Hadrians Close is, I think, named after the Roman Emperor Hadrian1.

If so, then the name would have been chosen in reference to the Roman Road which . . . → Read More: Hadrians Close, Salisbury]]> Hadrians Close is in Lower Bemerton, which is a village on the western outskirts of Salisbury, most famous for the its association with the poet George Herbert

Hadrians Close is, I think, named after the Roman Emperor Hadrian¹.

If so, then the name would have been chosen in reference to the Roman Road which ran close by. The road ran from Old Sarum along the course of our http://salisburyandstonehenge.net/streetnames/roman-road-sp2″ >Roman Road out towards the race plain and then on to Dorchester.

Emperor Hadrian (A.D. 76 – 138)

Emperor Hadrian was born in A.D. 76 probably near to Seville². I read that the possibility that he was born outside Rome may have encouraged him to be more outward looking than other Roman Emperors – he was an admirer of Greek culture and he was interested in all parts of the Empire.

After the death of father, a man named Trajan became his guardian³. Trajan was Hadrian’s immediate predecessor as Emperor.

Hadrian was a military tribune in the area of the Upper Rhine in his twenties. In A.D. 100 Hadrian married Vibia Sabina, a relative of Trajan’s. In A.D. 117 he became governor of Syria.

In the same year, on his death bed, Trajan adopted Hadrian as his son, and Hadrian duly succeed Trajan as Emperor.

Hadrian’s military or imperial strategy was one of consolidation. He was uninterested in expanding the boundaries of the Empire, but he wanted to protect the boundaries currently in place.

It was this strategy which left his lasting legacy in Britain – Hadrian’s Wall. The Wall is probably the reason why Salisbury has ‘Hadrians Close’ but not ‘Caesars Close’, or ‘Nero’s Close’ or ‘Trajan’s Close’.

Hadrian visited Britain in A.D.122 ⁴. The wall was built soon afterwards.

Machiavelli’s ‘Five Good Emperors’

Hadrian was one of the ‘five good emperors’. The ‘five good emperors’ were identified by Niccolo Machiavelli in 1503.

And if he who has become prince in any State will but reflect, how, after Rome was made an empire, far greater praise was earned those emperors who lived within the laws, and worthily, than by those who lived in the contrary way, he will see that Titus, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus and Marcus had no need of prætorian cohorts, or of countless legions to guard them, but were defended by their own good lives, the good-will of their subjects, and the attachment of the senate⁵.

Machiavelli goes on to contrast the five good emperors who were ‘adopted’⁶ against those who came before and after who had inherited the throne

From the study this history we may also learn how a good government is to be established; for while all the emperors who succeeded to the throne by birth, except Titus, were bad, all were good who succeeded by adoption; as in the case of the five from Nerva to Marcus. But so soon as the empire fell once more to the heirs by birth, its ruin recommenced⁷.

.

Hadrian’s ‘goodness’ as it comes down to us through history is shown through various things. He averted a war with Parthians, he concentrated on the defence of the Empire rather than on further invasions, he cancelled tax arrears, he expanded schemes to feed the poor, and he built the Pantheon, which still stands.

Footnotes

1. The only other Hadrian in the Dictionary of NAtional Biography is a Canterbury abbot. I don’t believe he had any connection with Bemerton, Salisbury or George Herbert. The DNB page for Hadrian the Abbott is http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/39256?docPos=2x
2. Malcolm Todd, ‘Hadrian (AD 76–138)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/48289, accessed 17 Oct 2011]
3. Hadrian
4. I don’t know how close he came to Hadrians Close. The Roman road to Dorchester was a significant one – perhaps he came that way
5. Niccolo Machiavelli, ‘Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius’, Project Gutenberg EBook – Chapter 10
6. To be honest I’m not entirely sure of the meaning of adopted here – I presume that it means ‘nominated as a successor’ more than the modern ‘taken into the family’
7. Niccolo Machiavelli, ‘Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius’, Project Gutenberg EBook – Chapter 10

I’m not sure who Harper Road is named after, but it could be Sir George Montague Harper.

Sir George Harper was a soldier who fought in both the South African War1 and the First World War.

. . . → Read More: Harper Road, Salisbury]]> Salisbury’s Harper Road is off from the Devizes Road, between Roman Road and India Avenue.

I’m not sure who Harper Road is named after, but it could be Sir George Montague Harper.

Sir George Harper

Sir George Harper was a soldier who fought in both the South African War¹ and the First World War.

Image is an Amazon link

In the South African War he was at Spion Kop, Ladysmith, and Pieters Hill. He was awarded the DSO.

n the Great War, Harper took part in the third battle of Ypres and he was heavily involved in the final offensive of the war north of Ancre. Between August 21st and November 11th, 30,000 men were lost in Harper’s Fourth Army Corps.

He was awarded the K.C.B. in 1918, as well as the Legion of Honour, French and Belgian Croix de Guerre and the Serbian White Eagle.

After the war he was appointed General Office Commanding Southern Command.

Harper died in a car crash in 1922

Harper Road and Sir George Montague Harper

Was Harper Road named after Sir George?

I don’t know of any specific geographical link between the soldier and that area of Salisbury, but it could have been.

Above and beyond his achievements in the military, he seems to have been a popular man. He was nicknamed ‘Uncle’ within the army. The Dictionary of National biography says that ‘Avuncular in appearance, with a shock of white hair, he seemed to show due regard to the views of all ranks and appeared to have their welfare fundamentally at heart².’

When he died, ‘an immense crowd’ turned out in Salisbury to see his coffin conveyed from the Cathedral to the London Road cemetary³.

Harper Road is not far from Ladysmith Road – and Sir George was present at the relief of the siege of Ladysmith. My guess would be that even if the road is named after the soldier this is probably no more than a coincidence, but it could be seen as ‘of a piece’ with the patriotic road names in the area – the roads named after Commonwealth countries, Ladysmith and Queen Alexandra Road.

Footnotes

1. I heard an argument on the radio the other day that the phrase ‘Boer War’ is a bit misleading, in that many other groups of people were involved. I don’t know much about the War, but it seems to me that ‘South African War’ makes more sense – most other wars aren’t only named after just one protagonist – for example, World War I isn’t known as ‘the German War’
2. Bryn Hammond, ‘Harper, Sir George Montague (1865–1922)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [Oxford DNB article: Harper, Sir George Montague, accessed 21 July 2011]
3. Title History beneath our feet : a guide to the Devizes Road and London Road cemeteries, Baker, Alan , Salisbury District Council, 1994 p10-14 ISBN/RCN BRN0761087 – the booklet is available in Salisbury Library

The word ‘Hastings’ is derived from a tribal group based around a family or person called ‘Haesta‘2. They were important enough to be referred to in an 8th century Northumbrian chronicle – this indicates some . . . → Read More: Hastings Court, Salisbury]]> Hastings Court is the ‘apartment building’¹ on Devizes Road, near the top of Ashley Road.

Etymology of Hastings

The word ‘Hastings’ is derived from a tribal group based around a family or person called ‘Haesta‘². They were important enough to be referred to in an 8th century Northumbrian chronicle – this indicates some significance because Northhumbria is the other end of the country from Hastings.

Hastings Court

I’m not sure why Hastings Court would be named after Hastings.

Hastings is a coastal town in South East Kent. It’s famous for two things:

• the Battle of Hastings – where William the Conqueror defeated King Harold in 1066
• being one of the Cinque Ports – 5 coastal towns grouped together either for defence or trade ³

So why is Hastings Court named after the town of Hastings?

National pride

Some roads are named in reflection of a source of national pride. Salisbury has a Waterloo Road, for example, and roads named after Nelson and Churchill. Other cities have a Trafalgar Road⁴ or Dunkirk Avenue⁵.

Hastings Court wouldn’t fit this pattern, arguably, unless the developer was French! The Battle of Hastings was a defeat for the ‘indigenous population’. If you exclude the Dutch invasion of 1688, this was the last time mainland Britain was successfully invaded.

A local theme

Hastings Court doesn’t seem to fit into any theme for the local road names.

None of the other Cinque Ports have roads or courts named after them – there is no ‘Romney Court’, or ‘Sandwich Street’, sadly.

Salisbury does have a set of roads which are named after coastal counties – Norfolk Road, Suffolk, Essex Road, Kent Road and Sussex Road – but they are all in Harnham.

The predominant theme of road names in the are actually seems to be areas of London – West End Road , Westminster Road , Richmond Road , Kensington Road, Bedford Road, Russell Road⁶, Finchley Road, probably Kingsland Road, and perhaps Coldharbour Lane.

A surname

So there is no obvious reason why Hastings Court might be named after Hastings in Kent. It could, perhaps, be named after the developer or owner of the building. I don’t know. Please leave a comment if you have any information!

Footnotes

1. I’m not sure whether this is the right description – ‘block of flats’ doesn’t sound right, but apartment building sounds a bit like it should be in New York
2. Online Etymology Dictionary
3. The reason for the grouping of these 5 coastal seems to be unclear – see Historic Confederation of Maritime Towns in South-East England
4. Trafalgar Road, London borough of Greenwich
5. Dunkirk Avenue (Houghton-Le-Spring) Bus & Train Tickets, Timetables & Journey Planner | TravelFor.co.uk
6. These last two, Bedford Road and Russell Road are I think named after the squares in Bloomsbury

It’s probably named in reference to the siege of Ladysmith during the Boer War.

Image from Amazon

I thought it possible that Ladysmith Road is named after somebody with the surname ‘Ladysmith’, but it turns out that . . . → 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.

Image from Amazon

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 found it’s not listed¹

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 very 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 Pretoria¹² 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

Marlborough is about 25 miles north of Salisbury. The name Marlborough has two possible derivations.

The more poetic is that the ‘Marl‘ is a . . . → Read More: Marlborough Road, Salisbury]]> Marlborough Road is to the north of Salisbury city centre. It runs from Wyndham Road to the railway line.

Is Marlborough Road named in reference to the town of Marlborough?

Marlborough is about 25 miles north of Salisbury. The name Marlborough has two possible derivations.

The more poetic is that the ‘Marl‘ is a reference to ‘Merlin’ who would therefore be buried in the tumulus in the grounds of Marlborough College. The town’s motto, adopted in Victorian times, is ‘ubi nunc sapientis ossa Merlini?‘ – ‘where now are the bones of wise Merlin ?’(¹)

The more prosaic derivation is that ‘Marl‘ is an old word for chalky soil (²).

Marlborough Road runs in the general direction of Marlborough. However unlike, say, the Southampton Road or the Wilton Road, you wouldn’t travel to Marlborough up the Marlborough Road.

It could still have been named in reference to the idea that the road does run in the direction of Marlborough. Personally, I don’t think it was. I think it was named after the Duke of Marlborough.

Marlborough Road and Woodstock Road

The first Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, was a national hero in his time, and for many years after.

He was the hero of the Battle of Blenheim, he helped crush the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, and he was a significant player in the so-called ‘Glorious Revolution’ (³). He was also, as detailed below, an ancestor of Winston Churchill.

However, it’s not his status alone which makes me think that Marlborough Road is named after John Churchill

The reason that I am fairly sure that Marlborough Road is a reference to Churchill is that it adjoins Woodstock Road.

In 1705, the year after his rout of the Bavarian and French forces at Blenheim, Queen Anne bestowed on Churchill the ‘royal manor of Woodstock’. It was at Woodstock that Churchill built Blenheim Palace.

The conjunction of Churchill’s title, Marlborough, and home, Woodstock could certainly be a coincidence, but it seems to me that this is unlikely.

It could also be that Marlborough Road was first named after the town and then Woodstock Road was named as a reference to the man who bore the title of the town, but I think that it’s more likely that they are both references to John Churchill.

Image from Amazon

The relationship between John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough and Sir Winston

I think John was Winston’s great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather!

This is diagrammed, somewhat shoddily (⁴), below.

The family relationship between Sir Winston and John Churchill

John Churchill, First Duke (1650-1722)
|
|
-----------------------
|                     |
|                     |
Henrietta Godolphin,  Anne Churchill, daughter (1683-1716) ()
2nd Duchess           |
                      |
                      Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke (1706-1758) ()
                      |
                      |
		      George Spencer, 4th Duke (1739-1817) ()
		      |
		      |
		      George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke (1766-1840) ()
	              |
	              |
	              George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke (1793-1857) ()
	              |
		      |
		      John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke (1822-1883) ()
		      |
		      |
-------------------------------------
|                                   |
|                                   |
George Spencer-Churchill,           Lord Randolph Churchill,
8th Duke (1844-1892) ()           3rd son (18??-1???) ()
                                    |
				    |
		   	            Winston Churchill (1874-1965) ()

Sir Winston’s biography of John Churchill

Sir Winston was proud of his illustrious ancestor. During World War II, somebody is supposed to have remarked to the Prime Minister that the Battle of Britain was ‘his Waterloo’, meaning a famous and significant military victory. Churchill is supposed to have replied ‘No, it’s my Blenheim’ (¹⁴)

During the 1930s, Sir Winston wrote a biography of John Churchill, broadly defending him against attacks by the 19th Century historian, Thomas Macaulay. Churchill was, of course, a prolific writer. He won the 1953 Nobel Prize for Literature for all of his work. Churchill wrote for money. He received a £15,00 advance for the book on the Duke – this was before he was Prime Minister.

The book was published in four volumes. Current editions run to over 1000 pages.

Image from Amazon

John Churchill – a chronology

Most of the material here is derived from either the Dictionary of National Biography (¹⁵) or the Wikipedia article on the Duke of Marlborough (¹⁶)