Four Chesterfield street names with links to imperialism 'should be left alone'

Chesterfield Borough Council asked the town’s civic society to look into claims that Rhodesia Road, to the north of Chatsworth Road, commemorated controversial imperialist Cecil Rhodes at the end of last year.

An investigation found the street was in fact named after William Rhodes, a prominent local builder.

Now Chesterfield and District Civic Society says four other street names are being targeted – although the council says it has no current plans to rename any roads.

Philip Riden, chairman of the society, said: “No sooner has the civic society helped to save Rhodesia Road than the possibility arises that a quartet of unassuming streets off Derby Road may become a target for the anti-imperialist renaming brigade.”

They are Baden Powell Road and three smaller roads off it, Redvers Buller Road, Dundonald Road and Lord Roberts Road.

The civic society says the streets were developed by the ‘colourful figure’ of Augustus William Byron (1856–1939), a Chesterfield estate agent who was distantly related to the poet Lord Byron.

Mr Riden said: "Byron made much of his service in the South African War (1899–1902). Strongly backed by the Derbyshire Times, he stood in the Khaki Election of 1900 as the Unionist candidate for Chesterfield, always referred to in the paper as ‘Lieut. Byron’.

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"Reports described him addressing open-air meetings mounted on the very pony that had fearlessly carried him into battle in South Africa. He was not elected.

"Presumably for the same reason he chose street names with South African connections for his new estate.”

All those commemorated were senior commanders in the war, and the only one with any local connection was Baden Powell, who married the daughter of Harold Soames, the owner of Brampton Brewery.

"Redvers Buller was a Devon man and it is his statue in Exeter which has recently come under threat,” Mr Riden said.

"There is no good reason for this vendetta to be extended to Chesterfield.

"With their present names, these four streets are an interesting footnote to the history of Edwardian Chesterfield and should be left alone.”

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