Place Name
Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (January 8, 1864 – January 14, 1892) was the eldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) and grandson of the reigning monarch, Queen Victoria. He was born in Berkshire and at the behest of his grandmother was named Albert Victor, after herself and her late husband. His short life was dogged with controversy and scandal – although nothing was ever conclusively proved. He was linked with the Cleveland Street scandal, in which he and other high-ranking members of society were said to have been at a homosexual brothel; it has also been suggested that he was Jack the Ripper. The Duke, who had just become engaged to Princess Mary of Teck, died at suddenly at Sandringham during an influenza pandemic. This road along with Ashleigh and Cowley Road; and First and Second Avenues “were laid out with a mixture of houses and flats built between 1903 – 1906, much favoured by employees at the newly built bus garage in Avondale Road,” according Maisie Brown author of Barnes and Mortlake Past.
