Odessa Road, NW10

Place Name

One of a small cluster of roads named after major ports. The Ukrainian Black Sea port city, which had been part of the Imperial Russian Empire, was an early target of the British and French Navy shortly after the declaration of hostilities, in what later became the Crimean War (October 1853 – March 1856). It was chosen after a Royal Naval frigate that had been sent to evacuate civilians under a flag of truce, was fired upon on April 6, 1854. The Russians claimed, with some justification, it had been spying and that the mercy mission was simply a cover. A few weeks later, on April 22, an Anglo-French fleet bombarded the port, setting it on fire and knocking it out of the war. In most cases the war inspired patriotic London housebuilders to name roads after major battles and its players during a feverous expansion period. In this case however, the inspiration came from a local man George Furness, originally from Derbyshire, who owned Roundwood House in Harlesden. He opened a brickworks here after the 1873 sale of the Grange estate for development. He was involved in civil engineering projects from Cricklewood to Brazil. With the backing of the celebrated engineer Joseph William Bazalgette he built a considerable portion of the Thames Embankment from Westminster Bridge to Somerset House. He also rebuilt parts of Odessa following the damage during the Crimean War. Just over half a century later, in 1905, Odessa was the scene for sailors of the battleship Potemkin to mutiny, sparking the wider, failed uprising which foreshadowed the Russian Revolution a decade later.