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| Some of the many plant-related street names in Calne. |
In 2018, the Royal Mail reported that a quarter of British streets and houses are named after plants (flowers, trees, seeds, etc.)[1][2]. While Calne doesn't have such a high percentage locally, at least 43 street names are named after plants, see table below.
Why have plant names become so common?
Well as we can see from the table below, a few of the newer estates have adopted a flower theme, such as the 10 plant-themed streets spanning off Lavender Drive and the 6 streets leading off Woodsage Way. With only 8 being what I've classed 'lone streets', basically streets that don't have an obvious (to me) theme and may have been built as single streets, perhaps sometimes as infill. Not only that, but as areas become built up, it can often separate us from nature, so these names can help make us feel good by their association to nature, particularly the native choices as we're likely to have a personal history with them - such as climbing an Oak, or being viciously attacked by a Hawthorn hedge that your mother has tasked you with pruning!
These themed estates can be useful in that locals may instantly know where a road is based on a theme. It can able be useful for emergency services and visitors to the town when an estate has a theme, particularly if it is different from neighbouring streets and housing estates. Interestingly, in Calne most plant-themed housing developments are on the edge of current housing, presumably where there is enough room for 6-10 different streets.
With some of the newer estates, the suffixes may not have any connection with that location in the past. So, Hazel Grove, which is part of the Lavender Drive estate, is unlikely to have previously been a grove of Hazel trees - it may have been, but it may be best to consider that it's a case of providing unique and interesting names for each development. Some streets like Elm Grove are named for houses near the site, or that have been demolished to make way for development.
The suffixes here include can provide information about what type of street your looking for, as per the Wiltshire Council policy on Street Naming[3]:
Street
Name
|
Development
|
Native?
|
Recorded in Wiltshire
|
Acorn Lane
|
Cherhill View
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Appletree Road
|
Off Abberd Way
|
Native (Crab Apple)
|
Yes
|
Azalea Close
|
Lavender Drive
|
Non-Native
|
Yes
|
Bay Close
|
Rookery Park
|
Non-Native
|
No
|
Bluebell Grove
|
Off Duncan Street
|
Native (English Bluebell)
|
Yes
|
Campion Close
|
Off Duncan Street
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Cherry Tree Court
|
Off Newcroft Road
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Clover Grove
|
High Penn Park
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Cornflower Close
|
Off Duncan Street
|
Native and introduced
|
Yes
|
Cowslip Grove
|
Off Duncan Street
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Elder Court
|
Lavender Drive
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Elm Close
|
Rookery Park
|
Native and introduced
|
Yes
|
Elm Grove
|
Off Silver Street
|
Native and introduced
|
Yes
|
Fir Grove
|
Off Quemerford
|
Non-Native
|
Yes
|
Foxglove Way
|
Off Duncan Street
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Hawthorn Close
|
High Penn Park
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Hazel Grove
|
Lavender Drive
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Heather Way
|
Lavender Drive
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Holly Close
|
Lavender Drive
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Honeysuckle Close
|
Lansdowne Park
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Jasmine Close
|
Lavender Drive
|
Non-Native
|
No
|
Juniper Close
|
High Penn Park
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Larkspur Drive
|
High Penn Park
|
Non-Native
|
Yes
|
Lavender Drive
|
Lavender Drive
|
Non-Native
|
No
|
Lilac Way
|
Lavender Drive
|
Non-Native
|
Yes
|
Lime Tree Close
|
Curzon Park
|
Native (Small-leaved)
|
Yes
|
Lovage Lane
|
High Penn Park
|
Non-Native
|
No
|
Lupin Close
|
High Penn Park
|
Non-Native
|
No
|
Magnolia Rise
|
Lavender Drive
|
Non-Native
|
No
|
Maple Close
|
Lavender Drive
|
Native (Field Maple)
|
Yes
|
Meadowsweet Drive
|
Lansdowne Park
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Oak Close
|
Curzon Park
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Penny Royal Close
|
Chilvester Farm
|
Non-Native
|
No
|
Poppy Close
|
Lansdowne Park
|
Native (Common Poppy)
|
Yes
|
Primrose Close
|
Off Duncan Street
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Rosemary Close
|
Lansdowne Park
|
Non-Native
|
No
|
Saffron Meadow
|
Chilvester Farm
|
Native (Meadow Saffron)
|
Yes
|
Tamarisk Close
|
Lavender Drive
|
Non-Native
|
No
|
Water Mint Way
|
Chilvester Farm
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Wintergreen
|
Chilvester Farm
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Woodsage Way
|
Chilvester Farm
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Yew Tree Close
|
Curzon Park
|
Native
|
Yes
|
Sycamore Drive
|
High Penn Park
|
Non-Native
|
Yes
|
Sorrel Street
|
High Penn Park
|
Yes (Common and Sheep's)
|
Yes
|
The development off Duncan Street was built in the 1980s. The Lavender Road development was built in the early 1990s.
Elm Grove was built c. 2007 by Hannick Homes, after around 10 years of attempting to gain permission to redevelop the site. In 1997, the last of 9 doctors, Dr. Richard Lawson, to practise at Elm Grove retired and was permitted to change the house use from a doctors surgery to residential[5].
High Penn Park started development in 2017. The Lansdowne Park development was built in the 2000s.
The development adjacent to St. Edmunds Catholic School (Bluebell Grove and Cornflower Close) was built c. 1985 by M.P. Pitman & Co, Calne as a development of two bedroom houses with three two bedroom bungalows.
Finally, the Curzon Park estate was built in the 1960s and 1970s, with additional development recently by GreenSquare.
To discover more about the place names of Calne, buy the book:
[1] Country Living. 2019. A Quarter Of British Houses Named After Flowers – Most Popular Flower And Tree Street Names. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.countryliving.com/uk/homes-interiors/property/a20868538/quarter-british-houses-streets-flower-tree-plant-names/. [Accessed 24 January 2019].
[2] Ideal Home. 2019. The Royal Mail reveals the most popular flower and tree themed house and street names in the UK. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.idealhome.co.uk/news/royal-mail-flower-tree-house-street-names-203762. [Accessed 24 January 2019].
[3] Wiltshire Council. 2019. Street naming and numbering | Wiltshire Council. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/planninganddevelopment/streetnaming.htm. [Accessed 24 January 2019].
[4] Gillam, B., 1993. The Wiltshire Flora. 1st ed. Oxford: Pisces Publications.
[5] PA: N.97.0213.F, 04/00131/S73, 07/02119/FUL.
