Lorne Street is located to the north-west of Albert Road, built in the mid to late-1880s, over a period of 10 years to house the many railway workers who lived in Oswestry.

Upon completion, the primary job roles of the residents were with the railway, as coal merchants or businesspeople, primarily blue collar.

The Oswestry Corporation’s Ward List of Burgesses for 1888 states there was a Lorne Terrace, situated just off Albert Road at the time, possibly at the junction between Lorne Street and Albert Road, and over the period the complex progressed into a street.

It is uncertain of their whereabouts at present. However, the houses in Lorne Street, numbered 1 to 17, were originally named Louise Terrace. It is possible the naming of the terrace was made in error.

You may be asking: “Who were the street and the terrace named after?”

Well, the street and the terrace were named after John Campbell, who was:

n Member of Parliament for Argyllshire between 1868 and 1878,

n the Governor-General of Canada between 1878 and 1883,

n Member of Parliament for South Manchester between 1895 and 1900,

n the Marquis of Lorne & Kintyre between 1845 and 1914,

n the Governor and Constable of Windsor Castle between 1892 and 1914,

n the ninth Duke of Argyll between 1900 and 1914.

For most of his political career, Mr Campbell was a member of the Liberal party, but political conflict in the party because of the question of home rule in Ireland forced him to jump ship in the 1880s to the Liberal Unionists.

They eventually merged with the Conservatives.

Mr Campbell died in 1914.

It is not stipulated why such complexes would be named after such a person, other than the builders must have had an interest in the work of Mr Campbell.

As for Louise Terrace, it is believed it was named after Princess Louise, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, wife of the eighth Duke of Argyll and mother of Mr Campbell.

This may mean the architect was interested in following in the theme of naming streets and buildings after royalty, which was popular in Oswestry and beyond at the time.