It’s probably named in reference to the siege of Ladysmith during the Boer War. I thought it possible that Ladysmith Road is named after somebody with the surname ‘Ladysmith’, but it turns out that this is extremely unlikely – I did . . . → Read More: Ladysmith Road, Salisbury]]> Ladysmith Road is a small cul-de-sac off from Roman Road, to the north west of Salisbury.

It’s probably named in reference to the siege of Ladysmith during the Boer War. I thought it possible that Ladysmith Road is named after somebody with the surname ‘Ladysmith’, but it turns out that this is extremely unlikely – I did a search for Ladysmith on the National Trust surnames database and got the following:

There were no results found for your selection. There needed to be at least 100 people with the name on the Electoral Register in 1998 to be in the database. ¹

Many of the roads nearby are named on the theme of Empire – Roman Road, Centurion Close, New Zealand Avenue, or a more general patriotism – Queen Alexandra Road, Queen Mary Road and Tournament Road Salisbury (named, I think, in reference to the 1948 London Olympics).

Ladysmith is a good ‘fit’ with the themes of patriotism and Empire.

Ladysmith today

The city of Ladysmith is roughly halfway between Johannesburg and Durban², in the Uthukela district of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It has a population of about 200,000³.

The Siege of Ladysmith

Ladysmith is still most famous for the siege of 1899 to 1900.

During the 2nd Boer War, British commander Lieutenant General Sir George White had made Ladysmith his Natal headquarters. In October 1899, the Boers launched several attacks on British forces in the area. The British retreated back into Ladysmith to re-group.

The Boers surrounded the town on the 2nd November.

The British failed three times to break the siege – at the battles of Colenso, Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz.

The siege lasted until 28th February 1900. Around 3000 British soldiers died in the siege.

The Etymology of Ladysmith

The Boers had bought the land that is now Ladysmith from the Zulus in 1847, but it had been annexed by the British shortly afterwards.

The township of ‘Windsor’ was founded in June of 1850.⁴

The name lasted until October of the same year when the name was changed to ‘Ladysmith’.

‘Ladysmith’ was a counterpoint to the town of ‘Harrismith’, which had been founded in ???, and named after the then Governor of the Cape, Sir Harry Smith. Sir Harry’s wife was called Juana Maria de los Dolores de Leon Smith – presumably ‘Juanasmith’ was not as easy on the British ear as Ladysmith.

The Etymology of Ladysmith Black Mambazo

In researching this post, I was curious as to the origins of the name of the South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. According to the city of Durban’s website⁵, the name is derived as follows:

• Ladysmith – for the home town of the band’s leader Joseph Shabalala
• Black – for the strongest ox on the farm
• Mambazo – from the Zulu word for axe

The ‘axe’ here according to the website, is ‘symbolising the band’s ability to chop down the competition’. For me this carries a slight echo of Bob Marley’s ‘Small Axe’, which is also ostensibly about cutting musical rivals down to size⁶

Ladysmith as a road name – reasons for popularity

So, why is Ladysmith such a popular road name?

I can think of a few possible reasons.

A popular war?

First, I think it’s fair to say that the Boer War was comparatively popular.

This isn’t to make any value judgement about the purpose or the conduct of the war – I just mean that it seemed to have enjoyed some measure of public support, or at least perhaps, a lack of appreciation of the war’s full horrors.

A comparison with the First World War might help to make my point.

20,000 British people died in the Boer War⁷. Five million died in World War I⁸. While 20,000 deaths is an appalling tragedy, it perhaps wouldn’t touch every town, village and family in the way that the Great War did.

The Boer War was storied by Baden-Powell, founder of the Scouting movement and Winston Churchill. World War I gave us Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon and Rupert Brooke. While it would be wrong to characterize Baden-Powell and Winston Churchill as ‘gung-ho’ in their account of the war, there would have been a different emphasis in the way people would perceive the war.

Finally, communication from the front back to England was obviously much faster from Europe than it was from South Africa. Photography and even film were being used. The war was a lot closer to home, and first-hand accounts would have come back fairly quickly.

So my argument is that the locations and symbols of later wars would be weighed down with an appreciation of the human costs. This was not so much the case for the Boer War. Hence the country has many Ladysmith Roads, but few ‘Dunkirk Streets’ or ???’Ypres Terraces’.

Churchill – London to Ladysmith

The fame of the siege and relief of Ladysmith was enhanced by the writing of Sir Winston Churchill. Whatever else Churchill achieved he was a very good writer. Much of his income for most of his life was derived from book sales and for journalism. Winston was imprisoned in Pretoria, but escaped, joined the South African Light Horse and was present at both the Battle of Spion Kop ⁹and the relief of Ladysmith.

This made him something of a national hero¹⁰, so perhaps his subsequent book was bound to do well.

The Churchill Centre’s website¹¹ says that his book London To Ladysmith Via Pretoria???¹² is

the most exciting early Churchill work, this colorful book sets down Churchill’s Boer War experiences, including his escape from the Boers after the Armoured Train attack and his return to British lines

In the book, Churchill writes:

As the war drives slowly to its close more substantial triumphs, larger battles, wherein the enemy suffers heavier loss, the capture of towns, and the surrender of armies may mark its progress.

But whatever victories the future may have in store, the defence and relief of Ladysmith, because they afford, perhaps, the most remarkable examples of national tenacity and perseverance which our later history contains, will not be soon forgotten by the British people, whether at home or in the Colonies. ¹³

Small wonder perhaps, that the event which one of Britains national heroes calls ‘the most remarkable examples of national tenacity and perseverance which our later history contains’ is commemorated by road names up and down the country,

An English-sounding name

More prosaically,perhaps Ladysmith was seen as a good road name because it is derived from English. This is perhaps part of the reason why there are three roads named after Ladysmith in London¹⁴, but only one named after Mafeking ¹⁵. The pattern seems to be repeated across the country – there are Ladysmith Roads in Swindon, Bristol, Gloucester and Cheltenham. There is a Mafeking Road in Portsmouth but many others in the South West as far as I can see.

‘Ladysmith’ couldn’t be easier to pronounce and to spell – especially compared to a word like Pretoria or Mafeking – and it has a nice balance of the refined ‘Lady’ and the everyday ‘Smith’

High-point of naming things

Finally, ‘Ladysmith’ comes from a time when naming things along patriotic lines was frequent.

The Princess of Wales at the time was Alexandra, who had boats, hospitals, a horse race, a Nursing Corps and Queen Alexandra Road named after. The Queen was Victoria, who in Salisbury has both the Park and Victoria Road named in her honour in Salisbury, and London is full of references to the royals of that generation – the V & A Museum, the Albert Hall, Victoria Station and of course the Queen Vic in Eastenders.

I think it’s the case that patriotism was expressed at that time was expressed in the names of public building, institutions and roads.

Ladysmith Road in Salisbury I would guess was built some time later, but was perhaps named in the same spirit.

Footnotes

1. National Trust Names: Select a name – Ladysmith
2. Ladysmith & Surrounds – Home
3. Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
4. The Town — Ladysmith History & The Boer War
5. eThekwini Online – Joseph Shabalala
6. Bob Marley’s song is possibly more about what was then the Jamaican musical establishment, rather than his then peers. There’s a excellent discussion of the song’s various meanings in David Moskovitz book ‘The words and music of Bob Marley‘. I don’t know whether Jo Shabalala knew the Wailers’ ‘Small Axe’ song or not
7. Second Boer War – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
8. World War I – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
9. Spion Kop inspired the naming of the Kop at Anfield – the football ground of Liverpool FC. Liverpool are a mid-table English Premiership team
10. Winston Churchill – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
11. The Books of Sir Winston Churchill
12. This is an Amazon affliate link
13. The Project Gutenberg eBook of London To Ladysmith Via Pretoria, by Winston Spencer Churchill.
14. London streets beginning with l: Page 1
15. London streets beginning with m: Page 1

A Voyage Round My Father is an autobiographical work about the relationship between Sir John Mortimer, and his father . . . → Read More: Preview: A Voyage Round My Father]]> A Voyage Round My Father runs from the 2nd September until the 2nd October 2010. There are matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays. Tickets can be booked by ringing the Playhouse on 01722 320 333.

A Voyage Round My Father

A Voyage Round My Father is an autobiographical work about the relationship between Sir John Mortimer, and his father Clifford. Clifford Mortimer was also a lawyer, and it has been said that Sir John’s most famous character, ‘Rumpole of the Bailey’ was based on him¹.

It seems to have been a loving but sometimes difficult relationship. The director of the Canberra production of ‘A Voyage’ said that Mortimer

needed to have people’s praise all the time, and I think that’s why he went into the high profile trials like the Oz trial. He needed notoriety, he needed to be held up by people because he had a really damaged childhood. ²

Previous Productions of ‘A Voyage Round My Father’

‘A Voyage’ first appeared as a series of radio plays in 1963.³

Mortimer then adapted the play for television. The first screen version was shown in 1969, starring Mark Dignam and Ian Richardson. It was re-made as a TV film in 1982, starring Laurence Olivier, Alan Bates and Jane Asher. The Laurence Olivier version is available on DVD.

The 1971 theatrical version starred Alec Guinness and Jeremy Brett as the father and son.

There have been recent revivals of the play at the Donmar Warehouse⁴, the New Vic at Newcastle under Lyme ⁵ and Sterts Theatre in Cornwall ⁶.

In Newcastle, the play was performed, appropriately enough, ‘in the round’ – with the audience seated around a central stage.

Reviews of ‘A Voyage Round My Father’

Reviews for the various stage productions have included the following comments:

In Canberra:

Voyage Round My Father is certainly poignant, but mostly it’s very funny. ⁷

At the Donmar:

Thea Sharrock’s production in the tiny Donmar space is a delightful and gently witty piece. ⁸

For the production in Newcastle:

Heskins’s production glows with a warm nostalgia whose optimistic outlook already appears to belong to a bygone age….[Mortimer's] portrait of his paterfamilias was as generous and humane as anything he wrote. ⁹

The film received an Emmy award for ‘Best Drama’¹⁰, and was nominated for serveral Baftas.

Booking

A Voyage Round My Father runs from the 2nd September until the 2nd October 2010. There are matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays.

You can book online at: Salisbury Playhouse | A Voyage Round My Father

Or telephone: 01722 320 333

Further reading, listening and viewing

If you enjoyed ‘A Voyage Round My Father’, you might or might not be interested in the following on Amazon

John Mortimer on DVD

John Mortimer on CD

John Mortimer Biographies

Footnotes

1. A Voyage Round My Father, a CurtainUp London review
2. A Voyage Round My Father by John Mortimer | Stage Whispers
3. Obituary: Sir John Mortimer | Culture | guardian.co.uk
4. Theater Review: A Voyage Round My Father – Theater and Musical Production Reviews
5. New Vic Theatre in Newcastle
6. AN ACCLAIMED Cornish theatre company kicks off its 2010 summer season with a heart-warming new version of one of the 20th century’s most-loved plays.
7. A Voyage Round My Father by John Mortimer | Stage Whispers
8. A Voyage Round My Father, a CurtainUp London review
9. Theatre review: A Voyage Round My Father / New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme | Culture | The Guardian
10. » DVD Review: A Voyage Round My Father – Blogger News Network

This is appropriate because Sarah Lampard and William Seagrim both left money to Wilton Free School 1 There is also a reference to both “Sarah Lampard’s Charity” and “William Seagrim’s Charity” in the Wiltshire and Swindon Archives Catalogue

Other than that I don’t know anything else about Sarah . . . → Read More: Lampard Terrace, Wilton]]> Lampard Terrace is in Wilton, close to Seagrim Road.

This is appropriate because Sarah Lampard and William Seagrim both left money to Wilton Free School ¹ There is also a reference to both “Sarah Lampard’s Charity” and “William Seagrim’s Charity” in the Wiltshire and Swindon Archives Catalogue

Other than that I don’t know anything else about Sarah Lampard.

In researching this entry though I did find that some websites say that Frank Lampard was born in Salisbury. Others say he was born in Romford.

Footnotes

1. ‘Wilton: Schools and charities’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 33-36. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41772 Date accessed: 06 July 2010.

Laverstock Park is built on the grounds of Laverstock House, which was best known as an asylum for the mentally . . . → Read More: Laverstock Park, Laverstock]]> Laverstock Park is an estate in the centre of Laverstock – it’s divided into Laverstock Park and Laverstock Park West. Laverstock Park is off from The Avenue, where as Laverstock Park West is entered from Riverside Road

Laverstock Park is built on the grounds of Laverstock House, which was best known as an asylum for the mentally ill run by Dr William Finch, although the grounds also included the land which is now the ‘pebble-dashed’ estate (Linden Close, Vanessa Avenue, Napier Crescent et al). Laverstock House was ‘distinguished as one of the first establishments in which the mild and social system of treatment was practised with success’¹

Dr Finch went on to open the hospital in Wilton Road which became the Old Manor.

Footnotes

1. Laughton – Laverstoke | British History Online

Laverstock is a village to the east of Salisbury1.

The word ‘Laverstock’ has two elements.

The ‘stock’ means ‘fenced or enclosed settlement’ 2 or ‘homestead’ 3. . . . → Read More: Laverstock Road, Salisbury]]> Laverstock Road is the road that runs from Salisbury to Laverstock, obviously enough. It starts at the top of Milford Hill and runs down to Laverstock itself, where it turns into Riverside Road.

Laverstock is a village to the east of Salisbury¹.

The word ‘Laverstock’ has two elements.

The ‘stock’ means ‘fenced or enclosed settlement’ ² or ‘homestead’ ³. I would guess it’s related to the word ‘stockade’.

The ‘Laver’ seems to mean ‘larks’ or ‘skylarks’⁴ in this context. Another meaning is based on the French, and perhaps Norman, ‘laver‘ meaning to wash, and has to do with the religious washing of feet, but I’ve seen nothing to suggest that this has anything to do with Laverstock.

So, Laverstock means ‘enclosed settlement where there are larks’⁵

If you’re interested in the history of the village, I would recommend this short book:

• Larks on Cockey Down: a History of Laverstock by Ken Grist

Ian McLennan runs a Laverstock website which is very informative, although at the time of writing, there are elements of it which don’t always display correctly in my browser:

• Laverstock

Footnotes

1. although there was a fairly heated article recently claiming that it was more suburb than villageWiltshire Council – Wiltshire Community History Get Community Information
2. Wiltshire Council – Wiltshire Community History Get Community Information
3. Projects 2010
4. Wiltshire Council – Wiltshire Community History Get Community Information
5. The Dictionary of British Place-Names says: Laverstock Wilts. Lavvrecestoches 1086 (DB). ‘Outlying farmstead or hamlet frequented by larks’. OE l?werce + stoc. A. D. MILLS. “Laverstock.” A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 28 Jun. 2010 .

I tried to get a picture of the poster with the Cathedral itself in the background, but sadly my photographic skills weren’t any where near up to the job.

Anyway I like the way the Cathedral’s been photographed in the advert. Given . . . → Read More: Yellow Pages Advert]]> This poster, advertising the Yellow Pages, was on billboards around Salisbury during the summer of 2009.

I tried to get a picture of the poster with the Cathedral itself in the background, but sadly my photographic skills weren’t any where near up to the job.

Anyway I like the way the Cathedral’s been photographed in the advert. Given the text, the picture doesn’t particularly emphasize the height of the Spire.

I found the book in the Salisbury Oxfam shop for about three pounds. It was published in 1951, so it’s not a book you’re going to find in Waterstones, but on the other hand it probably won’t be that difficult to find second-hand. At the . . . → Read More: Book Review: ‘Salisbury’ – RLP Jowitt]]> This post is about a book called simply ‘Salisbury’ by R.L.P. Jowitt¹

I found the book in the Salisbury Oxfam shop for about three pounds. It was published in 1951, so it’s not a book you’re going to find in Waterstones, but on the other hand it probably won’t be that difficult to find second-hand. At the time of writing it’s available second hand through Amazonfor £4.99, including postage²

The book is divided into seven chapters:

• Old Sarum
• History of the Cathedral and its Bishops
• The Cathedral
• The Close
• History of New Sarum
• The City
• The Neighbourhood

I’ll give a brief outline of each chapter, then come to some sort of conclusion.

Old Sarum

The book gives a clear overview of Old Sarum’s history. It’s particularly good on the characters involved – Bishop Roger is ‘a man of forceful character’³. It includes this quote from William of Malmesbury “he built anew the Church of Salisbury, and beautified it so that it yields to none in England, but surpasses many”.

History of the Cathedral and its Bishops

The second chapter of the book is especially strong. Again, what I got in particular from the book was a sense of the characters involved.

Mr Jowitt digs up some pithy quotations on some of the Bishops. Bishop Bingham was ‘a man of great learning’⁴. De York was ‘better versed in the laws of the realm, which he had chiefly studied, than in the laws of God’⁵.

My favourite was the comment by Thomas Walsingham on Bishop Wyville ⁶‘

It was hard to say of him whether he was more dunce or dwarf, more unlearned or more unhandsome’.

I’m a bit disappointed that we don’t have a Wyville Road so I could re-use that quote….

I learnt that the Cathedral has been prone to flooding – in 1635 clergy rode horses through the church to avoid getting wet, and in 1915 a priest had to wade through flood water to get to the choir area to celebrate the Epiphany.

Jowitt is particularly scathing about Bishop Shute Barrington and his architect James Wyatt who, he says, ‘will ever be held in execration by all lovers of Salisbury and of medieval architecture. ⁷‘

The Cathedral

The chapter on the Cathedral starts with a quote from Pugin, who:

on the occasion of his last visit to Salisbury stood at the north-east corner of The Close and remarked, “Well I have travelled all over Europe in search of architecture, and I have seen nothing like this.”

Subsequent to that, Jowitt provides a detailed guide to the Cathedral, which, given that the interior hasn’t changed much in the last 50 years is probably as useful now as it was when the book was published. I’m looking forward to taking the book with me next time I visit.

Mr Jowitt aims another kick or two at Wyatt and Barrington, mentioning the ‘iconoclastic vandalism of James Wyatt, well named “The Destroyer”‘⁸

Jowitt also reminds me of something that I think I once knew but had since forgotten – the provenance of the stone structure in the south east corner of the Council Grounds. He says:

At the north end of the north transept is now placed the tomb of Bishop Blyth (1494-99) removed here by Wyatt. There was formerly a doorway here, the porch leading to which was removed by Wyatt altogether, and is now to be seen in the grounds of the Council House ⁹

The Close

At the start of Chapter 4, in common with other writers, Mr Jowitt pays tribute to the work done by Bishop Barrington and James Wyatt in the Cathedral Close:

Hard words have been said about Bishop Barrington for all the wanton damage he caused Wyatt to commit in the Cathedral, but tribute must certainly be paid him for the creation of the great lawn, from which the Cathedral rises so nobly. It was formerly a rough uneven graveyard and quite an unworthy approach to the Cathedral. The Hon Jon Byng, writing in 1782 of a visit to Salisbury, says:

“The Close is comfortable and all the divines are well seated but the house of God is kept in sad order, to the disgrace of our Church, and of Christianity…The Churchyard is like a cow-common, as dirty and as neglected and through the centre stagnates a boggy ditch etc”

The chapter on The Close is part tour guide and part history. There are many fascinating pieces of information – including these snippets:

• James II stayed at the Bishops Palace with Seth Ward after the 1688 Dutch Invasion.
• There is a mark on the wall opposite number 28 which marks the location of the shadow of the Cathedral spire at midday.
• Coventry Padmore wrote ‘The Angel in the House’ at the Old Deanery ¹⁰
• Lt-Gen Henry Shrapnell, who invented the explosive shell, lived at the Kings House in the Close ¹¹
• The Walton Canonry is so named because it was built by Isaak Walton, ‘son of the piscator’¹², early in the eighteenth century¹³

I particularly enjoyed Jowitt’s desciption of Chorister’s Green:

At the north-west corner of the Close is the Green ‘a charmingly intimate small edition of the greater Close, of which it forms a part’¹⁴

History of New Sarum

Chapter 5 is a dash through the history of the city.

Jowitt is good on the history of the Guilds – I’d like to know more about them. The Guilds seem to have inhabited an area somewhere between trade association, trades union, secret society and local government. There’s a digitized book on the Salisbury guilds that I need to read at some stage¹⁵.

This section contains some nice contemporary pictures which I’ll upload at some stage – as ever the thing that strikes me most is how few cars there are. There is a brief discussion of road names – it’s always re-assuring to know there are other people interested in the meanings of the names of roads!

Again, the book has some colourful pen pictures of Salisbury’s historical characters. John Halle, part of whose house now forms the foyer of the Odeon was:

‘a man of violent and overbearing temper, and by sheer bullying force of character, combined with his great wealth, derived from wool, held the office of Mayor four times,as well as representing the city in Parliament.”

Jowitt tells how Halle used ‘such violent language’ in a court hearing in 1465 that he was imprisoned in the Tower. He was elected mayor while still in prison.

Jowitt gives us some details on royal visits to Salisbury – something I didn’t know was that Richard II summoned Parliament to meet at the Bishop’s Palace in The Close.

The greatest ‘learning’ that I gained from the book comes towards the end of Chapter 5. It is this:

Communication by road with London and Exeter vastly improved during this Century (17th). As early as 1658, a very primitive coach had run thrice weekly in each direction, the time taken between London and Salisbury being two days and the fare £1.¹⁶

I’ve always been aware that communications were slower in the past, and I’ve theoretically known how important the railways were in the development of the country, but I’d never fully appreciated that it would take two days to get from Salisbury to London. I’m sure this says more about me as a student than anything else, but I’d never really taken this basic fact ‘on-board’ before. It throws a different light on local and national history.

In the early 19th Century the Quicksilver coach cut the journey time to 8 hours and 27 minutes. The Quicksilver service ended when the railway opened in 1846.

The City

The Chapter on ‘The City’ is largely a guidebook. It’s very well put together, but, by it’s nature, it’s much the same as other guidebooks to Salisbury.

It’s actually quite interesting to see what has changed – we no longer have Style and Gerrish, or the Gaumont Cinema; Lord Herbert of Lea no longer stands in the Market Square; the museum is no longer in Saint Ann’s Street.

The Neighbourhood

The final chapter is on the area around Salisbury. Its contains some good bits of trivia:

• Longford Castle is modelled on the Danish Castle of Uranienborg. It was largely financed by the shipwreck of a Spanish galleon on the Isle of Wight, which was then under the jurisdiction of the Gorges family who owned it.¹⁷
• the ‘Moot’ in Downton was the site of the Saxon hundred-moot – I think this is a regional meeting. ‘Moot’ here is, I think, the same word as in ‘Its a moot point’ – a point for discussion at the meeting.

My thoughts on Jowitt’s Salisbury

As you may have guessed if you have read this far, I think Jowitt’s Salisbury is a really good little book.

The things that might be seen to date the book – the focus on the perceived character of individuals, and the way the writer uses language ¹⁸ are things that I tend to enjoy.

The book does a good job in covering a great deal of ground in only just over 100 pages. It’s got some charming photos, which I’ll scan and upload at some stage¹⁹.

More importantly than all of the above, the book made me look at some parts of my home town in a different way.

At the time of writing there’s a copy on AmazonAmazon for less than a fiver. I think it’s well worth the money.

Footnotes

1. This isn’t something I’ve done on the website before, but I thought it might be interesting for me, and, hopefully useful for others to type up my thoughts on some of the books I’ve read
2. The price will vary over time, depending on who is sellling. The picture is an affiliate link that will take you through to the Amazon website – my copy didn’t come with the dust jacket sadly
3. page 5
4. page 15
5. page 15
6. page 17
7. page 27
8. page 32
9. page 36
10. page 55
11. page 56
12. ‘fisherman’ – I think he was the author of the ‘Compleat Angler
    ‘
13. page 56
14. page 51
15. Full text of “The ancient trade guilds and companies of Salisbury”
16. page 69
17. page 81
18. the vocabulary is sometimes a bit obscure – I guessed what ‘gnomon’, ‘piscator’, ‘fenestration’ and ‘halberdiers’ mean from the context, but I certainly didn’t know them before. Respectively they are – the bit in the middle of a sun-dial, a Fisherman, windows, and people with big clubs used in making textiles – I think!
19. I believe the book will be out of copyright

I don’t know why it’s called Lees Court for sure – but from memory either the Devizes Road shoe repairer’s or the shop on the corner of Ashley Road and Coldharbour Lane was called ‘Lees’. Perhaps there was some connection.

Update: I was browsing in the . . . → Read More: Lees Court, Salisbury]]> Lees Court is just off from Devizes Road, at the southern end.

I don’t know why it’s called Lees Court for sure – but from memory either the Devizes Road shoe repairer’s or the shop on the corner of Ashley Road and Coldharbour Lane was called ‘Lees’. Perhaps there was some connection.

Update: I was browsing in the library and found a book called ‘On The Corner’ by Daphne Lee¹. As might be guessed from the title and author, this confirms that the shop on the corner of Ashley Road was indeed ‘Lees’.

I didn’t have time to read the book yet, but given how close ‘Lees Court’ is to the old ‘Lees shop’, you might expect there to be a connection. I did notice that, according to the author, the family may be connected to the name of Lee Green in London, which is near Lewisham.

Footnotes

1. Lee, Daphne, On the corner, Published Excalibur Press, 1988 107p : ISBN/RCN 1853660124 Library Class Number SAL.921

I tweet as salisbury_matt, often about local things. Since this is the first time I’ve copied the tweets onto the website, I’m going to go back a . . . → Read More: Twitter updates]]> I thought it might be worth occasionally collecting together some of my Twitter updates and re-publishing them here. Some of the stuff might be interesting to readers of this website.

I tweet as salisbury_matt, often about local things. Since this is the first time I’ve copied the tweets onto the website, I’m going to go back a few months.

• Salisbury Bonsai Society’s great display is on the rather wonderful Clonehenge website Link about 7 hours ago via web
• The path alongside the Avon is flooded at the bit where it goes under the Ring Road (near Waitrose) this morning (23 Jul 2010 08:21:11 )
• New Stephen Fry series sounds interesting – Link (21 Jul 2010 21:04:03 )
• Currently reading an old book about S’bury by RLP Jowitt. V good. Contains some fine words: gnomon, piscator, fenestration, halberdiers (21 Jul 2010 17:55:45 )
• Enjoyed a couple of hours at Breamore (never sure how to spell it) at the weekend. Interesting Saxon church, if you like churches… (20 Jul 2010 21:20:39 )
• #ilearnedtodaythat Lt-Gen Shrapnell, who invented explosive shells, lived in The Close in Salisbury (20 Jul 2010 21:17:35 )
• I managed to crow-bar Coleridge, Nick Cave and O-zone into one post Link (20 Jul 2010 06:42:12 )
• @Clonehenge btw just started reading Stonehenge by Rosemary Hill. About responses rather than archeology etc. Seems good. Have you seen it? (17 Jul 2010 08:02:42 ) in reply to Clonehenge
• Great phrase on the news this morning: Plan B is to make Plan A work (07 Jul 2010 08:08:40 )
• Discovered why my recently-upgraded-to-3.0 WordPress install wasn’t letting me schedule posts Link (04 Jul 2010 19:49:11 )
• I finally completed ‘Little London’ post. Still not happy with it….Clarissa Eden/Churchill fascinating Link (01 Jul 2010 21:35:07 )
• This FLP podcast-lecture-thing is good too – Starbucks and Harveys (pre-war restaurant/hotel chain/bookshop) Link (01 Jul 2010 21:31:51 )
• Had a great evening at ‘Maletstock’ last night. Lovely pub at Newton Tony Link (27 Jun 2010 21:53:14 )
• Great comment on the website linking the Moberly story to Picnic at hanging Rock Link (21 Jun 2010 08:17:12 )
• Solstice morning, Salisbury station. Always makes me feel fairly chipper, in comparison to all the people looking very, very tired, (21 Jun 2010 08:14:16 )
• I’ve actually managed to upgrade Link to WP 3.0 *by mistake*. Consummate IT professional…. (19 Jun 2010 22:03:36 )
• Disappointed about the Stonehenge Visitors Centre. Given the numbers of currently unimpressed visitors it *seems* like a false economy (19 Jun 2010 18:12:55 )
• Reading about Clarissa Churchill. Niece of Winston, wife of PM Eden, friend of Waugh, Beaton, Orson Welles, Fleming. Neighbour of my granny (19 Jun 2010 18:10:44 )
• Thinking about a post on nicknames and pseudonyms for Salisbury – Sarum, Lighthouse City, Melchester, Starbridge…any more? (11 Jun 2010 23:24:18 )
• My footballing friend Fred Fieber’s website: Link (09 Jun 2010 20:36:36 )
• The Smoke, LDN, the Great Wen, Londonistan, The Land of Sugar Cake, Troynovant…. any other nicknames for London? (04 Jun 2010 23:42:56 )
• RT @VisitWiltshire Countryside walks for children in Wiltshire released in book Link (04 Jun 2010 23:10:57 )
• Listening to an interesting enough podcast about Harveys, a 19th century restaurant/hotel chain and Starbucks Link (01 Jun 2010 21:00:59 )
• Went to Burley yesterday in the Forest. Odd place. Gift shops themed around a witch/TV presenter who lived there in the ’50s (01 Jun 2010 20:54:12 )
• Typed up the schedule for May and June at the Odeon Kids Club: Link (30 May 2010 22:12:21 )
• I’ve been researching the derivation of the road name Love Lane. No certain conclusion really (21 May 2010 21:35:33 )
• Spent a proportion of my last day of unemployment at the Anokkaa buffet in Fisherton St. Very nice, but can now barely move. (14 May 2010 13:51:06 )
• Went to see the singing of the Vly be on the Turmut for the first time today. Quite fun. Where’s Si(Cowell when you need him? :) (07 May 2010 14:41:28 )
• Would this be the first time 3 Champions League team have come from one city? Can’t think of another (05 May 2010 21:58:01 )
• Enjoyed Les Liaisons Dangereuses @salisburyplay very much. Liked the line: ‘its always the best swimmers that drown’ (04 May 2010 12:29:07 )
• RT @ SpireFM Link – It’ll be good to see the Woolworths building in use again (30 Apr 2010 14:39:45 )
• Short item about the photo used in the Toro Toro posters @salisburyplay Link (23 Apr 2010 22:13:03 )
• Had a lovely day at @HawkConservancy near Andover yesterday. I’m not a great one for ‘nature’ but those birds are fascinating. (19 Apr 2010 09:48:32 )
• A bit of trivia I didn’t know ’til today – the greatest midfielder of his generation, Frank Lampard, was born in Salisbury (29 Mar 2010 17:13:52 )
• This is very good – RT @Londonist Is this the most beautiful hand-drawn map of London yet? Link (26 Mar 2010 14:18:15 )
• Saw @Out_of_Joint Andersen’s English @salisburyplay last night. Really good show, v interesting. Difficult to square Dickens with his work (26 Mar 2010 08:45:06 )
• Useful bit of sed to remove html tags: sed -e ’s/<[^>]*>//g’ ……from Link Dunno how it works, to be honest! (25 Mar 2010 16:43:58 )
• Bath University (@UniofBath) public lecture podcast about Avebury here: Link (2nd one down) (24 Mar 2010 14:36:34 )
• Added an @OrdnanceSurvey map to one of my fave posts – on the meaning of the name Petersfinger (to do with Saint Peter in chains, Lammas..) (23 Mar 2010 17:13:41 )
• Enjoyed a double decker bus ride out of Salisbury today – you do get a different perspective on stuff. (18 Mar 2010 16:17:00 )
• @SalisburyCath Have you found any good views on Google StreetView yet? My best so far: Link (11 Mar 2010 15:33:24 ) in reply to SalisburyCath
• Made me laugh: Matthew Parris: “What were the circumstances of Picasso’s birth?” Brian Sewell “The same as everyone else’s, I imagine” (09 Mar 2010 15:54:17 )
• Created another @OSOpenSpace_Svc (@OrdnanceSurvey) map. An annotated map of East Harnham – Link (07 Mar 2010 22:33:53 )
• Saw Glass Menagerie @salisburyplay. None too cheerful, but very intense, dramatic stuff. Might go again… (07 Mar 2010 19:35:26 )
• As ex-Forest Hill billy, this is brilliant – RT @leebryant if the London tube’s northern bias was reversed: Link (02 Mar 2010 14:58:51 )
• Worth a visit before it closes – RT @TimMontgomerie Ted Heath’s house [in Salisbury] is to be closed to public and sold Link (26 Feb 2010 15:27:45 )
• Tried to jog around outer rim of the ‘Accursed Hill’. Old Sarum. Chickened out. Too slippy and too far to fall. (23 Feb 2010 13:27:20 )
• Went to the British Music Experience at the Dome at the w/e. Good for before a show. Saw John Lennons copy of Lonnie D’s Rock Island Line (23 Feb 2010 11:43:57 )
• Nice picture of the stones – RT @Clonehenge Doctor Who–doing some filming at Stonehenge. Link (09 Feb 2010 12:09:22 )
• Footnotes seemed to have gone wonky on my wordpress site, but I managed to hack a fix in the PHP. Inordinately proud of myself! (09 Feb 2010 10:27:20 )
• @SalisburyDPhoto Did you see this ? – a postcard of a lion attacking a horse at the Pheasant near Pitton Link (05 Feb 2010 21:12:13 )
• One of my faves either in S’bury or elsewhere : RT @salisburyplay Private Lives Theatre Day today. You still have until the 20 Feb to book (04 Feb 2010 14:27:49 )
• The insipirations for Gulliver, Robinson Crusoe and the Ancient Mariner were once all on the same boat acc. to Link (04 Feb 2010 13:27:15 )
• Just used the ‘sticky post’ feature in WordPress. Very useful – exactly what I wanted. And I like the name ‘sticky post’ (28 Jan 2010 23:27:51 )
• My post on Winston Churchill’s great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather (I think) has gone up. Needs editing tho Link (27 Jan 2010 23:13:59 )
• Saw Noel Coward’s Private Lives @salisburyplay on Friday. Very good. And a London Pride at half time, appropriately Link (24 Jan 2010 21:55:37 )
• Listened to a brilliant but yucky podcast on parasites – Link (13 Jan 2010 16:43:42 BST )
• The Beeb has started podcasting Desert Island Discs – hooray! Link (05 Jan 2010 23:10:54 BST )
• Typed in the listings for future Salisbury Odeon Kid’s Club films. Don’t know why its not on the cinema’s website Link 2:54 PM Jan 2nd )
• By popular (well…one!) request the entry for Maundrel Hall, (Slug and Lettuce, Salisbury) is now live Link 2:46 PM Jan 2nd )
]]> http://salisburyandstonehenge.net/general/twitter-updates/feed 0 http://salisburyandstonehenge.net/streetnames/lime-kiln-way-salisbury http://salisburyandstonehenge.net/streetnames/lime-kiln-way-salisbury#comments Sat, 24 Jul 2010 19:55:16 +0000 mattypenny http://salisburyandstonehenge.net/?p=2568 Lime Kiln Way is at the Britford end of Harnham – close to the Ridings Mead estate, but I think perhaps part of a later development.

Lime Kiln Way is close to the Ridings Mead estate in Harnham. I think it’s part of a later development than Ridings Mead itself.

A lime kiln is an oven for converting . . . → Read More: Lime Kiln Way, Salisbury]]> Lime Kiln Way is at the Britford end of Harnham – close to the Ridings Mead estate, but I think perhaps part of a later development.

Lime Kiln Way is close to the Ridings Mead estate in Harnham. I think it’s part of a later development than Ridings Mead itself.

A lime kiln is an oven for converting chalk or limestone into lime. Lime is used in construction (historically it’s been a key component of cement), and many other industries¹.

The 1915 Kelly’s Directory has an entry for ‘The Harnham Lime Works’ ².

Lime Kiln Way is therefore probably named in reference to the Harnham Lime Works.



Footnotes

1. British Lime Association – The Trade Association for the UK Lime Industry
2. Kelly’s Directory, 1915, page 203 – the Directory is browsable on-line at the Historical Directories website
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