THE STORY OF A LAMBETH COMMUNITY
Poplar Walk Road c1925 (later renamed Poplar Road). In the 2003 film Love Actually it appeared as “... the longest street in the world”
In The Book of Herne Hill, Patricia Jenkyns writes, “Lowden Road is thought to have derived its name from its low-lying position under the hill of Poplar Walk.” However, Lowden could just as easily be a surname or a portmanteau word from two names containing Low and Den. We cannot cite the poem ‘A Lowden Sabbath Morn’ by R L Stevenson (1850-94) as it was not published until 1898.
As for Jessop Road, which gave its name to the school which survived it, none of the Jessops listed in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography seem likely candidates for commemoration, although the builders may have admired one William Jessop (1746-1814), a civil engineer whose cast-iron rails made a great advance in railway technology; his other works included land drainage projects and the West India Docks. Interestingly, there was a famous schoolmaster, Augustus Jessopp (1823-1914), who had once lived in Clapham and was renowned for his work at Norwich School. However, the variation in spelling and the fact that he was still alive and working make naming the street/school after him less likely.
25