Ruth's Blog

Several roads in Louth are named after notable local people.  Have you ever wondered about Florence Wright Avenue, a small street that branches eastwards from Kenwick Road?  Who was Florence Wright?

Spurred on by a query to Louth Museum from Stephen Banfield whose family knew a Florence Wright who lived in Louth, we investigated this.  In the 1920s and 1930s, Florence Marion Wright had a small shop in Cannon Street, on the corner of Northgate.  Born near London in 1890, Florence, known as “Flossie”, moved to Louth sometime before 1921.  She was a grocer & confectioner, living above the shop, until she moved to Bridge Street probably in 1938.

Stephen Banfield’s parents described Flossie as a pleasant but unassuming spinster.  So why was the road named after her? The answer seems to be that her uncle, Alfred Herbert Wright, was mayor of Louth in 1937-38, and it was at this time that the road was created and given its name.  The decision appears to have been controversial, because a few years later in 1945, a request was put to the Council that the name be changed (but it wasn’t!).

Florence Wright died in 1954, but her name lives on in Louth.