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Question
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I have found an ancestor on the 1881 Census, living at Brown's Lane, which is clearly off the Wilton Road; but I've looked in vain for the street: what is it called today?
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Question asked on
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04 July 2011
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Answer
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It is Gorringe Road. The 1881 Census for Brown's Lane (RG11/2073 fols 13-15) shows “Parian Villas†in the middle of its sequence, and the Ordnance Survey of Salisbury at sc. 1:500, surveyed in 1879 and published in 1880 (Wiltshire Sheet LXVI.11.16) shows the unmarked street with Gorringe Place, Nos 1 and 2, on the Wilton Road, at the north-western end, and various developments either side of the street, some semi-detached and some in terraces - Garden Villas, Parian Place and Roman Place on the west side. Furthermore, the households of Charles White, a miller's clerk, and subsequently a miller's foreman, Samuel Mead, a ticket collector then an ostler, and Charles Noble, a farm labourer, all feature on the 1881 Census and on the 1891 Census (RG12/1622, fols 9-11), with some interesting intercensal variations in occupation. By 1891 the street is known as Gorringe Road. The clinching piece of evidence is the presence of Ann Brown, in 1881 described as the widow of a bricklayer, and in 1891 a shopkeeper. One surmises that her husband bought up the land and developed it, bit by bit, firstly building a family home, then other properties as profits were released from the sale of the first houses to be built, and that is how the street came to be known, but I must stress this is purely a guess.
When the Browns came to the street, and thus when the houses were built remains a mystery: neither they nor the lane seem to feature in the 1871 Census. As to why the name of Gorringe was eventually chosen for the road - other than the propinquity of Gorringe Place - is again an open question. Peter Hart's 'Salisbury and Wilton street names' mentions that Gorringe Place was so named by 1867, citing Kelly's Directory, but I have not found the reference in the Directory, and can offer no explanation for the naming of the property. Gorringe is said to be a local surname, but there are none in the 1881 Census for Wiltshire, and only the odd one or two in the International Genealogical Index: in fact the name seems to be concentrated in Kent and Sussex, with some instances in London and Surrey. So Gorringe's identity is a mystery; presumably Brown's Lane was renamed after Gorringe Place as it is more distinctive, and to avoid confusion with Brown Street.
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Bibliography
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Census Returns: 1881: RG11/2073 ff.13-15; 1891: RG12/1622, ff.9-11
Hart, P.: Salisbury and Wilton Street names. The author, 2002, p. 20.
Ordnance Survey: Wiltshire Sheet LXVI.11.16, Sc. 1:500, 1880 and Wiltshire Sheet LXVI.11, Sc. 1:2,500. 2nd ed. 1901.
Registrar General: 1881 British Census and National Index. Intellectual Reserve, 1998 (cd-rom)
International Genealogical Index – Wiltshire. 1992 edition.
