Place Name
Takes its name from the family of the Reverend Joshua Ruddock, whose widow Eleanor married another churchman the Reverend Dr William Carmalt, who owned the land on which the road was later laid out. Eleanor brought with her a son, Joshua Festing Ruddock, who was brought up by Carmalt as his step-son. Their daughter Ellen later named her second son Henry Festing Jones. He later wrote: “I remember being told that I was to have been christened Michael Festing, after my godfather Michael John Festing… My godfather was related, but I do not know how, to my grandmother’s first husband, Joshua Ruddock. He was of the family of the Festings of whom it is stated in The Dictionary of National Biography that they are of German origin and descended from Michael Christian Festing (d. 1752), the violinist and composer who initiated the Royal Society of Musicians of which Handel was one of the original members.” As late as 1906 Henry was still listed as the freeholder of the houses in the road. A corrupted version of the name came to national fame, when cartoonist David McKee, had his popular children’s character Mr Benn live at 52 Festive Road (McKee himself lived at 54 Festing Road). He later explained: “I changed the name to Festive, I felt the real name sounded to0 much like festering.”
Discover the stories of over 4,000 street names across more than 300 Greater London postcodes here.
May I make a suggestion? Carmalt Gardens, where I grew up is less than a kilometre from here off the Upper Richmond Road and may perhaps relate to Dr William Carmalt?