Place Name
One of several streets named after the children of scientist Andrew Pritchard and his wife Caroline Isabella Straker. This one, to Ion Pritchard (1843 – 1929). The Pritchard family were large local landowners after Andrew’s grandfather also called Andrew Pritchard, a “tilemaker of Hackney Road” began to buy up and develop the area around Cambridge Heath from the 1770s. His estate grew and by the early 19thCentury covered a wide area. The younger Andrew was a naturalist and natural history dealer who made significant improvements to microscopy. His belief that God and nature were one led him to the Unitarians, a religious movement to which he and his family devoted much energy. He became a leading member of the Newington Green Unitarian Church and worked to build a school there. Other nearby local streets including Ada Place, Emma Street, and Marian Place, all are named after members of the family. Like his parents Ion became a member of the Newington Green and helped pay for the new organ to be installed. After taking early retirement he became Honorary Secretary of the Sunday School Association.
