Place Names of Calne: Bremhill View

Bremhill View is located off Lickhill road and is a group of terraced houses that leads to Calne Football Club[1], which has been there since the 1960s.

The street itself was built as part of the Calne Borough Council's (disbanded 1974) pre-war Northend estate[2], the first council estate in Calne. All of these houses have a distinctive elongated hexagon style chimney stack, that is not carried on with the more recent developments, such as the 1960s-built, Braemor Road.

The road itself actually faces the beautiful village of Bremhill, which it is named for and lies around 1 mile to the north west.

Note the interesting chimney stacks.

References:
[1] Calne Town. 2019. Calne Town. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pyramidpassion.co.uk/html/calne_town.html. [Accessed 29 June 2019].
[2] Calne: The town in the 20th century | British History Online. 2019. Calne: The town in the 20th century | British History Online. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol17/pp44-51. [Accessed 29 June 2019].

Black Friday Sale! Calne Place Names Ebook

 

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Timeline Calne: 9 November 1937, Calne's First Woman Mayor

Mrs. Edith Mary Spackman.

It was Alderman Strange who said that the ancient Borough of Calne was about to open a new page in its book of history as he proposed Mrs. Edith Mary Spackman as Mayor.

Mrs Spackman, a nurse and first female councillor for Calne, was said to have a wide experience of public service, along with a warm interest in the spiritual and material welfare of the town. At the time Spackman was made mayor, she had served on the council for eight years. Mr. Stanley, who seconded her nomination, wanted it known that in the previous five year, Spackman had attended 200 meetings out of a possible 211. She sat on the Health and Housing Committee, the Gas and Electricity Committee, and the Rating Committee.

It was Mrs. Spackman and other women of the town who had previously raised a substantial sum of money when the Brigade required new uniforms.

Clearly a worthy person for the Mayoral Chair, Mrs. Spackman was unanimously elected as Mayor of Calne on 9 November 1937.

References:
'Calne's First Woman Mayor'  Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, Saturday 13 November 1937 [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001557/19371113/085/0005 [Accessed on 14 January 2020]

Place names of Calne: Riverside

Riverside with Lower Quemerford Mill in the background.

Riverside and was built during the late 1970s with Rivermead following in 1980s, at the side of the river Marden, both developments being detached housing.

Place Names of Calne: St. Dunstan Close, St. Dunstan Court, St. Dunstan's House

St. Dunstan Close, St. Dunstan Court and St. Dunstan's House are all located off Lickhill Road at the north of Calne. St. Dunstan Court was built as part of the Phase 6, Sector 4, North Calne Developement (Lansdowne Park) in the early 2000s, by Persimmon homes around 2003. St. Dunstan Close seems to have been built in the late 1980s.

St. Dunstan's House, a Grade II listed building, used to reside next to the Harris bacon factory at New Road before being taken down and rebuilt at what is now St. Dunstan Court on the order of the Harris family, approximately 1920s. At one time this house was a nursing home (known as Dunstan House Retirement Home), but changed to residential in the early 2000s. When the house was moved, to create space for a factory extension, the newly built factory was also called St. Dunstan's.

St. Dunstan House

They are all named for St. Dunstan, an archbishop who held the infamous witan in Calne, 978. The story goes:
"A. 978. In this year all the chief 'witan' of the English nation fell at Calne from an upper chamber, except the holy archbishop Dunstan, who supported himself upon a beam; and there some were grievously maimed, and some did not escape with life."[1]

In the recent past, Calne was home to St Dunstan Church of England Primary School. However in 2013 the onsite nursery closed when the children in attendance dropped to 10[2]. In 2014, Ofsted deemed that the school required improvement[3]. The school then stopped operating as St. Dunstan on 31/08/2015[4] when it joined the Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust and rebranded as Marden Vale[5]. This move was deemed to be a good thing for the childen as the school would have "high quality support" from the Trust, sadly Marden Vale has been deemed 'Inadequate' by Ofsted since September 2018. However things are looking up for the school, as a monitoring inspection in April 2019 reported that the school was taking effective action towards removal of special measures and that the action plan was fit for purpose. 

I seem to have digressed. Anyway, these are the places named for the Archbishop, then St., Dunstan, who apparently avoided falling from the upper chamber of a hall, showing that God approved of Dunstan's holy reforms, which included a return to priests living chastely[6].


 

Want to know more? Buy the book!

References:
[1] https://calnepastandpresent.blogspot.com/2019/02/timeline-calne-978-archbishop-dunstan.html 
[2] The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. 2019. School’s nursery is forced to close | The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/10392567.schools-nursery-is-forced-to-close/. [Accessed 20 June 2019].
[3] Ofsted | St Dunstan Church of England Primary School. 2019. Ofsted | St Dunstan Church of England Primary School. [ONLINE] Available at: https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/126312. [Accessed 20 June 2019]. 
[4] St Dunstan Church of England Primary School - GOV.UK. 2019. St Dunstan Church of England Primary School - GOV.UK. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/126312. [Accessed 20 June 2019].
[5] The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. 2019. A new chapter begins at Marden Vale Academy in Calne | The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/13778355.a-new-chapter-begins-at-marden-vale-academy-in-calne/. [Accessed 20 June 2019]. 
[6] https://calnepastandpresent.blogspot.com/2018/06/early-calne-to-1086ce-brief-study.html

C O Gough, Freeman of the Borough - Wig donated to Calne Heritage Centre

 At Calne Heritage Centre, we recently received this wig, owned by Charles Ogle Gough. A long time Calne Town Clerk and a solicitor. It's a fantastic artifact to add to our collection and as you can't see it in person at the moment, I'm glad to be able to share it here.

Gough was one of only five people to receive the Freedom of the Borough. The text below is taken from the booklet commemorating that event:

Charles Ogle Gough, the second son of the late Mr. and Mrs. George Isaac Gough, was born at 28 Church Street, Calne, where he now has his offices as Senior Partner in the firm of G. I. Gough and Son.

He was educated first at the Bentley Grammar School and afterwards at Monmouth Grammar School. He qualified as a Solicitor in February 1905.

He was married to Isabella Shepherd Hood of Dumfermline on the 25th June, 1915—she died on the 11th July, 1955. There are three children of the marriage—Katherine Muriel Linthwaite now living with her family in Malaya, Isabel Margaret Bowyer living with her family in Letchworth and Charles Cameron Gough, D.S.C., who lives at Caine and is in partnership as a Solicitor in his father’s firm.

Mr. Gough’s father, George Isaac Gough, was Town Clerk from 1891 to 1911 and previously he was Clerk to the old Caine Urban Sanitary Authority from 1873. On the occasion of his father’s illness in 1906, Mr. Gough was appointed Deputy, and in 1911, when his father resigned, he was appointed Town Clerk, an office which he still holds.

During his long term of office there have been many Royal occasions in which Mr. Gough has been responsible for the local arrangements. He is the proud possessor of medals which commemorate the Coronation and Silver Jubilee of King George V, and the Coronations of King George VI and the present Queen.

In his younger days Mr. Gough played football and cricket for Calne Town. He was Captain of the football team in 1907 when Caine won the District League Cup, and he was President of the Caine and Harris’ United Football Club from 1937 to 1948. He also plays golf and is one of the oldest members of the North Wilts Golf Club. He is fond of swimming and is keenly interested in the proposal to provide facilities in Caine.

He has been Clerk to the Governors of St. Mary’s School before and since its incorporation in the year 1928 and Clerk to the Governors of the Bentley Grammar School since 1911. He was one of the deputation appointed to meet the Wiltshire Education Committee in 1934 when proposals had been made to close the School and transfer the children to Chippenham Grammar School. It was largely due to the efforts of Mr. Gough and Alderman F. W. Smith that the School was saved. Mr. Gough has also served the Old Boys and Girls of the School as President of the Old Bentleians’ Association since 1950.

Place Names of Calne: Steets named for rivers

Isis Close

Other than places named after the Marden, the river that flows through Calne from Calstone to the Avon near Chippenham (which will be covered in a separate post), we currently have 4 streets named after rivers.

They are Avon Close, Isis Close, Severn Close, and Kennet Walk. All four are near Fynamore School and were built as part of the Persimmon development, Lansdowne Park, which completed in 2008.

Avon Close: The name Avon means 'river'[1].
There are 2 Avon rivers that flow through Wiltshire. The Salisbury or Hampshire Avon, which begins east of Devizes and east of Pewsey, merges at Upavon and flows through Salisbury before it meets the river Stour at Christchurch. The Bristol Avon, begins near Chipping Sodbury and flows through Chippenham (where our own River Marden joins it), through Lacock and Melksham, and eventually via Bristol to meet the river Severn.

Isis Close: Isis is an alternative name for the River Thames between its source in the Cotswold and Dorchester where is it joined by the River Thame. The Roman name for the Thames was the Tamesis, which in the Middle Ages was wrongly thought to be a combination of "Thame" and "Isis"[2].

Severn Close: Severn is thought to derive from a Celtic original name *sabrinnā[3], which is of unknown meaning. It is the only one of these 4 rivers not to flow through any part of Wiltshire.

Kennet Walk: The meaning of Kennet is also one that has been lost to time. The name comes from Cunetio, a late Iron Age oppidum[4], also possibly an early Roman fort.
 

To discover more about the place names of Calne, buy the book:

References:
[1] Gover, J., Mawer, A. and Stenton, F. (1970). The place-names of Wiltshire. Cambridge: At the University Press.
[2] Wikipedia. 2019. The Isis - Wikipedia. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Isis. [Accessed 19 June 2019].
[3] Wikipedia. 2019. River Severn - Wikipedia. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Severn#Etymology_and_mythology. [Accessed 19 June 2019].
[4]  Royalarchinst.org. (2019). Cunetio, Wiltshire: archaeology and history. [online] Available at: http://www.royalarchinst.org/sites/royalarchinst.org/files/documents/SMR_Wiltshire_Cunetio.pdf [Accessed 19 Jun. 2019].

Walking the Horsebrook Nature Trail

 

Calne Town Council recently restarted their Visit Calne tourism blog with a post by the Mayor (Calne Town Mayor and Deputy Mayor).

They asked me to write a short post. I decided to write about the Horsebrook Nature Trail, an area of Calne I enjoy.

Each fortnight will feature a new post on a range of topics, each written by a different person.

If you'd like to have a read, here's the link.

Place Names of Calne: Bank Row, Bank House

Bank Row is so named as it is the row of housing behind the 1901 built bank building, known as The Old Bank House. This development, which included Carnegie Mews, was completed in 1995 and opened by Richard Needham, MP on 27 October 1995, it occupies part of what used to be the Harris factory site.

Both Carnegie Mews and Bank Row, were built by  ARC properties, designed by Aaron Evans Associates, with funding from the Housing Corporation by a partnership between the District Council, the Knightsbridge Housing Association and Cowlin Developments. The final development consists of 22 houses, 6 flats and
3 shop units designed as terraces.

The Old Bank House has had a varied history, being used by the Harris Factory from the 1920s as the Works Laboratory. In 1960 Martin's Bank took over the building before merging with Barclay's Bank in 1969. Despite all the upheaval of the demolition of the Harris factory and the rebuilding of Calne Town Centre, Barclays Calne branch remained in operation until October 2013.

In 2015 the Old Bank House, which is Grade II listed, was renovated into a cocktail and wine bar.

This was closed in 2019 and is now operating as the Piggy Bank Micropub.

The other part of the building is known as 'Bank House' used as the Calne Town Council offices.

 

To discover more about the place names of Calne, buy the book:

Place Names of Calne: Ridgemead

Ridgemead

Ridgemead is so named due to it being on land that was also known as Ridgemead. In the 1840s Tithe map, this was 309, a piece owned and occupied by Lord Hungerford Crewe, known as a landowner and peer.

John Field, in his English Field Names[i] describes the two parts of the Ridgemead as follows:

Ridge, a basic unit of ploughing in common arable fields.

Mead(ow), grassland that is kept for mowing.

So, we can assume that this was a common field that was kept for harvesting grass.

Ridgemead was built in the 1950s, after Calne Borough Council bought land at Newcroft Farm in 1954.

To discover more about the place names of Calne, buy the book:

---

[i] Field, J., 1983.

Place Names of Calne: Fish

Carp Road

All of the fish-related street names in Calne are part of the massive Lansdowne Park development that was built in the first decade of the 21st century by Persimmon Homes.

Most of these streets are reached by Stickleback Road (which leads off the North Calne Distributor Road) / Zander Road, with Carp Road and Bream Close being reached via School Road.

Street Name	Main Road to Entry	Native?
Barbel Close	Zander Road	Yes
Bream Close	School Road	Yes
Carp Road	School Road	Non-Native
Dace Road	Zander Road	Native
Grayling Close	Zander Road	Native
Minnow Close	Zander Road	Yes
Rudd Road	Stickleback Road	Native
Salmon's Leap	Stickleback Road	Yes
Stickleback Road	Stickleback Road	Yes
Tench Road	Stickleback Road	Yes
Zander Road	Zander Road	Non-Native

 

To discover more about the place names of Calne, buy the book:

Timeline Calne: 2 May 1945 - Calne's Welcome Home Fund

Victory Celebrations at Bryans Close Road
(Calne Heritage Centre Collection)

On 2 May 1945, the Mayor of Calne, Cllr Cyril Thomas, proposed the application for a Calne 'Welcome Home Fund'. This fund was registered with Wiltshire County Council under the War Charities Act, 1940, which was repealed in 1992.[1]

Rita Rickell writes in John Whiles Calne at War book that the origins of Calne's Welcome Home fund began in late 1944, when it looked as if the Second World War would finally come to an end.

Rita continues "Collecting boxes were mustered, labels for them were printed, and appeals went forth for folk to have fund raising events. According to hand written records in reference to this,a Mrs. Mlnnis made £7. 6s. 2d.by playing on"

All returing servicemen and women were given an initially wallet and a signed certificate. On 6 June 1945, the ex-prisoners of war were given a dinner at the Lansdowne Hotel.[2]

Thanks to Sharon Beaven for uploading a copy of the certificate to the Calne in Photographs Facebook group. The handsigned certificate to her father reads:

"To Frederick William Beaven

The inhabitants of Calne, Wiltshire, desire to extend a very warm welcome to you on your return to Civilian Life at the termination of your period of service in His Majesty's Forces.

The also wish to record their sincere appreciation of the loyal service you have rednered to your King and Country and o extend to you this formal expression of their gratitude together with a small gift.

On behalf of the Townspeople of Calne Borough

Cyril H. Thomas

Mayor of Calne" 

In total around 320 individuals were supported with the Calne Welcome Home Fund. Other local Welcome Homes funds included those for Lacock and Bowden Hill.

Around this time, Lance-Corporal Jack Stevens of the Somerset Light Infantry, from Calne, was awarded the Military Medal for gallant and distinguished service in North-West Europe[3].


Thankfully, on 8 May 1945, Germany surrended. After six years of war and the loss of millions of lives, the Allies had won the war and formally accepted Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender. This year, while in lockdown due to the Coronavirus, Wiltshire Council is encouraging us to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day at home. Click here to see their advice and the VE Day pack.

References:
[1]  'War Charities Act, 1940'  Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, Saturday 05 May 1945 [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001557/19450505/114/0006 [Accessed on 1 May 2020].
[2] Whiles, J., 1995. Calne at War. 1st ed. Chippenham: Antony Rowe.
[3]  'Awards for Service'  Western Gazette, Friday 11 May 1945 [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000407/19450511/060/0008 [Accessed on 1 May 2020]
Note: For more information on military history, please visit Calne Heritage Centre.

Place Names of Calne: Aircraft

Hurricane Drive

In recent years there have been some developments in Calne that have followed the theme of aircraft, both developments are accessed via Sandpit Road. The transport aircraft theme is accessed via Hercules Road, with the fighter themed streets (suggested in the Calne Town Development and Planning Committee of September 15, 2015) is accessed via Spitfire Road and include:

Street Name	Full Name	First Flight	Produced	Role
Anson Avenue	Avro Anson	24 March 1935	1930s-1952	Multirole aircraft, primarily a trainer
Britannia Drive	Royal Air Force (Bristol) Britannia C.1/C.2	16 August 1952	1952-1960	Long range Airliner
Comet Crescent	de Havilland Comet (Comet T2)	27 July 1949	1949–1964	Narrow-body jet airliner. RAF variant for crew training
Dakota Drive	Dakota II (Douglas DC-3)	17 December 1935	1936–1942, 1950	Military transport aircraft
Hastings Drive	Handley Page Hastings	7 May 1946	1947 – 1952	Transport aircraft
Hercules Road	Lockheed C-130 Hercules	23 August 1954	1954–present	Military transport aircraft
Hunter Close	Hawker Hunter	20 July 1951	1954-2014	Fighter / Ground Attack / Reconnaissance aircraft
Hurricane Drive	Hawker Hurricane	6 November 1935	1937–1944	Fighter
Lightning Road	Lockheed P-38 Lightning	27 January 1939	1941-1945	Heavy Fighter
Spitfire Road	Supermarine Spitfire	5 March 1936	1938-1948	Fighter / Photo-reconnaissance aircraft
Tornado Close	Hawker Tornado	6 October 1939	Only 4 built	Single seat Fighter
York Road	Avro York	5 July 1942	1943–1948	Transport

The Hercules Road development by Redrow Homes, was granted on appeal, but remained controversial. However the developer did contribute £450,000 to local education, improvements to Anchor Road community park, and to upgrade pedestrian and cycle facilities[1]. The development contains 2,3, and 4 bedroom homes of differing styles. The names for this development were decided in 2011, when Councillor A Hill suggested incorporating 'Hercules' due to the close bond between Calne and RAF Lyneham. Councillor Plenty, and mayor at the time, suggested 'Anson' due to the link between Calne and Yatesbury. These names and the others for this development were agreed at the same time[2].

The development off Spitfire Road was also initially refused in 2013, before being approved with an amended site plan in 2015[3].

Source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Anson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Britannia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handley_Page_Hastings

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-130_Hercules

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Hunter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Hurricane

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_P-38_Lightning

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Tornado

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_York

Resources: 
[1] The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. 2019. Disputed homes in Calne set to be built | The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/8631042.disputed-homes-in-calne-set-to-be-built/. [Accessed 17 July 2019]. 
[2]  CALNE TOWN COUNCIL TOWN DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING COMMITTEE, 29 March 2011.
[3] N/10/03389/FUL

 

To discover more about the place names of Calne, buy the book:

Timeline Calne: 1340/1341, Calne's Great Fire (with notes on subsequent fires)

Calne Fire Station, Station Road.

Depending on the source, we can see that 1340 or 1341 saw a serious fire within Calne. One that destroyed the greater part of the best houses of Calne, which were likely to have been wooden structures.[1]

Marsh tells us that the Church Registers detail the frequent occurrence of fires within Calne after this event.


Some of the major fires that have happened in Calne have occurred in and around the mills. Such as the fire next to Kew Lane mill (now Anchor Road). A fire in 1815, saw a warehouse or factory likely destroyed by fire as the Salisbury Journal reported "the engines were immediately procured, but from want of practice they did little service".

In 1884, it was the mill that experienced the destruction of fire. By this time, the road was called Cow Lane, and the mill was occupied by Mr. Robertson. The fire was discovered around one o'clock on 29 February 1884. Luckily Mr. Robertson, who occupied the house next to the mill, escaped without harm, however the mill and house were completely gutted, with only a cottage attached to the south west of the mill surviving. The mill was owned by Lord Lansdowne, who may have repaired the mill.[2] However, by 1899, the buildings had been demolished. The likely home for the mill was on the island near Brewers Lane.

Horsebrook Mill was another that faced a series of fires, and in 1962, Moss' mill was destroyed by fires. In 1967, Castle House was partially destroyed by fire.

We are fortunate to have a fantastic on-call crew that operate from Calne Fire Station on Station Road.

Let's hope Calne never has to experience such devastation again.


References:
[1] Marsh, A., 1903. A HISTORY OF THE BOROUGH AND TOWN OF CALNE. 1st ed. London: HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LTD.
[2] "Fire at Calne" Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette, Thursday 06 March 1884  [ONLINE] Available at https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000360/18840306/069/0004 [Accessed on 19 April 2020]