Sawbridgeworth Town Council suggests street names for new development to honour community-spirited residents

Sawbridgeworth Town Council has suggested names for streets on Taylor Wimpey's new 140-home development being built north of West Road.

The council hopes to honour certain community-spirited individuals by naming roads on the SAWB2 estate after them. Last year, East Herts Council asked town councillors for their recommendations and reported that these would be passed on to the developer.

Mayor Annelise Furnace said: "Local people, all of whom contributed to the continued vibrancy and sense of community prevalent in Sawbridgeworth over the years, have provided the inspiration for new street names in the town.

"These community-spirited individuals supported Sawbridgeworth in a variety of ways, from forming international links through a renowned college, inventing a new method of teaching music and keeping our footpaths well maintained, to establishing a well-known bakery chain, setting up our local Scout movement and documenting scenes of local life for generations to come.

"It is a fitting tribute that each will be remembered in this way for their efforts. In particular, we are glad to see the inclusion of two female names, which brings a better balance to the town."

The new street names are inspired by:

• May Slater – a town councillor and the first female mayor of Sawbridgeworth, she was also founder of Eversley College for international students.

• Candida Tobin – inventor of the Tobin Music System, a method of teaching children of all abilities which is well known in music teaching circles, also a musician, publisher, teacher and entrepreneur. She created the Old Malthouse Music Society at which top-class musicians gave concerts.

• Brian Rochester – a retained fireman for 22 years and town councillor, who regularly patrolled and maintained Sawbridgeworth footpaths over a number of years.

• Dorrington – bakers based in Sawbridgeworth, established by Ernest Dorrington in 1919. The bakery continues to flourish and operates 15 shops in Hertfordshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire plus five snack vans in Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford.

• Marcus Woodward – a Fair Green resident who founded the Boy Scouts in Sawbridgeworth in the early 1900s.
• William Truswell – a Sawbridgeworth photographer (1858-1939). Many of his pictures appear in the town’s pubs and on the Sawbridgeworth Local History Society’s website.

Cllr Furnace added: "We thank the Sawbridgeworth Local History Society and a number of local residents for all their research and assistance. The town council would welcome residents’ input and suggestions for street naming in the future."