Place Name
Field Name. Once agricultural land which was part of the large Mount Ararat estate, this was among the first wave of middle-class commuter homes that were laid out, following improvement to the railway service at Wimbledon in 1860s. The station was a junction to four new lines meaning regular services into town. Thomas Devas was the managing director of a textile firm who took to property speculation in 1873. Richard Milward in Wimbledon Past explains: “To pay off his mortgage on the property, he had already laid out Arterberry Road with sizeable mansions on its eastern side – and a horse trough at the bottom.” Adding: “The road was given a series of bends to enable horses and carts to go up and down more easily, helped by the stretch of rough earth on the right where drivers could use a skid pan more effectively.” The name Devas chose for his new development comes from Middle English atte(r) buri, which in turn comes from Old English æt thǣre byrig meaning“at the manor house” or “at the stronghold”. He may, however, have chosen a different name had he been able to peer into the future. Peter Young, managing director of estate agents John D Wood, told The Guardian: “There is a road called Arterberry Road in Wimbledon where some wag keeps painting a ‘F’ in front. They keep replacing the sign but the mystery signwriter keeps coming back.”
