Eastbourne's Admirable Aylesbury

Well this is my 1st Aylesbury for 2009, it certainly won’t be the last. This little beauty is nestled in the retirement town of Eastbourne on the South Coast of England. It is a nicely set out street of homely, well, houses and all kept nice and neat. I had a quick walk up and down the road and was all very pleasant. Nothing remarkable about it.



Now you may be asking what is an Aylesbury doing in Eastbourne? A bit ridiculous. Where did the town planners get that idea from?
I researched various street names around the area and they are all names of famous admirals eg.

Admiral Edward Boscawen, PC, RN (August 19 1711 – January 10 1761) was a British admiral and politician

Ramsey Way Sir Bertram Home Ramsay KCB, KBE, MVO (20 January 1883 - 2 January 1945) was a British admiral during World War II. He was an important contributor in the field of amphibious warfare.

Gardner Close Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner (12 February 1742 - 1 January 1809)

Wade Close Field Marshal George Wade (1673–March 14, 1748) served as a British military commander and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.

Sturdee Close, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet, GCB, KCMG, CVO (9 June 1859 - 7 May 1925) was a British admiral.

Cunningham Drive, Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, KT, GCB, OM, DSO (7 January 1883 – 12 June 1963),

Drake Avenue, Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral (c. 1540 – 27 January 1596),

Fraser Ave, Admiral of the Fleet Bruce Austin Fraser, 1st Baron Fraser of North Cape GCB, KBE (5 February 1888 – 12 February 1981)

Hood Close, Various Admirals of that name

Beatty Road, Admiral of the Fleet David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO (17 January 1871 – 11 March 1936)

Raleigh Close, Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh[1] (c. 1552 – 29 October 1618), was a famed English writer, poet, soldier, courtier and explorer.

Jervis Ave, John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB PC RN (9 January 1735–14 March 1823)

Jellicoe Close, John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO (5 December 1859 – 20 November 1935) was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland.

Mountbatten Dr, Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979)

Princes Road, Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910)
Collingwood Close

Fisher Close, Admiral of the Fleet John Arbuthnot "Jackie" Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher of Kilverstone,[3][4] GCB, OM, GCVO (25 January 1841 – 10 July 1920)

Collumbus Way, Vice-Admiral Philip Howard Colomb, RN (May 29, 1831 - October 13, 1899).

Cabot Close, (c. 1450 – c. 1498)[2], known in English as John Cabot, was an Italian navigator and explorer commonly credited as the first European to discover North America, in 1497, notwithstanding Norseman Leif Ericson's landing (c. 1003). The Canadian and United Kingdom government's official position is that he landed on the island of Newfoundland.

Vian Ave, Sir Philip Louis Vian (15 July 1894-27 May 1968) was a British naval officer who served in both World Wars.

Aylesbury’s famous Admiral is from the Baronet Aylesbury, a title which no longer exists.
Sir Thomas Aylesbury (1576 – 1657) was born in London, joined Christ Church Oxford in 1598 and was a dab hand at mathematics. He became Assistant to Charles, Earl of Nottingham, who was Lord High Admiral of England. When George Villiers seceded Charles, Aylesbury was made Master of Requests, (a post that should be resurrected for local night clubs to guarantee good music is played) and also Master of the Mint (not the polo variety) When the civil war broke out, Aylesbury stayed on the royalist side and consequently had to flee to Antwerp in 1649 once King Charles I was beheaded and the cause was lost. He died abroad in Breda. His son was the last of the baronets of Aylesbury.



Here is a picture of him by William Dobson (1611-1646), who was a portrait painter.
Thomas Aylesbury is in a rather serious mood wearing the robes of the Master of Requests, and is holding, as an symbol of his office, a petition to the king. Behind him on the left is a view of Oxford and on the right, an antique bust thought at the time to represent Seneca, a stoic philosopher, dramatist, and pleader of causes.

Clearly a person worth of naming a road after.
That day I also made a trip to Earthship Brighton to have a look at a possible new way to design homes. It was very impressive and well worth a visit. It is an off grid, off mains, off water house, entirely self reliant. It is made of car tyres and timber and is a very nice place. All the heating is regulated by the thermal mass inside and that which is generated by the sunlight.
I agree that micro power generation and self sufficiency are a good thing, if you are in the desert, in a country with an unreliable power grid and no safe running water, however it does seem to bee a bit over the top for a city where power is reliable and water is plentiful. I suppose that if you are creating it and storing it, you will be more careful with it in the long run and there is guarantee for the future that supplies will be reliable. Overall I think the building is a success and if more people are aware of it and the extreme future it portrays, they might feel a bit more inclined to modify their way of living to minimise energy use, recycle and use water more efficiently, like in water butts.