Place Name
This is thought to be a corruption of the name Evandale, a fictional character from Sir Walter’s Scott novel Old Morality set in south west Scotland during the 17thCentury. The novel deals with the period of the Covenanters, members of a Scottish religious and political movement who rise up against the Crown. The main protagonist, Henry Morton, the son of a Covenanter, has the misfortune not only of being a moderate man who can see both sides of the argument but falling in love with the attractive and modest royalist, Edith Bellenden. Lord Evandale is the young royalist rival for her affections. Having saved Henry from execution, Lord Evandale is in turn rescued twice from the Covenanters by Henry. During Henry’s exile, he gives financial aid to Edith and her aged grandmother. The novel was first published in 1816 as part of Scott’s Waverley novels which throughout the 19thCentury were among the most popular and widely read novels in Europe. The road was built in 1873 and was previously called Avondale Road. It is one of a small group of local streets that are named after leading characters in Scott’s novels. See Bellenden Road and Ivanhoe Road. Perhaps the corruption was intention bearing in mind there is already an Evandale Road nearby in SW9.
