Place Name
William Juxon, (1582 – June 4, 1663) was Bishop of London from 1633 to 1646 and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1660 until his death. This is one of a number of local roads named in reference to the fact that the the Archbishop of Canterbury was once lord of the manor of Harrow. After studying law at St John’s College, Oxford, Juxon took holy orders, and in 1609 became vicar of St Giles’ Church, Oxford. He received several promotions before taking up the role of Bishop of London as England prepared for Civil War. His intelligence and legal background saw Charles I entrust him with important secular duties as Lord High Treasurer of England as well as First Lord of the Admiralty, roles that he had given up a year before the country was torn apart. When the Royalists lost, Juxon’s bishopric was abolished by the Parliamentarians and he went into retirement, he did however return to the capital to read last rites to the king before his execution. With the Restoration, King Charles II wasted no time in offering Juxon the highest office in the church. As Archbishop of Canterbury, he then took part in the new king’s coronation, but his health soon began to fail and he died at Lambeth in 1663. By his will the archbishop was a benefactor to St John’s College, where he was buried; he also aided the work of restoring St Paul’s Cathedral and rebuilt the great hall at Lambeth Palace. In recent times Juxon’s name has been seen as problematic since his family was involved in the sugar trade in Jamaica, the plantations of which were largely worked by slaves brought from Africa. It has been suggested that the family’s coat of arms, which has four African heads, may represent their involvement in slavery. But the reason behind this is unclear as extensive research undertaken by Kent University and Fulham Palace explains: “Camels first appear on the Merchant Taylors (the family came from traders) heraldic symbol in 1586 which is clearly a reference to eastern trade. English cloth was traded for Moroccan sugar. Do the African heads on the Juxon shield represent Moroccans? The African heads on the coat of arms might also represent an involvement of the Juxon family in the re-taking of Spain and Portugal from Muslim rulers (the Iberian Crusades of the 8th century up to 1492).” As for the manor, Thomas Cranmer who was a leader of the English Reformation and former Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, (for a short time) Mary I was forced to exchange it with Henry VIII on December 30, 1545. Six days later, the king sold it to Sir Edward (later Lord) North, Chancellor of the Court of Augmentations and a court favourite. It remained in his family’s ownership until 1630. This is one of several roads commemorating the archbishops of Canterbury others include Augustine Road, Bancroft Gardens, Bancroft Road, Courtenay Avenue, Courtenay Gardens, Juxon Close, Secker Crescent and Theobald Crescent.
