Plymouth's new street names and the stories behind them
More than 40 new roads have been named in Plymouth since the beginning of 2016 - and many have meaningful stories behind them
Edd MooreEditor
Sarah WaddingtonHead of content
New streets are springing up all the time in Plymouth - and there is a story behind the name of every single one.
Some of them have just been built, some are under construction and many others are just fields or wasteland at the moment, waiting for the pavements and road signs to be built.
Most won't even appear on Google Maps just yet, because they only exist in developers' and council planners' designs. But soon they will be there in real life.
The names are created by the council in consultation with housing developers, following strict rules as to what you can and can't call a road.
The council is, with a few exceptions, not allowed to name streets after anyone who is living, anything that could be subject to ridicule or that sounds similar to one that already exists.
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Due to the regulations in regards to street names, Plymouth has many roads with signs reading the names of historical figures and locations around Devon and Cornwall. But new developments across the city has seen the range of street names grow.
With major developments taking place or on the verge of starting all over Plymouth - including the new town of Sherford which is taking shape right now - there are new streets popping up all the time.
Here are all the roads that have been named since the start of 2016 - and how they got their names.
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Lilford Gardens
Named February 3, 2016 after a stately home and formal gardens in Northampshire.
Lilford Hall is a Grade I listed stately home. It was started in 1495 as a Tudor building, with a major Jacobean exterior extension added in 1635 and a Georgian interior adopted in the 1740s.
Lilford Gardens, in Honicknowle, is set to become 32 self-build plots after Trathen Lewis Limited purchased the land.
It is situated just off Wanstead Grove.
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Ambleside Place, Ravenglass Close and Eden Valley Gardens
Named in February and March 2016 these three streets take their titles from villages in the Lake District.
Ambleside is largely Victorian, but there is a fort beside Borrans Park – named Galava – built by the Romans.
Ravenglass is a coastal hamlet within the Lake District National Park, and lies on the estuary of three rivers – the Esk, the Mite and the Irt.
The Eden Valley is broad and the hills flanking it are generally low, giving a sense of wide open spaces. The countryside is predominantly farmland, with open fields edged by hedgerows and drystone walls.
The three streets are all off Miller Way in Estover.
Thomas Lane
Named March 15, 2016 in acknowledgement of John Thomas who was mayor of Plymouth from 1540 to 1541 and again from 1552 to 1553.
Few records remain about who Mr Thomas was, or what he did for the city.
But this road, off Diamond Avenue in Greenbank, is a short walk from Freedon Fields Park and is effectively an old back alley which now hosts some new-build flats.
Plymouth has elected a mayor annually since 1439. The city was awarded the dignity of a Lord Mayoralty by letters patent dated May 6, 1935. The dignity was granted as part of the silver jubilee celebrations of George V.
Roscoff Rise
This road is at the Palmerston Heights development in Derriford - and was given its name on April 11, 2016.
Of course it's named after the town called Roscoff, France.
After lobbying by local economic leaders, the French government agreed in 1968 to provide a deep water port there.
Existing ferry operators were reluctant to take on the relatively long Plymouth/Roscoff crossing, so Gourvennec and colleagues founded Brittany Ferries.
A ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff now runs all year round.
Pippin Lane
Situated just off Sherford Road in Plymstock, Pippin Lane is set to become a new road boasting family homes.
It's not in Sherford itself - but it's nearby, on the fringes of Elburton.
The road is named after a type of apple. The Pippin Apple originated in New York in the early 18th Century and is rarely eaten nowadays.
It is still used, however - to make cider. It's not clear whether this is the reason developers decided to christen the street so, but it would be nice to think so.
Tresco Gardens
Titled on August 31, 2016, this street off Skerries Road in Southway is named after the Scilly Isle of Tresco.
Tresco is a beautiful, tranquil, family-owned island off the coast of Cornwall with award winning accommodation and food.
Tresco (Cornish: Enys Skaw, meaning 'island of elder-trees') is the second-biggest island of the Isles of Scilly. It is 297 hectares in size, measuring about 3.5 kilometres by 1.75 kilometres.
Tresco Gardens, on old school land beside Beechwood Primary School, has now been built.
Kingdom Street
This Millbay street is being built now in an area fast becoming home to some of the smartest waterfront townhouses in the city.
Kingdom Street is located off the almost-as-new Soap Street, off towards West Hoe.
It takes its name from Lady Sophia Kingdom, the Plymouth-born mother of engineering genius Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Sophia lived a fascinating life. She was in France learning the language when she met Marc Isambard Brunel - at around the same time the revolution broke out.
In 1793 he had to flee to the United States, leaving her to be arrested on suspicion of being an English spy. Sophia was due to be executed - but survived the chop.
She returned to England and, six years later, Marc sought her out and the couple married. A street bearing their pioneering son's name - Isambard Kingdom Brunel Way - leads to Sophia's own.
Cropp Lane
Off Clarence Place in Devonport and by the famous Millfields, you will eventually find Cropp Lane.
The road was officially named on October 17, 2016, and is in acknowledgement of Thomas Cropp, who was Mayor of Plymouth in 1501-1502.
If you know something about Thomas Cropp then please tell us, because information on him is scant.
Sherford
It's the new town being built on the outskirts of Plymouth that will eventually be home to around 12,000 people.
More than 100 people have now moved in - and more are following all the time.
Barring the imaginatively-named Main Street, Sherford's first roads are named after constellations.
In October 2016 those included Aries Lane, Indus Place, Hercules Road, Vela Row, Pegasus Place, Libra Avenue, Gemini Road, Lynx Lane and Aquarius Drive.
They were quickly followed that December by Canis Mews, Centaur Mews, Corvus Mews, Cygnus Mews and Scorpio Mews. Many of the streets named by developers in these early stages of the town's life are already inhabited.
Wyatt Avenue
Another street named after a notable person from history, Wyatt Avenue is in the heart of the regeneration area in North Prospect.
It's just off Wordsworth Road and has therefore taken the name of another famous writer - the poet Thomas Wyatt.
Wyatt's work remained unpublished during his lifetime - but he was a figure or note in the 16th Century for other reasons.
A rumoured affair with Anne Boleyn led to him being imprisoned in the Tower of London on charges of adultery. And he was spared and released only because his father was mates with Thomas Cromwell.
Esthwaite Lane
This new street off Looseleigh Lane is named after a lake in the Lake District.
Esthwaite Water is one of the smaller and less famous lakes in the area, so it seems an odd choice.
And one which we can't explain - not least because it's a bit of a mouthful to say, too.
Probably by coincidence, the lake is mentioned in a Wordsworth poem. If you weren't paying attention earlier, Wordsworth Road in North Prospect has a new neighbour too - Wyatt Avenue, named after fellow poet Thomas Wyatt.
Tenuous. But quite interesting.
Selborne Mews
These new homes run from Keppel Place to Arundel Terrace in Stoke, not far from Blockhouse Park.
Selborne, a village in East Hampshire, lends its name to this new row of homes.
Selborne is known for its links with 18th Century naturalist Gilbert White. He was a pioneering birdwatcher.
It also had a gallery dedicated to the work of artists who only use their feet or mouths to paint. But that has now closed.
Southway
Former fields at the bottom of Southway are turning into a housing development that stretches almost as far as Tamerton Foliot.
Several new street names were given the stamp of approval in December 2016 for a development at the end of Rolston Close.
Amber Close, Buckthorn Court, Ivy Drive, Grove Close and Guelder Way all take their names from trees or shrubs.
Thompson Road and Carbis Close
Thompson Road, off Bodmin Road in Whitleigh, was the first to be named last year - and it was particularly poignant.
The road takes its name from the late city councillor Jack Thompson, who passed away just weeks after being diagnosed with myeloma in January 2016.
Mr Thompson represented Moor View and was also a member of the board of Plymouth Community Homes.
He was described as a "true gentleman" and as a "stalwart who took the constituency by the scruff of the neck".
Neighbouring Carbis Close takes its name from picturesque bay in North Cornwall.
Eco Way and Solar Crescent
The eco homes development at Roborough Park
These two funkily-named streets were named to, ahem, reflect their position as part of a so-called 'eco-village'.
They were christened in March 2017 when construction at the Roborough site, just off Towerfield Drive, finally got under way.
The homes boast the latest energy-saving technology, which include solar panels, independent heating zones, high-efficiency gas boilers, airtight construction, triple-glazed windows and high levels of insulation.
They're also a short walk from Tesco.
Turnchapel Wharf
The terrace at the Guard Room in Turnchapel Wharf (Image: Penny Cross)
So called because it is an access road to Turnchapel Wharf. This road was formally named on March 1 last year and leads from Barton Road to the water.
But, of course, it's far more interesting than that.
Turnchapel Wharf was never formally named until recently because it was behind the barbed-wire fences of the former Royal Marines base.
When 539 Assault Squadron moved to Devonport, it was opened up - and now it's a thriving business community in one of Plymouth's lesser-known waterside spots.
Princess Yachts have a base there and it also hosts a fancy cafe called The Guard Room which is well worth a visit.
Redwood Heights
The site is due to be open to the public this winter (Image: Barratt Homes)
The huge new 190-home development in Plympton is coming to life - and it's the latest to claim some new street names.
Developer Barratt Homes snapped up four new street names in March 2017, all based on British trees. Possibly because the new estate is located just off Redwood Drive.
The four streets already assigned names are Conker Gardens, Plum Walk, Pear Lane and Spindle Crescent.
The development, which building bosses promise will become "a whole new community" will include a public park. It had previously been green fields.
Whitleigh
Tamerton Foliot
North Prospect
Plymstock
Honicknowle
Estover
Derriford
Elburton
Millbay
Roborough
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