website. The record would have to be in a form such that it can be updated regardless of the change of personnel over time.
2. Streets that cannot be identified be published in ‘Burpham Pages’ so that people with local knowledge can fill in the blanks.
3. An approach be made to Guildford Council for a similar facility for the Borough with accessibility via the website. This would have to be done by voluntary labour, either a Society group or public spirited and long resident individuals.
4. The Borough Council be asked to adopt a Street Naming and Numbering Policy. That of Colchester Borough Council is available as a pro forma via their website and, in my opinion, not ideal, would need very little alteration. The issue of using first names and surnames could be included, if thought desirable.
Two great books, we have then both. What Moira does not know about Burpham is not worth knowing!