What's in a name?
With every new site one of the first marketing tasks is to name the development and whilst sometimes this can be obvious due to the very nature of its location more often than not it requires a bit of lateral thinking to come up with a name that not only sounds appealing but also has a local connection.
Our new site in Wixams in Bedfordshire has been named Pilgrims Gate due to a literary connection. Nearby Elstow is the birthplace of John Bunyan who as all you literary types will know wrote the classic early English novel Pilgrims Progress in 1678. In this allegory the main character Christian travels on a journey to enlightenment and at the very start of the journey travels through the “Wicket Gate.” Hence Pilgrims Gate which not only alludes to this literary and historical connection but also reflects the fact that our site is at the entrance or gate of the Wixams development.
Over in St. Neots we have just launched our second phase which has been named Priory Meadow despite the fact that no Priory is in evidence. Again there is an historical connection relating to the founding of St Neots and a theft of religious artefacts. The earliest named hamlet in the area was Eynesbury which was situated on a crossing point of the Great Ouse river and this remained a small insignificant collection of residences until the local landowner recognising the monetary importance of religious artefacts stole the remains of St Neot from a monastery in Cornwall in 974 and had them interred in a Priory in Eynesbury to attract religious Pilgrims. From this inauspicious beginning the town of St Neots was born and the Priory remained until being destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. Priory Meadow therefore reflects not only the historical connection but also the rural nature of our development.
So the next time you drive onto a new development you may well be connecting with a piece of long forgotten local history.
Steve Garton Regional Sales Director – Miller Homes Southern Region
Our new site in Wixams in Bedfordshire has been named Pilgrims Gate due to a literary connection. Nearby Elstow is the birthplace of John Bunyan who as all you literary types will know wrote the classic early English novel Pilgrims Progress in 1678. In this allegory the main character Christian travels on a journey to enlightenment and at the very start of the journey travels through the “Wicket Gate.” Hence Pilgrims Gate which not only alludes to this literary and historical connection but also reflects the fact that our site is at the entrance or gate of the Wixams development.
Over in St. Neots we have just launched our second phase which has been named Priory Meadow despite the fact that no Priory is in evidence. Again there is an historical connection relating to the founding of St Neots and a theft of religious artefacts. The earliest named hamlet in the area was Eynesbury which was situated on a crossing point of the Great Ouse river and this remained a small insignificant collection of residences until the local landowner recognising the monetary importance of religious artefacts stole the remains of St Neot from a monastery in Cornwall in 974 and had them interred in a Priory in Eynesbury to attract religious Pilgrims. From this inauspicious beginning the town of St Neots was born and the Priory remained until being destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. Priory Meadow therefore reflects not only the historical connection but also the rural nature of our development.
So the next time you drive onto a new development you may well be connecting with a piece of long forgotten local history.
Steve Garton Regional Sales Director – Miller Homes Southern Region
Published:
16 November 2010
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