Here's the history behind some of the weird and wonderful street names in Milton Keynes
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When the new city of Milton Keynes was being built all those decades, planners were faced with the task of dreaming up names for the plethora of new estates.
The former Milton Keynes Development Corporation knew it was important to keep a sense of history among all the modern housing areas that were swallowing up the countryside. And they wanted each estate to be a ‘mini village’, with its own character and community.
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Hence local historians were consulted and months were spent poring over ancient maps, showing the names of fields and farmsteads that were about to be filled with new homes and roads.
Wherever possible, the new estates were named after these historic features. It may have a been a field, a farm, some woodland, an old building , a bridge, the name of hill or even an historic happening.
One of the grimmest names was Galley Hill, chosen because the site had, up until the 17th century, housed a gallows on which local criminals were hanged.
Meanwhile Stacey Bushes was named after the common land, from the Old English ‘stumpy bushes’ that adorned the area. An existing farm, now the site of Milton Keynes Museum, had already coined the name Stacey Bushes Farm.
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Giffard Park’s name dates way back to the time of William the Conquerer. The estate was named after Walter Giffard, a Norman who was a cousin of William the Conquerer and was with him at the Battle of Hastings. His son Walter was Tenant-in-Chief of Great Linford when the Domesday Book was written in1086.
Despite what some people may chose to think, Springfield was named after a patch of land called Spring Field – and not from the famous Simpsons TV show!
Once planners had selected the name of each estate, they had to dream up more names for the dozens of individual streets – and all of these had to slot in to a special theme chosen from history books to give the area a unique identity. These names range from Roman streets and railways to composers and coffee houses, but perhaps the prettiest themes were on Conniburrow (wild flowers) and Hazeley (butterflies).
For a list of street name themes, see below. Some of the newer estates are missing from official naming documents.
Ashland - English vineyards
Atterbury – Steam railways
Bancroft – Roman Britain
Bancroft Park – Roman Britain
Beanhill – Food and grasses
Blakelands – Industrial Revolution
Blue Bridge – The game of bridge
Bolbeck Park – Norman conquest
Bradville – Local history
Bradwell - Local history
Bradwell Abbey – Local history
Bradwell Common – British commons
Brinklow – Local history
Brooklands – Oceans, shipping and ocean liners
Broughton – Steam railways
Browns Wood – Composers
Caldecotte – Water Mills/Local History
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Campbell Park – Named after Lord Jock Campbell, the first chairman of Milton Keynes Development Corporation
Central Milton Keynes – Ancient monuments
Coffee Hall – Coffee Houses
Conniburrow – Wild flowers
Crownhill – Music industry
Downhead Park – Cotswolds
Downs Barn – Horses
Eaglestone – Birds of prey and fields
Emerson Valley – Valleys
Fishermead – Cornish villages
Fox Milne – Gemstones
Fullers Slade – Sheep and Wool
Furzton – Moorlands
Furzton Lake – Moorlands
Giffard Park – Thames and Chilterns
Grange Farm – British painters
Great Holm – Great houses
Great Linford – Local history
Greenleys – Manorial occupations
Hazeley – Butterflies
Heelands – NW Yorkshire Highlands
Hodge Lea – Scottish clearances
Kents Hill – Areas in the weald of Kent
Kents Hill Park – Areas in the weald of Kent
Kiln Farm – Brick making
Kingsmead – Castles of England and Wales
Kingston – Kings
Knowlhill – Energy and Inventors
Leadenhall – Coffee Houses
Linford Wood – Woodlands
Loughton – Local history
Loughton Lodge – Local history
Medbourne – Scientists
Middleton – Local history
Milton Keynes Village – Local history
Monkston – Monasteries and abbeys
Monkston Park – London Underground stations
Neath Hill – Craft Guilds/Tower of London
Newton Leys – Islands of the World
Netherfield – Manorial Land
New Bradwel – lLocal history
Newlands – Explorers explorers of new lands
Oakgrove – Computers/Technology
Oakhill – British Battlefields
Oakridge Park – Wool and wool industry
Oldbrook – English Cricket
Old Farm Park – Composers
Old Wolverton – Local history
Oxley Park – Stars of the silver screen
Peartree Bridge – Local history
Pennyland – Coinage
Redmoor – Fens
Redhouse Park – Local history, possibly connected to Red House pub in nearby Newport Pagnell
Rooksley – Locomotives
Shenley Brook End – Local history/ Farm breeds
Shenley Church End – Local history
Shenley Lodge – Energy and Inventors
Shenley Wood – British Woodlands
Simpson – Local history
Snelshall East – Coastal headlands
Snelshall West – Famous authors
Springfield – Rivers of London
Stacey Bushes – Heathers and shrubs
Stantonbury Local – Local history/ Wool industry
Stantonbury Campus – Local history/ Wool industry
Stantonbury Fields – Local history/ Wool industry
Stonebridge – Stone bridges
Tattenhoe – Coastal headlands
Tattenhoe Park – Famous authors
Tinkers Bridge – Grand Union Canal
Tongwell – American stat
Two Mile Ash -Old English names and golf
Walnut Tree – Flowers and shrubs
Walton – Walton Manor
Walton Hall – Open University
Walton Park – Local history
Wavendon Gate – Local history/ Lace/ Greek Goddesses
Westcroft – Famous Gardens
Willen – Local History
Willen Park – Local History
Winterhill – British mountains
Wolverton Mill -Local history
Wolverton Mill South – Local field names
Woodhill – Local history
Woolstone – Local history/ Farming
Woughton on the Green – Local history
Woughton Park – Local history
Wymbush – Printing