What's in a name?

Central Beds have gone back to the drawing board  (or the computer screen these days) regarding the plan to borrow Lodge Road as a street name for the Home farm Development. That's scrubbed, Lodge Road is back to being just Lodge Road and we have to think of how to name the spine road. I'd go for Thillans - currently allocated to the Goodman land section. We could adopt the unused Crow Lane for that. We're discussing it on  15 February.

Street names

Street names for Home Farm being recommended by the Parish Council.


Thillans

Arpins Pightle

Ramsey Abbey Close or Road

Crow Close

Home Close or Road (close to the Home Farmhouse itself)

Does the village have an opinion?

Street names

We didn't get round to these last night. Coming up for decision on 16 February at full council. Some parishioners would like to see RAF WWII planes commemorated. Spitfire is always popular but I'm not sure if someone wants to live in Mosquito Gardens or Hurricane Avenue.

Home Farm street names

Some interesting ideas for names for the new streets from parishioner Margaret Rooney: Thanks Margaret

Summary of suggested street names for the Home Farm Development

Five new streets need to be named.

Recommendations are:

• Bullen
• Bradshaw
• The Bury
• Thillians
• Ramsey Abbey

Bullen

Bullen Road, Close or Way. The name of the family living at Home Farm, Cranfield Court, in the 1911 census – a 100 anniversary commemoration of Home Farm. William Bullen, a farmer, his wife and one daughter.

Bradshaw

Bradshaw Road, Close or Way. The name of the family living at Bury Farm, (also known as The Bury or Home farm), in the 1881 census. Benjamin Bradshaw, a farmer, his wife, six children and a servant.

Bury

Suggest the street is named The Bury. The Bury, in the 1880s, was also known as Bury Farm or Home Farm. A way to commemorate a 19^th century name for the farm.

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Thillians

One of eight fields in The Bury, in the 1880s, was known as ”Thillian’s” - pasture. Suggest, for simplicty, that the apostrophe is dropped. A charming, simple name. Similar single names appear elsewhere in the village – Simdims, Lordsmead, Lincroft.

Ramsey Abbey

Suggest Ramsey Abbey Close or Road, depending on house layout. Owner of Cranfield for over 500 years from 998 until the dissolution of the monastries in 1536. A good opportunity to mark this significant historical link with Cranfield. Ailwyn’s Acre marks another Ramsey Abbey link, and is on Lodge Road, very close to the Home Farm development..

Further names that could be considered

• Capell
• McFalone
• Corner Piece

Capell

Name of the family at Home Farm, in the 1901 census. Richard Capell, a Farm Bailiff and widower, three children and a boarder, (Louisa Spray, National School Teacher).

McFalone

Name of the family at Farm House, Cranfield Court, in the 1891 census. John McFalone, Farm Bailiff and widower, originally from Roxborough, Scotland. One daughter and a housekeeper.

The family name is not an immediately recognisable one in this part of the UK.

Also, I am assuming “Farm House, Cranfield Court” is Home Farm, as this is a farm bailiff’s house, (Home Farm in 1901 was a farm bailiff’s house). Although there are no references to Home or Bury in the 1891 census, I am not sure we can be 100% certain this is Home Farm - unless someone with better local knowledge can verify.

Corner Piece

Another of the eight fields that formed The Bury in the 1880s. Corner Piece was arable. “Piece” has a charming ring about it..…like Partridge Piece.

New street names

Remember Ailwyn's Acre? One of the most distinctive street names in Cranfield, thought up by Dr Margaret Rooney a former parish councillor. Ailwyn is one of the first historical figures recorded in connection with Cranfield, in the 11th century. After a nasty, life threatening  illness and prayers to the Almighty he survived and in gratitude made a gift of Cranfield which he owned to Ramsay Abbey in Cambridge. Ramsay Abbey was then the landlord of the village until Henry VIII had other ideas.

Now we need five new street names for the first phase of  the Home Farm development so its time for thinking caps and a look around the historical records, old maps and geographical features. All suggestions to the parish council clerk Rosie Davy-Hunt at cranfieldpc@btconnect.com by 2 Feb.