Egerton Road

In an area where we have a number of street names with naval connections, it seems tmpting to think that Egerton Road, Crescent and Place, St Judes, are named after Admiral Sir George Egerton who entered the Navy in 1866 when he was 13.

In the 1870s, he won an Arctic Medal and in 1893 he became the Naval Attace to Europe. Thereafter he enjoyed a distinguished Naval career and was knighted in 1910. The following year he was made a Second Sea Lord of the Admiralty after which he served for two years as Commander-in-Chief, plymouth.

However, by 1913 the streets in St judes that share his name had already been standing for some years - they were constructed in the 1890s.

Therefore, although there are many streets in Plymouth named after famous Commanders-in-Chief of the port, it is more likely that these particular streets are named after another member of the family, which includes a number of Earls of Bridgewater, including Francis, the 3rd Duke (1736-1803), who became known as the father of British inland navigation after employing James Brindley to construct the earliest canal in England for him.

EH 20 April 1999