Place name
This is one of a small cluster of streets laid out over Holloway Farm, that are named after places in Wiltshire, in this case Beacon Hill, situated half a mile north of the village of Hilmarton. It was thought to have been suggested to the London County Council – or more likely the Metropolitan Board of Works – by a local landowner, John Poynder Dickson-Poynder. Sir John was MP for Chippenham, Wiltshire, between 1892 and 1910 but held the dual role as a member of the London County Council between 1898 and 1904. He was also Honorary Colonel of the Wiltshire Yeomanry. He inherited 13 acres around Islington from his grandfather Thomas Poynder, whose family estate was in Hilmarton near Calne. Sir John became 1st Baron Islington, in 1910. See also Beacon Hill, Biddestone Road, Biddestone Park, Hartham Road, Hungerford Road, Hillmarton Road, and Quemerford Road.
