List of street names in Harwell Parish.
Please use the comment form at the end of the page to add more information or send corrections. This is very much work in progress. Thanks to Harwell Parish Council for access to minutes, and for additional information gained during my time on the parish council.
David Marsh
| Street | Date | Supporting information | ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| traditional if shown on 1804 map or earlier | |||
West of A34 |
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Village |
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| Armstrong Close | 2020 | The Council agreed to ask the Vale to give the name “Armstrong Close” to the small housing development in Orchard Way, to remember the former headmaster of Harwell Primary School, Michael Armstrong. | Harwell News #224 |
| Barrow Lane | traditional | Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map, unnamed. See also The Barrow. | |
| Barrow Park | |||
| Barrow Road | traditional | Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map as Abingdon Path Road. Private Road No.8 (or 5?). See also The Barrow. | |
| Blenheim Hill | shown on 1912 25” Ordnance Survey Map | OS1912 | |
| Broadway | traditional | Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map, extending as Public Road No. 3, east towards Upton | |
| Broadway Close | One resident reports that their house was haunted and suspected the houses were built on the site of an old cemetery. | Comment at the end of this page. | |
| Brookside | |||
| Burr Street | shown on 1912 25” Ordnance Survey Map | OS1912 | |
| Chilbrook | Shown on some maps as Chillbrook. | ||
| Church Lane | traditional | Named in Fletcher’s 1981 Harwell Trail, map of Harwell in c1320 Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map, unnamed |
Fletcher81 |
| Cow Lane | traditional | Shown and named in Fletcher’s 1967 Map of Harwell in 1600 Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map as a footpath, unnamed, turning into Hill Mead (??) Road – Public Road No.5 |
Fletcher67 |
| Didcot Rd | traditional | Shown as a Turnpike Road, west of the village on 1804 Enclosures Map. Extends east of the A34, though GWP to the boundary of the parish, when it becomes Wantage Rd. | |
| Downs Close | |||
| Drewitts Corner | A Harwell family? | ||
| Gaveston Road | 1970 | Probably named after Piers Gaveston, Edward II’s favourite, who was awarded the manors in Harwell Gaveston’s wife, Lady Margaret Clare placed a memorial window to him in Harwell Church Proposed Jan 1970 as an historical name, by Harwell PC |
V4a1000 page 6 |
| Green Road | Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map as Hagbourne Road Public Road No.6 | ||
| Grove Road | Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map as Talbots Lane Road (Foot Path) Public Road No.4 Still shown as Talbot Lane (at east end near High Street) in 1899, 1912 and 1933 25” Ordnance Survey Maps. Still called Talbot Lane in footpath amendment orders 1971 |
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| Hengest Gate | 1980’s | Either named after Hengist who with his brother Horsa, according to tradition, led the Jutish invasion of Britain and founded the kingdom of Kent. Or named after the Slingsby Hengist, a British military glider designed and built by Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd. Like other British troop carrying gliders in WWII , it was named after military figures whose name began with H, in this case the Jute invader Hengist. However, the spelling has changed. Or, better Harwell News#19, 1983 says “The housing development to the rear of Almshouse Farm being developed by Penta-Hill Ltd has been named Hengest Gate. This name was associated with the parish in the distant past and appears in the Saxon Charter granted by King Edgar in 985 A.D.Wording from the Charter, describing the Anglo-Saxon bounds of Harwell, is ‘Starting from Harundun Way, it goes to the people of Middleham, to Sutton lake; from Sutton lake to the people of Leofsige, to the twisted ditch; from the twisted ditch to the bramble-thorn; from the bramble-thorn to Hengest Gate in the old down, to the people of Brihtwold; from the people of Brihtwold then to Harandun.‘ |
Harwell News #19 1983 |
| High Street | traditional | Named in Fletcher’s 1981 Harwell Trail, map of Harwell in c1320
However, History of Harwell 1923 notes that the almshouses “stand on the east side of the main road about midway between the Didcot and Reading roads.” implying that High St is a more recent, with the Didcot Rd and The Reading Rd meeting in the middle of the village. |
Fletcher81 |
| Jennings Lane | traditional | Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map, unnamed Becoming, east of the village, Clive Way, Private Road No.4 |
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| Kings Lane | traditional | Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map, unnamed | |
| Linden Gate | |||
| Loder Road | 1970 | Proposed Jan 1970 as an historical name, by Harwell PC Presumably named after Francis Loder, significant landowner on 1804 Enclosures Map |
HPC1970 |
| Manor Green | 1980’s | ||
| Orchard Way | 1960’s | Already existing in 1970. Proposed Jan 1970 as an historical name, by Harwell PC – to be retained only for the loop of the existing estate. | |
| Reading Road | East. Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map, as The Broadway Public Road No. 3, West: Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map as Turnpike Road |
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| School Lane | shown as Free School Lane on 1912 25” Ordnance Survey Map | OS1912 | |
| Talbot Close | 2015 | Reviving the name Talbot. Grove Road was once Talbot Lane. | |
| The Barrow | historic | Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map, unnamed. Oxfordshire Historic Environment Record MOX10578: “Mrs M Chitty reported local information that barrow existed about 70 years ago north of minor road from Milton Hill to Harwell. Close to angle between it and track to NW called ‘The Barrow’. Now under housing estate in 1963” |
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| The Cleave | Some of what is now The Cleave, shown on 1804 Enclosures Map, unnamed. The footpath running past the site was called The Cleave, and the parish council wanted that name to be used for the development. | PC minutes 1963, quoted in Harwell News #17, 1982. | |
| The Croft | 1960’s | Named after an orchard which was there. | PC minutes 1963, quoted in Harwell News #17, 1982. |
| The Holloway | traditional | Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map as The Hollow way Road Public Rd. No.2 | |
| The Park | |||
| The Styles | 1970 | Proposed Jan 1970 as an historical name, by Harwell PC | HPC1970 |
| The Winnaway | traditional | Named as Winnow Way in Fletcher’s 1967 Map of Harwell in 1600 Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map as Winnow Way Private Rd. No.2. Called Winnow Way until early 20th century (winnowing means removing the chaff). Track from Reading Rd to Campus called Winaway on OS maps since 1900, and current. Technically The Winnaway is only the service road to the housing at the north end of Winaway. It had WWII nickname of Burma Road, probably because it led to the Harwell aerodrome |
Fletcher67 |
| Townsend | Townsend was the old road to Sutton Courtney. | ||
| Tyrrells Close | Presumably named after Timothy (or Maria) Tyrell, significant landowner on 1804 Enclosures Map | ||
| Wantage Road | Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map as Turnpike Road | ||
| Wellshead | traditional | Named in Fletcher’s 1981 Harwell Trail, map of Harwell in c1320 Shown on 1804 Enclosures Map, unnamed Some modern maps show it as Wellshead Lane. Name of Wellshead (no Lane) confirmed by PC in ~2010 although OS maps still show it as Wellshead Lane. |
Fletcher81 |
| Westfield | 1970 | Proposed Jan 1970 (as West Field) as an historical name, by Harwell PC | HPC1970 |
Grove Road North |
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| Boot Lane | 2019 | The Boot is said to be the name of an old Harwell pub | |
| Chequers End | 2018 | The Chequers was a Harwell pub in Wantage Road. | |
| Crispin Place | 2018 | The Crispin was a Harwell pub in Burr Street, next to the White Hart, now a private house | |
| Crown Fields | The Crown was a Harwell pub in the High Street, now a nursing home | ||
| Fidler’s Orchard | 2018 | Tithe Map of 1841 shows a Fidler’s Orchard north of Talbot Lane (now Grove Road) close to the new development. Plot 108 | |
| Ham Corner | 2018 | A house west of Harwell and north of the current King’s Piece, was called Ham (1805-74 OS Cassinni series) and then Ham House in all later maps | |
| Hill Mead | 2018 | ||
| Hoopswell | 2018 | Fletcher’s (1967) map of Harwell in 1600 shows the stream running north from Talbots Lane/Grove Rd called Hoopswell Brook. Also on the Harwell Awards Map 1802 | Fletcher67 |
| Queen Gardens | 2018 | The Queens Arms was a Harwell pub in Burr Street, Renamed to the Kicking Donkey. Now a private house. | |
| Streamway Close | 2018 | ||
| White Hart Way | 2018 | The White Hart was a Harwell pub; now called the Hart of Harwell | |
Blenheim Hill |
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| (The Willows) | |||
| Teasel Bank | 2018 | Known to be present on the site before building started. Dipsacus fullonum | BLOOR |
| Hawthorn Garden | 2018 | Known to be present on the site before building started. Crataegus monogyna | BLOOR |
| Walnut Place | 2018 | BLOOR | |
| Ash Crescent | 2018 | Known to be present on the site before building started. Fraxinus excelsior | BLOOR |
Campus |
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| “Harwell roads were not officially named until December 1954, when the AERE Administrative Steering Committee, chaired by Schonland, resolved to name the main routes running East-West across the site as ‘Avenues’, and two others as ‘Roads’ (eg DIDO Road). The roads running north from an Avenue would be even-numbered ‘Streets’ (Second, Fourth etc) and those running south would be odd-numbered (First, Third Street etc). It was decided to name the Avenues after famous nuclear scientists, such as Rutherford and Curie, with the exception of Library Avenue.” | HANCE page 50 | ||
| North Drive | |||
| South Drive | |||
| West Drive | |||
| Becquerel Avenue | Henry Becquerel discovered radioactivity | HANCE | |
| Curie Avenue | Marie Curie isolated radium and polonium in pitchblende | HANCE | |
| Eighth Street | |||
| Fermi Avenue | Enrico Fermi constructed the first nuclear reactor | HANCE | |
| Fourth Street | |||
| Library Avenue | |||
| Maxwell Avenue | James Maxwell developed the theories for electromagnetism | HANCE | |
| Newbury Road | |||
| Rutherford Avenue | Henry Rutherford changed one element into another | HANCE | |
| Second Street | |||
| Thomson Avenue | Joseph Thompson discovered the electron in 1897 | HANCE | |
| Eighth Avenue | |||
| Sixth Street | |||
| First Street | |||
| Ninth Street | |||
| Eleventh Street | |||
| Faraday Avenue | Michael Faraday invented the dynamo and the electric motor | HANCE | |
| Tenth Street | |||
East of A34 (GWP) |
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| Blissett Close | 2015 | A Harwell family – lived in “The White City” | |
| Bramble Lane | 2015 | ||
| Candytuft Way | 2016 | A rare Oxfordshire plant. Wild Candytuft Iberis amara Vulnerable |
ORPR |
| Cherry Tree Road | 2015 | [Houses NOT in Harwell: Even 38-50] | |
| Chestnut Drive | 2015 | ||
| Cornflower Close | 2015 | [Houses NOT in Harwell: Even 2-16, Odd 9-21] | |
| Cottongrass Road | 2016 | A rare Oxfordshire plant. Two types: Common Cottongrass Eriophorum angustifolium Vulnerable Broad-leaved Cottongrass Eriophorum latifolium Least Concern |
ORPR |
| Didcot Road | traditional | Shown as a Turnpike Road, west of the village on 1804 Enclosures Map | |
| Fen Violet Drive | 2016 | A rare Oxfordshire plant. Fen Violet Viola persicifolia Critically Endangered |
ORPR |
| Foxglove Way | 2015 | [Houses NOT in Harwell: Even 2,4] | |
| Gentian Mews | 2016 | A rare Oxfordshire plant. Three types: Autumn Gentian Gentianella amarella Near Threatened Early Gentian Gentianella anglica European Protected Species Chiltern Gentian Gentianella germanica Vulnerable |
ORPR |
| Greenwood Way | 2015 | Named after Eric Greenwood, chief test pilot of the Gloster Aircraft Company who, for a short time, lived in Harwell | |
| Harebell Road | 2015 | ||
| Holly Lane | 2015 | [Houses NOT in Harwell: Even 10-16] | |
| Hopkins Way | 2015 | Named after Henry or Richard Hopkins significant landowner on 1804 Enclosures Map | |
| Hornsby Fields | A Harwell family, related to Palmer | ||
| Ivy Close | 2015 | ||
| Keats Drive | 2015 | Named after John Keats significant landowner on 1804 Enclosures Map | |
| Marigold Crescent | 2016 | A rare Oxfordshire plant. Corn Marigold Glebionis segetum Vulnerable |
ORPR |
| Mezereon Spur | 2016 | A rare Oxfordshire plant. Mezereon Daphne mezereum Vulnerable |
ORPR |
| Miles East | 2015 | Miss Miles and Miss East were primary school teachers just after WWII teaching reception classes in the Village Hall. Miss M.E.East retired as deputy head of Harwell School in 1977, after 29 years of service. | V4a100 page 94
Harwell News #3, Sep 1977 |
| Mistletoe Mews | 2015 | ||
| Moreland Road | 2015 | ||
| Orchid Mews | 2015 | ||
| Palmer Close | A Harwell family, related to Hornsby | ||
| Pennyroyal Place | 2016 | A rare Oxfordshire plant. Pennyroyal Mentha pulegium Critically Endangered |
ORPR |
| Sir Chetwode Close | 2015 | Named after Sir John Chetwode (Bar), significant landowner on 1804 Enclosures Map | |
| Speedwell Arch | 2016 | A rare Oxfordshire plant. Three types. Heath Speedwell Veronica officinalis Near Threatened Breckland Speedwell Veronica praecox Introduced since 1500 Marsh Speedwell Veronica scutellata Near Threatened |
ORPR |
| The Poplars | 2015 | [Houses NOT in Harwell: Odd numbers] | |
| Thyme Gardens | 2015 | ||
| Wynton Close | 2015 | ||
Sources:
| Reference | Source |
|---|---|
| 1804 Enclosures | More details here. |
| BLOOR | Blenheim Hill Planning Application P14/V1663/FUL, Preliminary Ecological Assessment, Appendix 2 Species List |
| Fletcher67 | Anthony Fletcher. Elizabethan Village, Longman 1967 |
| HANCE | Harwell. The Enigma Revealed. Nick Hance. 2006 |
| HPC1970 | Minutes of Harwell PC meeting 7 Jan 1970, including a map |
| ORPR | Oxfordshire Rare Plant Register: The Oxfordshire Flora Group (Formerly The Rare Plants Group) A list of Oxfordshire rare plants in alphabetical order April 2015 |
| OS1912 | There’s a copy of the 1912 OS map in the gallery. |
| V4a1000 | Village for a thousand years. Book produced for the village millenium in 1985. Full text (copyright Parish Council) is on a dedicated website. |
Judith Malan says
Thank you, Mr David Marsh,
Thank you for the compilation of, and maintenance of, these delightful details about Harwell.
We have been living in this village for just over one year, and I am enthralled by the sense of historical continuity that prevails here.
The movement to keep Harwell rural is imperative. The hope I hold onto is the restoration of those endangered Oxfordshire plants. But much more information is required on my part because I am new to this country.
During my walks it has been necessary to pick up litter, and other people’s doggie-doo, to protect the wildlife here. It is essentially well worth it.
Warm regards,
Judith
Mr Wilson says
I looked this up because my friend’s post (He lives in Talbot Close ) seems to go astray then arrive quite a few days later. Is it because Grove Road used to be known as Talbot Lane? Or is the postman confusing it with Tyrell Close?
David says
Good question. I suspect it’s the sorting office trying to keep up with all the new houses and streets. Grove Road has been Grove Rd for at least 50 years, I think.