The ghosts of Chilton Past

Many thanks to Val Herbert for the contribution below:

The names of ‘ghosts’ from Chilton’s past are recalled  in a new book from Sudbury Museum Trust. They appear in What’s in a name? Origins of Sudbury Street Names as a result of boundary changes in 1988.

This was when Sudbury took over the south eastern fringes of Chilton resulting in half the electorate being ‘moved’ into Sudbury along with much of the 100-acre Chilton Industrial Estate and the homes of about 450 residents in Cats Lane.

Angry parish councillors won the right to name streets in the new Sudbury territory to commemorate Chilton personalities from the past. Hence their origins being included in Anthony Wheeler’s book, which sells at £5 from Kestrel and Bookends bookshops, the Tourist office in the Library and Gainsborough‘s House.

The industrial Addison Road was named after a prominent Chilton family in the 18th and 19th centuries. John Addison farmed at Chilton Hall for many years, and Major General Thomas Fenn Addison lived at Chilton Lodge which stood at the junction of Cats Lane and Cornard Road. In 1852 the veteran soldier travelled to London to attend the state funeral of the Duke of Wellington, despite being in his 80s. He might well have fought under the hero of Waterloo. The following morning the Major General was found dead in his overnight lodgings.

Milner Road, on the opposite side of the Northern Road, also appears in the book. It commemorates the autocratic Rev. John Milner, former chaplain to the Sudbury Workhouse, who had been Rector of Chilton for 50 years when he died in 1949. He was the last to hold St Mary’s as a single living and the rectory was sold after his death.

Three other streets in the annexed territory also feature in the new book including Aubrey Drive, named after Aubrey Herbert, who lived at nearby Chilton Hall. He was a county councillor for more than 20 years and a founder of both Gainsborough’s House Museum and the Quay Theatre.