Sherford goes starry eyed for street names

- 22 Jun 17

Residents of Sherford, the new South Hams community, will find themselves living in streets that are 'out of this world', with the town's road names based upon the theme of constellations. Taking inspiration from the night's sky, Pegasus Place, Aquarius Drive, Libra Avenue and Dorado Street are just some of the first streets to be named at Sherford. 

The main road leading into the new community has also been officially titled Hercules Road. Named after the Greek mythological hero, Hercules is also one of the most famous modern constellations in the solar system. Some of the other new street names include, Aries Lane, Gemini Road, Lynx Road, Scorpio Mews, Cygnus Mews and Centaur Mews.

The new Sherford street names were issued by Plymouth City Council, with the theme of constellations being broad enough to enable a wide a selection of names to be used. This was a key factor when considering the scale of Sherford, which will grow to include 5,500 new homes.  

Clare Brimble, Sales and Marketing Director, Sherford Consortium, the network of homebuilders responsible for the new community - Bovis Homes, Linden Homes and Taylor Wimpey - said: "Sherford is a unique development and the new street names fit perfectly with its legacy as a community built to stand the test of time. With the first residents now in their homes and the first street names announced, Sherford is quickly becoming a reality and a soon-to-be thriving new community.

"As construction progresses and more streets and roads are completed, more street names will be revealed, so stay tuned."

Explaining the background and importance of constellations David Wilton, Chairman of the Plymouth Astronomical Society, said: "Every star we can see is part of a particular constellation, forming a map of the sky. In ancient times, they would be used as a calendar, as well as helping with navigation at sea. For example, people knew when to sow their seeds and farm their land when certain constellations appeared.

"There are 88 modern constellations, representing animals, inanimate objects, humans and mythological characters - but most do not look like what they are supposed to represent! Today constellations are useful for helping to identify where stars, galaxies and other objects are in the sky. In the South West, we can see a lot constellations with our naked eye, including two of the most famous, Orion (the hunter) and Leo (the lion)."