As we’re walking around the Stoke, Morice Town & Ford neighbourhoods of Plymouth, we’ve been thinking about how the various streets and roads got their names.
Here’s a list of all the Street & Road Names in the area we are looking at for the Blockhouse Folk: Past, Present & Future project – can you help us find the meanings of each street name?
| Current Street Name | Meaning | Previous name? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acre Cottages | See: Acre Place | ||
| Acre Place | Part of the street that is now called Acre Place was once called St Jean D’Acre Terrace – named after a mediterranean fishing town (now Acre in northern Israel) and site of a British naval campaign in 1840. | St Jean D’Acre Terrace | Roland Doxsey (2022) Acre Place: An account of the People and the Place |
| Adelaide Street | |||
| Albemarle Villas | Named after Robert d’Albemarle (who owned the area after Norman invasion). This is the root of the name Stoke Damerel – Stockes (or fortified place) d’Albemarle. | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| Albert Road | |||
| Alcester Street | |||
| Alexandra Road | |||
| Alexandra Terrace | |||
| Alfred Place | |||
| Alfred Road | |||
| Alma Road | Portion of the Plymouth to Saltash road from Pennycomequick to Milehouse, named after the battle of Alma that took place in 1854 during the Crimean War. | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| Ann’s Place | |||
| Anson Place | |||
| Attwood Mews | |||
| Auckland Road | |||
| Balfour Terrace | |||
| Balmoral Avenue | |||
| Bartholomew Road | Named after the Church in Browning Road on the instigation of the late Mr. Crimp, then a Councillor. This is probably the only road in Plymouth with no houses numbered in it. | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| Barton Avenue | |||
| Beacon Park Road | Perhaps?? related to: Beaconfield Road – Built on the field where the beacons that were used to pass news of public importance around the country were erected. One such was used to signal the coming of the Armada. | Bladderley Lane | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse |
| Beatrice Avenue | |||
| Beaumont Street | Named after Admiral Sir Lewis Antony Beaumont, Commander-in-Chief at Devonport from 1905 to 1908. | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| Bedford Street | |||
| Belmont Place | |||
| Belmont Villas | |||
| Benbow Street | |||
| Beresford Street | Named after Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, outspoken seaman of the early days of the 20th century, who became a politician. | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| Berkshire Drive | |||
| Beyrout Place | Related to site of a British naval campaign “Battle of Acre” in 1840. From the Arabic name Bayrūt (بيروت) transcription into French as Beyrouth, which was sometimes used during France’s Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (1923−1946), and perhaps ?? before this date to describe the modern-day city of Beirut, Lebanon. | Roland Doxsey (2022) Acre Place: An account of the People and the Place | |
| Boscawen Place | Perhaps ?? : Admiral Edward Boscawen, who preceded Sir John St. Aubyn (1726-72) as MP for Truro (1741 – 1761)1. Read more about the St Auybn Estate | ||
| Bromley Place | |||
| Browning Road | Named after Sir Montague Edward Browning, an Admiral in the Great War. | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| Brunel Avenue | |||
| Brunel Terrace | |||
| Brunswick Place | |||
| Cambridge Road | |||
| Camperdown Street | |||
| Charlotte Street | |||
| Chubb Drive | |||
| Church Street | |||
| Clarence Place | |||
| Clarendon Lane | |||
| Clyde Street | |||
| College Road | |||
| Collingwood Road | |||
| Cotehele Avenue | |||
| Craigmore Avenue | |||
| Crantock Terrace | |||
| Crawford Road | |||
| Cross Hill | |||
| Dairy Lane | |||
| Devonport Road | Tavistock Road / Tavistock Street – Originally part of the turnpike road from Plymouth Dock to Tavistock. | ||
| Dixon Place | |||
| Drummond Place | |||
| Duckworth Street | |||
| Dundas Street | Perhaps ?? : Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (1742 – 1811) (First Lord of the Admiralty 1804–1805) or his son Robert Dundas 2nd Viscount Melville (First Lord of the Admiralty 1812 – 1827 and 1828 – 1830). | ||
| Dundonald Street | |||
| Endeavour Court | |||
| Epworth Terrace | |||
| Exmouth Road | |||
| Fairfax Terrace | |||
| Fellowes Place | |||
| Fellows Lane | |||
| Ferry Road | |||
| Fisher Road | Named after Lord Fisher, First Sea Lord for the first two years of the Great War, and the man responsible for preparing the Navy for war. | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| Fitzroy Road | |||
| Fitzroy Terrace | |||
| Ford Hill | Originally Ford Lane, it connected Higher Stoke with Ford Village. | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| Fore Street (Devonport) | |||
| Fremantle Gardens | Perhaps ?? : named after Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Francis Fremantle | ||
| Fremantle Place | Perhaps ?? : named after Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Francis Fremantle | ||
| Fullerton Road | Named after Admiral Sir John Fullerton. | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| Ganges Road | Named after H.M.S. Ganges, the training ship at Chatham (which was in turn named after the river Ganges in India). | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| Garden Street | |||
| Garfield Terrace | |||
| Glenmore Avenue | |||
| Granby Street | |||
| Greatlands Place | |||
| Haddington Road | |||
| Hargood Terrace | |||
| Harrison Street | |||
| Havelock Terrace | |||
| Healy Place | |||
| Henderson Place | |||
| Herbert Place | |||
| Herbert Street | |||
| Home Park | Originally the home park field of Higher Swilley. The stadium was built for the long defunct Devonport Albion Rugby Club, but in 1898 this club vacated the ground after a dispute over rental charges. For three years the ground lay empty, but in 1901 the Argyle Athletic Club secured a long- term lease. Inside the enclosure there was no terracing or crush barriers, and the grandstand was a simple wooden structure. After two years, during which time the ground was used for pony trotting, whippet racing and the occasional football match be- tween visiting sides, Plymouth Argyle Football Club was formed, and entered the Southern League. | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| Hornby Street | |||
| Jackson Place | |||
| Keat Street | |||
| Kent Road | |||
| Keppel Place | |||
| Keppel Street | |||
| Keyes Close | |||
| Keyham Road | |||
| Kings Court | |||
| Kings Road | |||
| Littleton Place | |||
| Lofoten Close | |||
| Lorrimore Avenue | |||
| Maristow Avenue | |||
| Masterman Road | |||
| Melville Road | Perhaps ?? : Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (1742 – 1811) (First Lord of the Admiralty 1804–1805) or his son Robert Dundas 2nd Viscount Melville (First Lord of the Admiralty 1812 – 1827 and 1828 – 1830). | ||
| Melville Terrace | Perhaps ?? : Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (1742 – 1811) (First Lord of the Admiralty 1804–1805) or his son Robert Dundas 2nd Viscount Melville (First Lord of the Admiralty 1812 – 1827 and 1828 – 1830). | ||
| Milehouse Road | There was a toll house where the Plymouth to Saltash and Devonport to Tavistock turnpike roads crossed, and as it was near the first milestone on each road it became known as the mile-house. | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| Milne Place | Perhaps ?? : named after Admiral Sir David Milne – appointed Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth in 1842. | ||
| Molesworth Cottages | Perhaps ?? : named after a member of the Molesworth family – eg Sir John Molesworth who shared the role of MP for Cornwall with Sir John St Aubyn in 1765–1775 | ||
| Molesworth Road | |||
| Molyneaux Place | |||
| Moor View | |||
| Mount Pleasant Terrace | Leading to the Mount Pleasant redoubt (now known as Blockhouse Park) | ||
| Napier Street | Named after Commodore Charles Napier | Roland Doxsey (2022) Acre Place: An account of the People and the Place | |
| Nelson Avenue | Perhaps ?? : named after Horatio Nelson commander of the Royal Navy in the Battle of Trafalgar (naval engagement in 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815)) | ||
| Nelson Gardens | Perhaps ?? : named after Horatio Nelson commander of the Royal Navy in the Battle of Trafalgar (naval engagement in 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815)) | ||
| Nepean Street | Perhaps ?? : named after HMS Nepean and/or its namesake Sir Evan Nepean (born at St. Stephens near Saltash, Cornwall in 1752) | ||
| Northesk Street | Perhaps ?? : named after HMS Northesk and/or its namesake Admiral William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk (1756 – 1831) Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom and Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. | ||
| Osborne Road | |||
| Outland Road | Named after Outlands –The birthplace of Captain Robert Falcon Scott (also known as “Scott of the Antarctic”), which was situated on the site of the new church and had its back entrance in Scott Road. It has given its name to Outland Villas in Tavistock Road. | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| Packington Street | |||
| Palmerston Street | |||
| Paradise Road | |||
| Park Avenue | |||
| Park Place Lane | |||
| Park Road | |||
| Park Street | |||
| Parkside | |||
| Pasley Street | |||
| Pasley Street East | |||
| Pellew Place | |||
| Penlee Gardens | |||
| Penlee Road | |||
| Penlee Way | |||
| Pentamar Street | |||
| Phillimore Street | |||
| Portland Court | |||
| Portland Road | |||
| Providence Place | |||
| Pym Street | |||
| Railway Cottages | |||
| Raynham Road | |||
| Ronald Terrace | |||
| Ross Street | |||
| Royal Navy Avenue | |||
| Rutger Place | |||
| Ryder Road | |||
| Salisbury Ope | |||
| Saltash Road | |||
| Sanctuary Close | |||
| Seaton Place | |||
| Sennen Place | |||
| Somerset Cottages | |||
| Somerset Place | |||
| Somerset Place Lane | |||
| South Hill | |||
| Springfield Drive | Perhaps?? related to: Springfield – Large house at the corner of Sturdee Road, destroyed in the blitz and since rebuilt. As its name implies, it was built in the field with the water spring that would have trickled into the Devonport Leat. | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse | |
| St Aubyn Avenue | Named after the St Aubyn family. St Aubyn Estate owned almost 80% of the parish of Stoke Damerel (which covered all of modern-day Stoke, Ford, Morice Town, Keyham & Devonport). Read more about the St Auybn Estate | Stoke Damerel Tithe Map (~1836) | |
| St Aubyn Road | Named after the St Aubyn family. St Aubyn Estate owned almost 80% of the parish of Stoke Damerel (which covered all of modern-day Stoke, Ford, Morice Town, Keyham & Devonport). Read more about the St Auybn Estate | Stoke Damerel Tithe Map (~1836) | |
| St George’s Terrace | |||
| St Leo Place | |||
| St Levan Park Path | Named after the descendants of the St Aubyn family, the Lords St Levan. St Aubyn Estate owned almost 80% of the parish of Stoke Damerel (which covered all of modern-day Stoke, Ford, Morice Town, Keyham & Devonport). Read more about the St Auybn Estate | ||
| St Levan Road | Named after the Lord of the Manor, the original part of it went from Ford Hill by the ford to Keyham and was called Keyham Lane. | Keyham Lane | David Ayres (1965) A Short History Of Higher Stoke and Milehouse |
| St Mawes Terrace | |||
| St Michael Avenue | Perhaps ?? : Named after St Michael’s Mount, family home of the St Aubyn family and their descendants the Lords St Levan. Read more about the St Auybn Estate | ||
| St Michael’s Terrace | Perhaps ?? : Named after St Michael’s Mount, family home of the St Aubyn family and their descendants the Lords St Levan. Read more about the St Auybn Estate | ||
| St Nazaire Approach | |||
| St Nazaire Close | |||
| St Vincent Street | |||
| Station Road | |||
| Stopford Place | Named after Vice Admiral Sir Robert Stopford | Roland Doxsey (2022) Acre Place: An account of the People and the Place | |
| Stuart Road | |||
| Sturdee Road | |||
| Sussex Road | |||
| Sussex Terrace | |||
| Sylvan Court | |||
| Tamar Avenue | |||
| Terra Nova Green | Named after Scott’s boat that took him to the Antarctic. | ||
| The Elms | |||
| The Grove | |||
| The Mews | |||
| Townshend Avenue | Perhaps ?? : named after Admiral George Townshend | ||
| Trafalgar Place Lane | Perhaps ?? : named after the Battle of Trafalgar (naval engagement in 1805, during of the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815)) | ||
| Underhill Road | |||
| Underhill Villas | |||
| Vaagso Close | Perhaps ?? : named after the island of Vågsøy, Norway site of “Operation Archery“, also known as the Måløy Raid – a British Combined Operations raid during World War II against German positions on 27 December 1941. | ||
| Valletort Lane | Perhaps ?? : named after a member of the Valletort Edgcumbe family (Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, Viscount Valletort). The ancestral seat of the Edgcumbe family is Mount Edgcumbe House, on the Rame Peninsula (Cornwall). | ||
| Valletort Road | Perhaps ?? : named after a member of the Valletort Edgcumbe family (Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, Viscount Valletort). The ancestral seat of the Edgcumbe family is Mount Edgcumbe House, on the Rame Peninsula (Cornwall). | ||
| Vauban Place | Perhaps ?? : named after French Vauban class naval ships, the lead ship of this class, or the French destroyer Vauban , or a battle related to these ships. | ||
| Victoria Place | |||
| Warleigh Avenue | |||
| Warleigh Lane | |||
| Warren Street | |||
| Waterloo Street | |||
| Wellington Street | |||
| Welsford Avenue | |||
| Wesley Place | Previously this piece of land was close to the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel (seated 150 people) visible on the 1861 OS Map. This chapel is now the Stoke Bars & Grill / The Club on Devonport Road, and building have been built between it and Wesley Place. | OS Map – Plymouth, Devonport, &c. Sheet 17 Revised: 1857, Published: 1861. | |
| Wilton Road | |||
| Wilton Street | |||
| Wingfield Road | Perhaps?? : Family name of Elizabeth St Aubyn (nee Wingfield – b. -1796), part of the St Aubyn family. Read more about the St Auybn Estate | ||
| Wingfield Way | Perhaps?? : Family name of Elizabeth St Aubyn (nee Wingfield – b. -1796), part of the St Aubyn family. Read more about the St Auybn Estate | ||
| Wolseley Close | |||
| Wolseley Road | |||
| York Place | |||
| York Terrace |
We need your help to make this page better!! If you’d like to help us investigate or have some information about this Local Mystery, please get in touch!
Contributors:
- Shaun Lewin
- Rachel Dobbs