SHOULD WELL-USED FEATURE IN BRIGG TOWN CENTRE BE NAMED AT LONG LAST?

A well-used feature in Brigg town centre has remained nameless for many decades. So perhaps now it is time to right an omission on the part of Victorian local government officials.
The town's historic courtyards and alleys have nameplates and most have fairly recently received metal archways at their entrances, including Coney Court and College Yard.
However, the notable exception is a narrow alley which runs from Wrawby Street - between Costa Coffee and Grandad's Shed - to Old Courts Road.
Many shoppers today use it as they make their way to and from the town's main car park.
The Thoroughfare With No Name prompted Brigg Blog to consult local historian Josie Webb.
She tells us that, in Victorian times, this was known as Garfitt's Yard in reference to a solicitor, Fredrick Garfitt, who worked at the nearby Smith Ellison's Bank (later Woolworth's store, now Martins) at 10 Wrawby Street in the mid-1800s.
The bank moved into these premises in the 1850s, having been at 57 Wrawby Street (much later used by the Lincolnshire Times newspaper and today Brigg Hearing Centre).
No 10 Wrawby Street, in the 1860s, also housed a boys' private school as well as the bank.
In 1869 the Local Board (forerunner of Brigg Urban District Council) reviewed courtyard and alley names within the town centre, some of which were amended/updated. Enamel signs were then erected to confirm the board's choices.
But Garfitt's was not included in this scheme.
Most of Brigg's working class people and their families lived in cottages and back-to-back housing in various courtyards during the 1800s and into the early 20th century, with workshops and storage buildings allied to town centre businesses also being present.
Did Garfitt's Yard have similar housing or was it merely commercial?
Doing the hard yards in the name of research, Brigg Blog has studied a couple of street maps from the mid-19th century and the early 1900s and this yard can be seen on both, with various buildings being clearly marked in block form.
The names of larger courtyards - still evident today and with nameplates and archways - appear on both maps... but not Garfitt's.
North Lincolnshire Council has local street naming among its many responsibilities today.
Brigg Town Council has provided metal entrance archways on various thoroughfares in recent years, and is now planning to add another on Exchange Place between the Angel building and the Lord Nelson Hotel.
Could the Arches Project be extended to include a couple of nameplates for Garfitt's Yard?
Our research has been forwarded to the Town Council for consideration. Its meetings are attended by our Brigg & Wolds Ward representatives on the North Lincolnshire unitary authority which would need to approve additional street naming.