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Friday 27 December 2013

History is all around us: The answers

Here are the answers to the quiz I set on Christmas Eve about street and pub names in the Woolwich area:

Street names
  • Academy Road: Named after the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich that is located on that road.
  • Alma Terrace: Named after the battle of that name during the Crimean War.
  • Anglesey Road: Named after Field Marshal Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, KG, GCB, GCH, PC (17th May 1768 – 29th April 1854) who – as The Earl of Uxbridge – lead the charge of the heavy cavalry against d'Erlon's column during the Battle of Waterloo. He later served twice as Master-General of the Ordnance (1827 – 1828 and 1846 – 1852).
  • Armstrong Road: Named after William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, CB, FRS (26th November 1810 – 27th December 1900) who worked at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich as well as founding the armaments and shipbuilders W.G. Armstrong & Company and Elswick Ordnance Company.
  • Baker Road: Named after Ezekiel Baker (1758 – 1836) the inventor of the Baker Rifle, which was tested at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich before being introduced into service with the British Army.
  • Beresford Square: Named after General The Rt. Hon. William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, GCB, GCH, GCTE, PC (2nd October 1768 – 8th January 1856) a general in the British Army and Marshal in the Portuguese Army. After the Napoleonic Wars he held the office of Master-General of the Ordnance (1828 – 1830) and served as Governor of Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.
  • Beresford Street: See above.
  • Bloomfield Road: Named after Lieutenant-General Benjamin Bloomfield, 1st Baron Bloomfield GCB GCH (13th April 1768 – 15th August 1846). He was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and was joined commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in 1781. After extensive service he was promoted to the rank of Major General in 1814, and by 1826 he was Commanding Officer of the garrison at Woolwich. He later became Colonel Commandant of the Royal Horse Artillery.
  • Borgard Road: Named after Colonel Albert Bogard, the first commander of the Royal Artillery.
  • Cambridge Barracks Road: Named after the Cambridge Barracks, which were – in turn – named after Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, KG KT KP GCB GCH GCSI GCMG GCIE GCVO VD PC (26th March 1819 – 17th March 1904) who served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces from 1856 to 1895.
  • Cornwallis Street: Named after Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG (31st December 1738 – 5th October 1805) who – besides surrendering his army at Yorktown in October 1781 during the American War of Independence – served as Master-General of the Ordnance from 1795 until 1801.
  • Duke of Wellington Avenue: Named after Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG GCB GCH PC FRS (1st May 1769 – 14th September 1852) who – beside all of the other military offices that he held – was Master-General of the Ordnance from 1819 until 1827.
  • General Gordon Place: Named after Major General Charles George Gordon, CB (28th January 1833 – 26th January 1885) who was born in Woolwich and educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich before being commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1852.
  • Grand Depot Road: Named after the Grand Depot that was set up there during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The Grand Depot held sufficient stores to equip an Army Corps for overseas service.
  • Herbert Road: Named after Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea PC (16th September 1810 – 2nd August 1861) who, as Secretary at War during the Crimean War, sent Florence Nightingale to Scutari. After the Crimean War he and Florence led the movement for Army Health reform.
  • Macbean Street: Named after Lieutenant General Forbes Macbean (28th June 1725 – 1800) who was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich before being commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1745. He took part in the Battle of Fontenoy (1745), the Siege of Carlisle (1745), and the battle of Minden (1759). In 1762 he was sent to Portugal and was appointed Colonel of Portuguese Artillery, followed – in 1765 – by his appointment as the Inspector-General of Portuguese Artillery. He then commanded a company of artillery in Canada from 1769 until 1773, when he returned to Woolwich. In March 1778 he was appointed to command the artillery in Canada, in succession to Major General Thomas Phillips, and in 1780 he was given command of a brigade consisting of the 31st, 44th, and 84th Regiments. He later became Colonel-Commandant of the Royal Artillery.
  • Mulgrave Road: Named after Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave GCB, PC (14th February 1755 – 7th April 1831) who reached the rank of General in the British Army and was Master-General of the Ordnance from 1810 until 1819.
  • Paget Rise: See above.
  • Pett Street: Named after Peter Pett who was Master Shipwright for Woolwich during the seventeenth century.
  • Prince Imperial Road: Named after Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph, Prince Imperial (16th March 1856 – 1st June 1879) who was the only child of Emperor Napoleon III of France and his Empress consort Eugénie de Montijo. He was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and killed during the Zulu War.
  • Raglan Road: Field Marshal FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, GCB, PC (30th September 1788 – 29th June 1855) who commanded the British Army sent to the Crimea in 1854. In 1852 he was appointed Master-General of the Ordnance and remained in post until 1855.
  • Red Barracks Road: Named after the Red Barracks that was formerly located there. The Red Barracks was so named after the Woolwich Division of the Royal Marines who wore red (as opposed to blue) uniforms.
  • Repository Road: Named after the Military Repository (i.e. stores) that was built there.
  • Ropeyard Rails: Named after the rope-making and storage area that originally occupied the site.
  • Warspite Road: Named after the Royal Marine Society’s Training Ship Warspite which was moored at Woolwich from 1862 until 1901.
  • Wellington Street: See above.
  • Whitworth Road: Named after Sir Joseph Whitworth, 1st Baronet (21st December 1803 – 22nd January 1887), who created an accepted standard for screw threads (the British Standard Whitworth system) and who also designed the very accurate Whitworth rifle.
Pub Names
  • Earl of Chatham: Named after General John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, KG, PC (9th October 1756 – 24th September 1835) who served as Master-General of the Ordnance twice (1801 – 1806 and 1807 – 1810).
  • Lord Clyde: Named after Field Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde GCB, KSI (20th October 1792 – 14th August 1863) who led the Highland Brigade in the Crimea – and the ‘Thin red line’ at the battle of Balaclava – in particular as well as one of the armies that brought an end to Indian Mutiny of 1857. The name was also given to an early ironclad that was built in 1864.
  • Lord Herbert: See above.
  • The Director General: Named after the office of Director General of Ordnance Survey, which was originally part of the Board of Ordnance.
  • The Great Harry: Named after the flagship of Henry VIII’s fleet (also known as Henry Grace à Dieu ["Henry Grace of God"]) which was built at Woolwich.
  • Wellesley Arms: See above.
  • Woolwich Infant: Named after the 35-ton Rifled Muzzle-loading Gun that was built at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. It was called the ‘Infant’ because it was so large.

2 comments:

  1. No real surprises there Bob but thanks for all the details.

    My own street name has no military connection at all but a very tenuous family link. Brunstane Gardens!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jim Duncan,

    There may have been few surprises for you, but most of the locals have no idea why the streets and pubs have the names that they were given.

    Nice to hear that your own address has a family link, however distant it may be.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

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