Place Name
The acanthus leaf is one of the most common ornamental features to used in decorative architecture throughout history. Originating in Greece in the 5thCentury BC to decorate the Corinthian column, the style has been much admired and copied over the ensuing centuries, the foliage being used in Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, and Rococo. It should come as little surprise than that the man who developed the estate Edward I’Anson was an architect as well as being the local district surveyor. The Royal Institute of British Architects says of him: “In an age when most architects at least occasionally tried to work in a Gothic Revival style, I’Anson remained a staunch classicist. He was President [of RIBA)] 1886–1888 and died in office.” Keith Bailey in The Streets of Battersea: Their names and origins writes that the road was laid out in 1867 and was originally proposed to be named Claremont Road. A proposal of 1868/71 extended the line north towards the later Birley Street.
