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| A 1961 press clipping advertising the estate. |
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| Advert for J. Sutton & Son in the Calne Official Guide 1967. |
The estate was built over a prolonged period of time, the map included in the 1967 Calne Official Guide only shows a portion of the current estate and lists it as 'Curzon Park'. The Victoria County History for Calne states that the east part was built in the 1960s and 70s, with the west part built in the 1980s[1].
The homes on the park are accessed via Curzon Street and includes the following streets (which will be discussed in future posts):
Wansdyke Drive
Avebury Close
Oldbury Way
Downland Road
Druids Close
Silbury Road
Sarum Way
Savernake Drive
Keevil Avenue
Long Barrow Road
Lodge Close
Lime Tree Close
Yew Tree Close
Oak Close (Built 2013) and named to sit well with the other street names of this estate.
Walter Sutton Close
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| Keevil Avenue, Curzon Park Estate. |
The land that this estate was built on was originally part of the land owned by Castlefields House, which was built and owned by Henry Alworth Merewether, who was a serjeant-at-law and author of several works including The History of the Boroughs and Municipal Corporations of the United Kingdom (1835)[2].
Oak Close is the most recent street to be added to Curzon Park. It is a collection of 29 homes with a mix of bungalows, houses, and flats and was completed in 2013.
There have been a series of refused and withdrawn planning applications for the land accessed from Sarum way crossing to the south of Castle Walk. Curzon Homes (withdrawn 2004) wanted to create a development of 43 single storey affordable homes and GreenSquare Group Ltd (refused 2016 and dismissed 2017) wanted to create 36 dwellings, which appeared to be 2 storey houses. The Greensquare proposal was well objected by protestors due to the haven for wildlife that the site would destroy, including over 70 trees[3].
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| 58 Curzon Street. Perhaps an office of Sutton at one point? |
Wansdyke Drive is named for the series of defensive linear earthworks from the early medieval period. It is known at the East Wansdyke and West Wansdyke, with the join being at Morgan's Hill.
Avebury Close is a collection of attractive bungalows and part of the Curzon Park estate. It is named for the World Heritage Site that lies approximately 8 miles to the east.
Oldbury Way named for Oldbury Castle, which is a bivallate Iron Age hillfort on Cherhill downs.
The area was in use from around 1000 BC, having been dated from a Bronze Age enclosure. This then developed into a hillfort, with a later extension to the west. The back end of the hillfort shows bivallation, meaning that it is bounded by a double line of ramparts.
A 1996 survey revealed evidence for around 20 circular features along with archeaological finds. This seems to suggest that the hillfort was occupied around 2000 years ago. It is also known as a Roman finds spot, as well as being used for flint quarrying, quite possibly for the Bath Road turnpike[4].
Downland Road is named for the extensive areas of open chalk hills that are characteristic of Wiltshire, particularly close by on the Calstone and Cherhill Downs and at Avebury.
Silbury Road is named for Silbury Hill, which is the largest artificial mound in Europe. While Silbury Hill has been excavated over the years, no burials have been found, leaving the purpose of the mound a mystery. However, it was clearly significant, and was completed around 2400 BC after taking an estimated 4 million people hours to build over several generations of enlargement[5].
Druids Close - Historically a druid was a member, primarily a religious leader, of the professional class in the ancient Celtic culture. This street name connects to Avebury Close, as the English antiquarian and archeologist, William Stukeley (1687-1765) believed that Iron Age druids had built the henge monument at Avebury. However, it has since been discovered that the monument was built during the Neolithic, around two thousand years previous. Druids are common visitors to Avebury, which they use as a temple.
Sarum Way, named for Old Sarum, which is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. This hilltop was used as early as 3000 BC, with a protective hill fort known to have existed around 400 BC. This hilltop has seen almost continuous use ever since, during the Roman, Saxon, and Norman periods. The cathedral that was situated on the hill was dismantled and moved to build the current Salisbury Cathedral in the 1200s.
Savernake Drive - named for the forest near Marlborough, Wiltshire and is the entrance into the Curzon Park Estate. Savernake forest is well known for its historic and magnificent oak trees, including the Saddle Oak, Big Bellied Oak, and the Queen Oak.
Keevil Avenue - Keevil is an ancient Wiltshire village, named in the Domesday book as 'Chivele'. It is home to the Grade I listed buildings of Keevil Manor and timber framed, Talboys, dating from 1420.
Long Barrow Road - Long barrows, or chambered tombs, were in used in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE. West Kennet Long Barrow is a very well known example of this sytle of tomb built between 3600 BC and 2500 BC. It is thought to have taken over 15,000 hours to build, with stone from the Cotswold hills over 20 miles away. While the tomb was open for approximately 1000 years, the 46 people buried there all died within 20 to 30 years of each other[6].
Lodge Close - See Lodge Close entry.
Lime Tree Close - The Lime Tree can live for thousands of years with the help of periodic coppicing.
Yew Tree Close - The Yew tree is a long-lived tree, thought to live thousands years.
Oak Close (Built 2013) and named to sit well with the other street names of this estate, it also a long lived tree, along with Yew and Lime.
Walter Sutton Close, named for the founder of Sutton and Sons builders of Curzon Street.
References:
[1] 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#highlight-first. [Accessed 24 July 2019].
[2] Wikipedia. 2019. Henry Alworth Merewether - Wikipedia. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Alworth_Merewether. [Accessed 24 July 2019].
[3] The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. 2019. Protestors campaign against housing plans for untouched 'haven' | The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/14550215.protestors-campaign-against-housing-plans-for-untouched-haven/. [Accessed 24 July 2019].
[4] National Trust. 2019. Oldbury Castle | National Trust. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/calstone-and-cherhill-downs/features/oldbury-castle. [Accessed 16 August 2019].
[5] English Heritage. 2019. Silbury Hill, Avebury | English Heritage . [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/silbury-hill/. [Accessed 01 October 2019].
[6] Wikipedia. 2019. West Kennet Long Barrow - Wikipedia. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Kennet_Long_Barrow. [Accessed 01 October 2019].
