Street Names of Kibworth
One of the projects the members of the Kibworth & District Heritage Society is to research are the origins of some of Kibworth’s street names. The plan is to publish the findings over the coming months/years. Let’s begin with a question:
What links a Temple, a Lamb and a Primrose to a certain part of Kibworth?
For those of you who are followers of the Facebook page of the Kibworth & District Heritage Society you will know the answer.
The Temple is Henry John Temple who happens to be the 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Prime Minister of the UK 1855 – 1858 hence Palmerston Close.
The Lamb is William Lamb more often known as the 2nd Viscount Melbourne, Prime Minster in 1835 hence Melbourne Close.
And the Primrose is a Mr Archibald Primrose, the 5th Earl of Rosebery, Prime Minister 1894 -1895 – hence Rosebery Avenue.
All these streets are in Kibworth New Town; the area west of Rosebery Avenue as it is called on older maps of the village.
Kibworth New Town has a plethora of 19th century Prime Ministers and notable people represented and much of it was populated with streets between 1902 and 1910 approx.
Gladstone Street is named after William Ewart Gladstone former Liberal Prime Minister of the UK 1868 – 1874, 1880 1885, 1886 – 1886, 1892 – 1894. One of his more famous quote” The love of freedom is hardly stronger in England than the love of aristocracy”. Queen Victoria described him as a ‘halfmad firebrand’ whilst to a large part of the British working classes he was the ‘Grand Old Man’. Four times prime minister Gladstone provoked strong reactions.
Benjamin Disraeli, the Earl of Beaconsfield is the source of Disraeli Close. He was a former Conservative Prime Minister of the UK 1868 – 1868, 1874 – 1880. His famous quote is “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics”.
Peel Close is named after Sir Robert Peel 2nd Baronet. Also a former Conservative Prime Minister of the UK 1834 – 1835, 1841 – 1846, He had a famous quote too:. “There seem to be very few facts, at least ascertainable facts, in politics”
Moving along Fleckney Road from Rosebery Avenue we come across Buller Street followed by Kimberley Street. Both of these street link up with White Street and Prospect Road. These streets were created probably in period 1905 -1910 directly after the Second Boer War as these street names refer to leading people or important places in the Boer War.
Sir Redvers Buller, was an army officer and Victoria Cross recipient who fought several campaigns including the Anglo – Zulu War and the second Boer War (1899 -1902). Kimberley may well have come from the Siege ofKimberley (14 October 1899- 15 February 1900) which was a critical early phase of the Second Boer War, where 7,500 Boer forces surrounded the diamond mining town of Cape Colony.
Defended by 4,800 British/colonial troops under Lt Col Kekewich the town endured 124 days of bombardment before being relieved by Major General John French on 15 February 1900.
Kimberley Street could have been named after John Wodehouse, Earl of Kimberley. Lord Kimberley, who died on 8 April 1902, was commonly remembered as Gladstone’s loyal lieutenant.
(If any of these facts are incorrect or you know of an alternative root to these names perhaps you can inform us via. theeditor@kibworthchronicle.com ). Kibworth & District Heritage Society. Next time we shall move further up Fleckney Road ..
