Shakespeare’s Juliet asks: “What’s in a name” as she and Romeo anguish over the feud between their respective families, the Montagues and Capulets, that forbids their love and ultimately dooms them both.
Surely no such dilemma for Hambledon as it seeks an appropriate name for the approach road into the small development of affordable homes being built at what was once Orchard Farm? You would think not.
However, while not carrying the consequences of Shakespeare’s tragedy, it has proved to be surprisingly difficult to find a name that accords with borough council street naming policy and meets village expectations. But progress is being made.
This website carried a report highlighting that, as construction of the seven affordable and two open-market properties gets under way, the developer English Rural is required to put forward a suitable name options to Waverley Borough Council which makes the final decision.
English Rural was proposing naming it Tillson Gardens, after a respected executive of the housing association who had recently died. Hambledon Parish Council felt this was not an appropriate choice as the name had no connection to the village. Guidelines state that names of people alive or recently deceased should be avoided and best practice was for the developer to consult with the local parish council and, where possible, that the name should reflect local significance or historic links.
After consulting around the village, all those who commented supported the approach of the parish council and most suggested a name containing the word Orchard in recognition of its previous name.
This is where matters became tricky. Orchard, regardless of the suffix, was not suitable because it was too common and, with several other similarly-named roads in the locality, it could lead to confusion. The access to the site is on the A283 Wormley Hill, but Hill was also rejected for the same reason.
Other names came…and went. Given the previous use of Orchard Farms as a stables and livery yard, Stable was suggested. Again, too many others.
Jane Woolley, former Hambledon Parish Council clerk and a custodian of much of our village archive, visited the Surrey History Centre on Woking and unearthed some fascinating background. She discovered that the Orchard Farm field had once belonged to the family of the noted Victorian amateur entomologist James John Joicey. He travelled the world collecting butterflies and other insects and added greatly to the understanding of Lepidoptera. It is estimated he collected 1.5 million specimens, the second largest in the world, according to his Wikipedia entry.
The family lived at the now-demolished house The Hill, which was on top of Wormley Hill and just outside our parish. There James Joicey established a museum housing much of his collection. The Orchard Farm site, inside Hambledon parish, was used as a kitchen garden and contained a wooden building used as annex for more of his specimen. Much of his collection is now at The Natural History Museum.
The name Joicey was put to the Waverley Addressing Team, but it was concerned that the name would be mis-spelt. The policy is to have distinct as well as un-duplicated names to reduce confusion for emergency services.
The Joicey family hailed originally from the North East of England where they were wealthy coal mine owners. Parish Council inquiries revealed that in Gateshead area alone there are ten roads named after Joicey. If they can cope with ten in Gateshead, who not one in Hambledon?
Stewart Payne, on behalf of Hambledon Parish Council, contacted the Waverley Addressing Team after first ascertaining that English Rural, which must submit the name, was more than happy with the name Joicey.
The strong links with the Orchard Farm site were explained as was the desire of villagers to have a name that celebrated a local personage. It seemed to tick all the boxes
Waverley has agreed to put the name forward as our first choice and we await a positive development.
