STREET and road names are a source of interest to many people. Wellington’s continual residential expansion gives plenty of opportunity to commemorate the town’s heritage by naming streets after local people, events, businesses and industries.

The choice of name resides with the developer with moderation by other organisations to avoid duplication and confusion. Sometimes a developer will ask for ideas from the town council – and this has happened, to some extent, with street names on the Cades Farm development.

Cades Farm is self-explanatory – the farmhouse still exists in the north-west corner of the development.

Torres Vedras Drive generates curiosity. Torres Vedras is a town in Portugal, north of Lisbon, that was the focus of a defensive line, designed and built by the first Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula War of 1809-13. The line was successful and Lisbon saved from French invasion.

The townspeople of Torres Vedras erected a pillar to commemorate the event. And now the town is twinned with Wellington, along with Lillebonne in France and Immenstadt in Germany. These other twins are commemorated by Lillebonne Close, Lillebonne Way and Immenstadt Drive.

Popham Road is named after Sir John Popham. Sir John was born at Huntsworth, near Bridgwater, and went on to be Lord Chief Justice of England. He lived for some time at The Old Court in Mantle Street and then had a house built on what is now the Sports Field. The house was destroyed in a Civil War incident in 1645.

Nash Drive commemorates a much more modern individual. John Nash was a prominent figure in the town – he worked in several of the main industries, was a town councillor on the Labour ticket being chairman of the council. He also reported and wrote for the WWN for many years. The reason for Mills Drive is, according to the developer, to recognise the role that mills, especially woollen mills, played in the fortunes of the town over several centuries.

COLIN SPACKMAN

Wellington Museum