Littleover Roads, Avenues and Drives in 1939

Littleover Roads,  Avenues and Drives in 1939

There was a difficulty in deciding when to set a bar on the year to use for a list of highways, streets and thoroughfares. Modern Littleover is no longer a few lanes leading from farms to fields, it is now a large urban area that is basically a dormitory for industries outside the area. The best thing was to go back to a time when Littleover was still mostly rural and there was list of all those that were inhabited. I decided that the National Registration of all inhabitants that took place in 1939 was the best year to choose. The Littleover part of that registration was not covered in a single Transcript Book but in eight. These volumes had to be trawled through to make up the following list.

The origin or the break-down of names column is my best thoughts and may be open to further interpretation. The abbreviations used are; O.E referring to Old English and O.N. referring to Old Norse.

Arundel Avenue, From the town of Arundel, West Sussex.

Beech Walk,  Beechwood Crescent,  Birchwood Avenue,  There are no records of a beech or birch wood in the vicinity.

Blagreaves Avenue,  Blagreaves Lane,  From O.E. blæc = black or dark and grǣfa = grove or copse. ∴ The dark woods. 

Brayfield Avenue,  Brayfield Road  Named after the builders wife’s ancestors. They lived in Brayfield House.

Breedon Avenue  From the village of Breedon on the hill.

Briars Lane  A lane on which prickly and scrambling shrubs grew.

Broughton Avenue  From a surname or placename.

Burton Road  The road from Derby to Burton.

Carlisle Avenue  From the city of Carlisle, Cumbria

Chain Lane  At the toll house on Chain Lane was a chain stretched across the lane.

Church Street  The street on which the parish church, St. Peter’s, is located.

Constable Avenue , Constable Drive,  Constable Lane  Access to the land that provided income for the village constable.

Corden Avenue  Possibly from a surname.

Crich Avenue,  Crich Circle From the village of Crich.

Cross Close  A lane and footpath on the edge of the ancient enclosed field named Cross Close.

Eastcroft Avenue  From a small enclosure named east.

Eastwood Avenue,   Eastwood Drive Named after ironfounder James Eastwood, he lived at The Grange.

Elms Avenue,   Elms Drive   Taken from Elm Farm over the land of which the avenue passed.

Gayton Avenue  From a village called Gayton, Norfolk.

Glebe Rise  A road rising uphill built on land previously used to provide income for the clergy.

Goodsmoor Road  Possibly from the surname Godmore or a derivative Gougmer as in the nearby farm.

Grassy Lane  A lane covered with grass leading to pasture fields.

Gurney Avenue  A gurney is a wheeled stretcher, no connection known.

Harpur Avenue  Owners of Littleover Hall estate and also a charity benefactor.

Harrington Road  From O.E. hring = stoney and O.E. tun = settlement.  ∴ Stoney ground.

Havenbaulk Lane   From O.E. hæfen = shelter and O.N. bálkr = partition.  ∴ Sheltered, unploughed ridge.

Hayes Avenue  From O.E. haes = brushwood or underwood or from O.E. hege = hedge.

Heath Avenue  An avenue leading to a tract of wasteland.

Hillcross Avenue,   Hillcross Drive   From the ancient ‘Hillcross Lane’ to which it branched out of.

Hill Rise Close  A road rising uphill.

Hillsway  A road traversing a hill.

Jackson Avenue  Possibly from a surname.

Keats Avenue  Possibly from Keats the poet.

Kegworth Avenue  From O.E. cæg = key and O.E. worth = enclosure. ∴ Locked enclosure.

Kings Drive  One of three highways on the estate given a link to royalty.

Lawn Heads Avenue  From a field where the grass seed heads were collected for the seeding of lawns

Lime Walk  There are no records of any lime trees in the vicinity.

Littleover Crescent  A crescent located in Littleover.

Littleover Lane  The lane from Old Normanton to Littleover.

Manor Avenue  Possibly taken from the proximity of the Manor Hospital.

Melton Avenue  From of town Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, centre for making Melton cloth.

Middleton Avenue,    Middleton Drive  From the surname of a local farming family.

Moorway Lane  A lane across the moors.

Mostyn Avenue  From O.E. mos = bog or moss and O.E. tun = settlement.  ∴ Mossy town.

Nevinson Avenue  From a Scottish surname.

Normanton Lane  The lane from Littleover to Old Normanton.

North Street  Either from North family surname or street heading north.

Oak Crescent  From a large oak tree that once stood on the site.

Oaklands Avenue  From an area of oak trees.

Old Hall Avenue  An avenue named after the Old Hall.

Old Hall Road  A road that was laid out to divert around the Old Hall.

Park Drive  From the road ‘Park Lane’ to which it branched out of.

Park Lane  The lane leading to The Grange Hall Park.

Pastures Hill  A section of the Burton/Rykneld Road leading to The Pastures.

Princes Drive , Queens Drive One of three highways on the estate given a link to royalty.

Ridgeway Avenue  From the ancient pathway that runs nearby.

Rowley Lane  From the O.E. ruh= rough and O.E. leah = clearing.  ∴ Rough clearing/pasture.

Rykneld Drive  From the Roman road ‘Ryknield Street’ which it branched out of.

Rykneld Road  From the line of the Roman road ‘Ryknield Street’.

Rykneld Way  From the Roman road ‘Ryknield Street’ which it branched out of.

Scarsdale Avenue  Named after the Scarsdale family landowners in the parish.

Shaldon Drive  From a village in Devon named Shaldon.

Shepherd Street  From the surname of a local farming family.

Snelston Crescent  From the village of Snelston, Derbyshire

South Avenue  An avenue heading south.

South Brae Close  From Scottish slope or brow of a hill.

Stenson Road  Road to the hamlet of Stenson.

Sunnyhill  Road to the hamlet of Sunnyhill.

Sunnyhill Avenue  From the nearby Sunnyhill.

Sunnyhill Gardens  From the road Sunnyhill from which it branched out of.

The Hollow  Topographical from the natural lay of the land.

Thornhill Road  Named from the land (Thorntons Croft) which it was built on.

Uplands Avenue  A road giving its location on higher ground.

Upper Hollow  A road going up, off The Hollow.

Uttoxeter Road  Road from Derby to Uttoxeter.

Valley Road  A road between hills.

Wade Avenue  From the surname of a local farming/land owning family.

Wade Street  From the surname of a local farming/land owning family.

Westcroft Avenue  From a small enclosure named west.

Western Road  A road situated in the west of the parish, heading west.

Willson Avenue  From the surname of a local farming/land owning family.

Willson Road  From the surname of a local farming/land owning family.

We would welcome any more background information available for these names.   Thank you.

Author  - Chris Drury  2025