diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index 9c13ddb..3f16680 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ Package: SpatialExperiment
 Version: 1.11.2
 Title: S4 Class for Spatially Resolved -omics Data
 Description: Defines an S4 class for storing data from spatial -omics experiments. 
-    The class extends SingleCellExperiment to 
+    The class extends SingleCellExperiment to
     support storage and retrieval of additional information from spot-based and 
     molecule-based platforms, including spatial coordinates, images, and 
     image metadata. A specialized constructor function is included for data 
diff --git a/R/AllGenerics.R b/R/AllGenerics.R
index b4d9cbc..1024ca0 100644
--- a/R/AllGenerics.R
+++ b/R/AllGenerics.R
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ setGeneric("spatialDataNames<-", function(x, value) standardGeneric("spatialData
 setGeneric("spatialCoords", function(x, ...) standardGeneric("spatialCoords"))
 
 #' @export
-setGeneric("spatialCoords<-", function(x, value) standardGeneric("spatialCoords<-"))
+setGeneric("spatialCoords<-", function(x, ..., value) standardGeneric("spatialCoords<-"))
 
 #' @export
 setGeneric("spatialCoordsNames", function(x) standardGeneric("spatialCoordsNames"))
diff --git a/R/SpatialExperiment-combine.R b/R/SpatialExperiment-cbind.R
similarity index 95%
rename from R/SpatialExperiment-combine.R
rename to R/SpatialExperiment-cbind.R
index 7cd18b3..e59aa78 100644
--- a/R/SpatialExperiment-combine.R
+++ b/R/SpatialExperiment-cbind.R
@@ -103,6 +103,11 @@ setMethod("cbind", "SpatialExperiment", function(..., deparse.level=1) {
     out <- do.call(
         callNextMethod, 
         c(args, list(deparse.level=1)))
+    if (any(duplicated(colnames(out)))) {
+        n <- vapply(args, ncol, integer(1))
+        n <- rep.int(seq_along(args), n)
+        colnames(out) <- paste(n, colnames(out), sep="_")
+    }
     
     # merge 'imgData' from multiple samples
     if (!is.null(imgData(args[[1]]))) { 
diff --git a/R/SpatialExperiment-methods.R b/R/SpatialExperiment-methods.R
index 3091c3f..1648c9e 100644
--- a/R/SpatialExperiment-methods.R
+++ b/R/SpatialExperiment-methods.R
@@ -23,7 +23,14 @@
 #'   identifier(s) for \code{scaleFactors}. Default = \code{TRUE} (all samples).
 #' @param image_id Logical value or character vector specifying image
 #'   identifier(s) for \code{scaleFactors}. Default = \code{TRUE} (all images).
+#' @param withDimnames Logical value indicating whether dimnames of the
+#'   \code{spatialExperiment} should be applied or checked against.
+#'   If \code{withDimnames=TRUE}, non-\code{NULL} \code{rownames(value)} 
+#'   are checked against \code{colnames(x)}, and an error occurs if these
+#'   don't match. Else, discrepancies in rownames are ignored.
+#'   (see also \code{\link[SingleCellExperiment]{reducedDims}})
 #' @param name The name of the \code{colData} column to extract.
+#' @param ... Further arguments passed to and from other methods.
 #' 
 #' @details
 #' Additional details for each type of data attribute are provided below.
@@ -190,69 +197,6 @@ setReplaceMethod("spatialDataNames",
     }
 )
 
-# spatialCoords ----------------------------------------------------------------
-
-#' @rdname SpatialExperiment-methods
-#' @importFrom SingleCellExperiment int_colData<-
-#' @export
-setMethod("spatialCoords", 
-    "SpatialExperiment",
-    function(x) int_colData(x)$spatialCoords)
-
-#' @rdname SpatialExperiment-methods
-#' @importFrom SingleCellExperiment int_colData<-
-#' @export
-setReplaceMethod("spatialCoords", 
-    c("SpatialExperiment", "matrix"),
-    function(x, value) {
-        stopifnot(
-            is.numeric(value),
-            nrow(value) == ncol(x))
-        int_colData(x)$spatialCoords <- value
-        return(x)
-    }
-)
-
-#' @rdname SpatialExperiment-methods
-#' @export
-setReplaceMethod("spatialCoords", 
-    c("SpatialExperiment", "NULL"),
-    function(x, value) {
-        value <- matrix(numeric(), ncol(x), 0)
-        `spatialCoords<-`(x, value)
-    }
-)
-
-# spatialCoordsNames -----------------------------------------------------------
-
-#' @rdname SpatialExperiment-methods
-#' @importFrom SingleCellExperiment int_colData
-#' @export
-setMethod("spatialCoordsNames", 
-    "SpatialExperiment", 
-    function(x) colnames(int_colData(x)$spatialCoords))
-
-#' @rdname SpatialExperiment-methods
-#' @importFrom SingleCellExperiment int_colData<-
-#' @export
-setReplaceMethod("spatialCoordsNames", 
-    c("SpatialExperiment", "character"), 
-    function(x, value) {
-        colnames(int_colData(x)$spatialCoords) <- value
-        return(x)
-    }
-)
-
-#' @rdname SpatialExperiment-methods
-#' @export
-setReplaceMethod("spatialCoordsNames", 
-    c("SpatialExperiment", "NULL"), 
-    function(x, value) {
-        value <- character()
-        `spatialCoordsNames<-`(x, value)
-    }
-)
-
 # scaleFactors -----------------------------------------------------------------
 
 #' @rdname SpatialExperiment-methods
diff --git a/R/read10xVisium.R b/R/read10xVisium.R
index 0ef83d2..b21872c 100644
--- a/R/read10xVisium.R
+++ b/R/read10xVisium.R
@@ -195,13 +195,11 @@ read10xVisium <- function(samples="",
     cnms <- c(
         "barcode", "in_tissue", "array_row", "array_col", 
         "pxl_row_in_fullres", "pxl_col_in_fullres")
-    df <- lapply(seq_along(x), function(i) 
-    {
-        df <- read.csv(x[i], 
-            header=!grepl("list", x[i]), 
-            row.names=1, col.names=cnms)
+    df <- lapply(seq_along(x), function(i) {
+        df <- read.csv(x[i], header=!grepl("list", x[i]), col.names=cnms)
         if (length(x) > 1) rownames(df) <- paste(i, rownames(df), sep="_")
         if (!is.null(names(x))) cbind(sample_id=names(x)[i], df)
+        rownames(df) <- df$barcode
         df
     })
     df <- do.call(rbind, df)
diff --git a/R/spatialCoords.R b/R/spatialCoords.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c22c0ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/spatialCoords.R
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+
+# spatialCoords ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#' @rdname SpatialExperiment-methods
+#' @importFrom SingleCellExperiment int_colData<-
+#' @export
+setMethod("spatialCoords", 
+    "SpatialExperiment",
+    function(x, withDimnames=TRUE, ...) {
+        out <- int_colData(x)$spatialCoords
+        if (withDimnames) 
+            rownames(out) <- colnames(x)
+        return(out)
+    })
+
+#' @rdname SpatialExperiment-methods
+#' @importFrom SingleCellExperiment int_colData<-
+#' @export
+setReplaceMethod("spatialCoords", 
+    c("SpatialExperiment", "matrix"),
+    function(x, withDimnames=TRUE, ..., value) {
+        stopifnot(
+            is.numeric(value),
+            nrow(value) == ncol(x))
+        new <- rownames(value)
+        if (!is.null(new) && withDimnames) {
+            if (!identical(new, colnames(x))) {
+                stop("Non-NULL 'rownames(value)' should be the",
+                    " same as 'colnames(x)' for 'spatialCoords<-'.",
+                    " Use 'withDimnames=FALSE' to force replacement.")
+            }
+        }
+        int_colData(x)$spatialCoords <- value
+        return(x)
+    }
+)
+
+#' @rdname SpatialExperiment-methods
+#' @export
+setReplaceMethod("spatialCoords", 
+    c("SpatialExperiment", "NULL"),
+    function(x, withDimnames=TRUE, ..., value) {
+        `spatialCoords<-`(x, 
+            withDimnames=withDimnames, ..., 
+            value=matrix(numeric(), ncol(x), 0))
+    }
+)
+
+# spatialCoordsNames -----------------------------------------------------------
+
+#' @rdname SpatialExperiment-methods
+#' @importFrom SingleCellExperiment int_colData
+#' @export
+setMethod("spatialCoordsNames", 
+    "SpatialExperiment", 
+    function(x) colnames(int_colData(x)$spatialCoords))
+
+#' @rdname SpatialExperiment-methods
+#' @importFrom SingleCellExperiment int_colData<-
+#' @export
+setReplaceMethod("spatialCoordsNames", 
+    c("SpatialExperiment", "character"), 
+    function(x, value) {
+        colnames(int_colData(x)$spatialCoords) <- value
+        return(x)
+    }
+)
+
+#' @rdname SpatialExperiment-methods
+#' @export
+setReplaceMethod("spatialCoordsNames", 
+    c("SpatialExperiment", "NULL"), 
+    function(x, value) {
+        value <- character()
+        `spatialCoordsNames<-`(x, value)
+    }
+)
diff --git a/inst/NEWS b/inst/NEWS
index 977438f..f1f7683 100644
--- a/inst/NEWS
+++ b/inst/NEWS
@@ -8,6 +8,12 @@ changes in version 1.9.5 (2023-03-02)
 + bugfix for tissue positions read in incorrect order with read10xVisium() in 
   datasets with multiple samples (bug introduced in version 1.7.1)
 
+changes in version 1.9.4 (2022-11-24)
++ avoid duplicated colnames when cbinding SPEs
++ read10xVisium keeps original barcodes as colData
++ added withDimnames argument for spatialCoords/<-
+  (analogous to SCE's reducedDim(s)/<-)
+  
 changes in version 1.7.2 (2022-10-07)
 + support for seeing colData names with $ in RStudio
 
diff --git a/man/SpatialExperiment-combine.Rd b/man/SpatialExperiment-combine.Rd
index 976ea05..b44c2db 100644
--- a/man/SpatialExperiment-combine.Rd
+++ b/man/SpatialExperiment-combine.Rd
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 % Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
-% Please edit documentation in R/SpatialExperiment-combine.R
+% Please edit documentation in R/SpatialExperiment-cbind.R
 \name{SpatialExperiment-combine}
 \alias{SpatialExperiment-combine}
 \alias{cbind,SingleCellExperiment-method}
diff --git a/man/SpatialExperiment-methods.Rd b/man/SpatialExperiment-methods.Rd
index 965e3f9..5688283 100644
--- a/man/SpatialExperiment-methods.Rd
+++ b/man/SpatialExperiment-methods.Rd
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 % Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
-% Please edit documentation in R/SpatialExperiment-methods.R, R/imgData.R
+% Please edit documentation in R/SpatialExperiment-methods.R, R/imgData.R,
+%   R/spatialCoords.R
 \name{SpatialExperiment-methods}
 \alias{SpatialExperiment-methods}
 \alias{spatialData}
@@ -19,17 +20,17 @@
 \alias{spatialDataNames,SpatialExperiment-method}
 \alias{spatialDataNames<-,SpatialExperiment,character-method}
 \alias{spatialDataNames<-,SpatialExperiment,NULL-method}
+\alias{scaleFactors,SpatialExperiment-method}
+\alias{$,SpatialExperiment-method}
+\alias{imgData,SpatialExperiment-method}
+\alias{imgData<-,SpatialExperiment,DataFrame-method}
+\alias{imgData<-,SpatialExperiment,NULL-method}
 \alias{spatialCoords,SpatialExperiment-method}
 \alias{spatialCoords<-,SpatialExperiment,matrix-method}
 \alias{spatialCoords<-,SpatialExperiment,NULL-method}
 \alias{spatialCoordsNames,SpatialExperiment-method}
 \alias{spatialCoordsNames<-,SpatialExperiment,character-method}
 \alias{spatialCoordsNames<-,SpatialExperiment,NULL-method}
-\alias{scaleFactors,SpatialExperiment-method}
-\alias{$,SpatialExperiment-method}
-\alias{imgData,SpatialExperiment-method}
-\alias{imgData<-,SpatialExperiment,DataFrame-method}
-\alias{imgData<-,SpatialExperiment,NULL-method}
 \title{Methods for spatial attributes}
 \usage{
 \S4method{spatialData}{SpatialExperiment}(x)
@@ -44,27 +45,27 @@
 
 \S4method{spatialDataNames}{SpatialExperiment,`NULL`}(x) <- value
 
-\S4method{spatialCoords}{SpatialExperiment}(x)
+\S4method{scaleFactors}{SpatialExperiment}(x, sample_id = TRUE, image_id = TRUE)
 
-\S4method{spatialCoords}{SpatialExperiment,matrix}(x) <- value
+\S4method{$}{SpatialExperiment}(x, name)
 
-\S4method{spatialCoords}{SpatialExperiment,`NULL`}(x) <- value
+\S4method{imgData}{SpatialExperiment}(x)
 
-\S4method{spatialCoordsNames}{SpatialExperiment}(x)
+\S4method{imgData}{SpatialExperiment,DataFrame}(x) <- value
 
-\S4method{spatialCoordsNames}{SpatialExperiment,character}(x) <- value
+\S4method{imgData}{SpatialExperiment,`NULL`}(x) <- value
 
-\S4method{spatialCoordsNames}{SpatialExperiment,`NULL`}(x) <- value
+\S4method{spatialCoords}{SpatialExperiment}(x, withDimnames = TRUE, ...)
 
-\S4method{scaleFactors}{SpatialExperiment}(x, sample_id = TRUE, image_id = TRUE)
+\S4method{spatialCoords}{SpatialExperiment,matrix}(x, withDimnames = TRUE, ...) <- value
 
-\S4method{$}{SpatialExperiment}(x, name)
+\S4method{spatialCoords}{SpatialExperiment,`NULL`}(x, withDimnames = TRUE, ...) <- value
 
-\S4method{imgData}{SpatialExperiment}(x)
+\S4method{spatialCoordsNames}{SpatialExperiment}(x)
 
-\S4method{imgData}{SpatialExperiment,DataFrame}(x) <- value
+\S4method{spatialCoordsNames}{SpatialExperiment,character}(x) <- value
 
-\S4method{imgData}{SpatialExperiment,`NULL`}(x) <- value
+\S4method{spatialCoordsNames}{SpatialExperiment,`NULL`}(x) <- value
 }
 \arguments{
 \item{x}{A \code{\link{SpatialExperiment}} object.}
@@ -78,6 +79,15 @@ identifier(s) for \code{scaleFactors}. Default = \code{TRUE} (all samples).}
 identifier(s) for \code{scaleFactors}. Default = \code{TRUE} (all images).}
 
 \item{name}{The name of the \code{colData} column to extract.}
+
+\item{withDimnames}{Logical value indicating whether dimnames of the
+\code{spatialExperiment} should be applied or checked against.
+If \code{withDimnames=TRUE}, non-\code{NULL} \code{rownames(value)} 
+are checked against \code{colnames(x)}, and an error occurs if these
+don't match. Else, discrepancies in rownames are ignored.
+(see also \code{\link[SingleCellExperiment]{reducedDims}})}
+
+\item{...}{Further arguments passed to and from other methods.}
 }
 \value{
 Return value varies depending on method, as described below.
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test_SpatialExperiment-cbind.R b/tests/testthat/test_SpatialExperiment-cbind.R
index 5100a6c..762a23c 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test_SpatialExperiment-cbind.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test_SpatialExperiment-cbind.R
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ test_that("duplicated sample_ids are made unique with a message", {
     expect_true(nrow(new) == nrow(spe))
     expect_true(ncol(new) == 2*ncol(spe))
     expect_identical(rownames(new), rownames(spe))
-    expect_setequal(colnames(new), colnames(spe))
 })
 
 test_that("imgData are combined correctly", {
@@ -33,3 +32,15 @@ test_that("imgData are combined correctly", {
     expect_identical(imgData(spe3)[one, ], imgData(spe1))
     expect_identical(imgData(spe3)[two, ], imgData(spe2))
 })
+
+test_that("unique colnames are left asis,", {
+    tmp <- spe
+    colnames(tmp) <- paste0(colnames(tmp), "x")
+    out <- cbind(spe, tmp)
+    expect_false(any(duplicated(colnames(out))))
+})
+
+test_that("duplicated colnames are made unique", {
+    out <- cbind(spe, spe)
+    expect_false(any(duplicated(colnames(out))))
+})
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test_SpatialExperiment-methods.R b/tests/testthat/test_SpatialExperiment-methods.R
index ffe1b46..c863c05 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test_SpatialExperiment-methods.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test_SpatialExperiment-methods.R
@@ -45,28 +45,6 @@ test_that("spatialDataNames()<-,NULL", {
     expect_identical(new, character(0))
 })
 
-test_that("spatialCoordsNames()", {
-    expect_identical(
-        spatialCoordsNames(spe), 
-        colnames(int_colData(spe)$spatialCoords))
-})
-
-test_that("spatialCoordsNames<-,character", {
-    old <- spatialCoordsNames(spe)
-    new <- sample(letters, length(old))
-    spatialCoordsNames(spe) <- new
-    expect_identical(spatialCoordsNames(spe), new)
-    expect_identical(spatialCoordsNames(spe), 
-        colnames(int_colData(spe)$spatialCoords))
-})
-
-test_that("spatialCoordsNames<-,NULL", {
-    old <- spatialCoords(spe)
-    spatialCoordsNames(spe) <- NULL
-    expect_null(spatialCoordsNames(spe))
-    expect_equivalent(spatialCoords(spe), old)
-})
-
 test_that("scaleFactors()", {
     sfs <- scaleFactors(spe, sample_id=TRUE, image_id=TRUE)
     expect_is(sfs, "numeric")
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test_SpatialExperiment-spatialCoords.R b/tests/testthat/test_SpatialExperiment-spatialCoords.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f84597
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/test_SpatialExperiment-spatialCoords.R
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+example(read10xVisium, echo = FALSE)
+
+test_that("spatialCoordsNames()", {
+    expect_identical(
+        spatialCoordsNames(spe), 
+        colnames(int_colData(spe)$spatialCoords))
+})
+
+test_that("spatialCoordsNames<-,character", {
+    old <- spatialCoordsNames(spe)
+    new <- sample(letters, length(old))
+    spatialCoordsNames(spe) <- new
+    expect_identical(spatialCoordsNames(spe), new)
+    expect_identical(spatialCoordsNames(spe), 
+        colnames(int_colData(spe)$spatialCoords))
+})
+
+test_that("spatialCoordsNames<-,NULL", {
+    old <- spatialCoords(spe)
+    spatialCoordsNames(spe) <- NULL
+    expect_null(spatialCoordsNames(spe))
+    expect_equivalent(spatialCoords(spe), old)
+})
+
+test_that("spatialCoords<-,matrix", {
+    # shuffle coordinates
+    xyz <- spatialCoords(spe)
+    xyz <- xyz[sample(ncol(spe)), ]
+    # rownames(value) != colnames(x) fails
+    expect_error(spatialCoords(spe) <- xyz)
+    # but passes with 'withDimnames=FALSE'
+    expect_silent(spatialCoords(spe, withDimnames=FALSE) <- xyz)
+    # no 'rownames(value)' passes
+    rownames(xyz) <- NULL
+    expect_silent(spatialCoords(spe) <- xyz)
+})