Place Name
Laid out as part of the Old Park estate development in 1929, it is named after a former warship HMS Barham. This vessel was one of five Queen Elizabeth-class battleships built for the Royal Navy in 1914. In the year this road was laid out the estate’s owner Admiral Drax (see Almer Road for his full ridiculous name) was commanding the Barham. The ship itself was named after Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, the former naval officer who became a politician and vehement anti-slaver (somewhat ironic since the Drax family made a great deal of its wealth through slavery) whose work behind the scenes did much to end the evil trade. As for the ship, it saw action in both World Wars, participating in the Battle of Jutland in 1916. During the Second World War the Barham was sunk off the Egyptian coast by a German submarine with the loss of 862 crewmen, approximately two thirds of her crew. Neal Ransome in Wimbledon Village: A History Told Through Its Street Names explains: “This road follows the route of what was originally a drive leading to Warren Farm on the Common.”
