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What's in a name? |
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Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were perhaps the most influential invaders in Wearside, at least in terms of place-names.
Many invaders merely built on or left alone the existing place names, particularly when it came to large geographical and geological features. This is how the name Wear has survived for so long. So, the vast number of Anglo-Saxon place-names in existence locally suggests that there were few names for them to build on, meaning it was probably only sparsely populated when they arrived.
Witton meaning woodland or farm. How many Wittons can you count in Wear? |
The Anglo-Saxons quickly established themselves in Wear, and their actions in settling a place can often be charted in place-names. Where necessary, land was cleared of trees and rocks, and place-names ending with -ley usually tells us where this happened. Sharpley was a clearing "on a steep hill" and Moorsley was a clearing "on a moor". The settlers then had to build shelters, known as tuns, meaning "farmsteads". This happened at Tunstall ("farm with an animal shelter"), Herrington ("farm of Haere's people"), Eppleton ("apple farm"), Harraton ("farm by the army ford"), Offerton ("farm above the ford") and Washington ("farm of Waessa's people").
The Old English for "hill" was dun - the ancestor of the modern words "dune" and "Downs". It was used at Boldon ("hill with a building on it"), Cleadon ("hill with a steep slope"), Grindon ("green hill"), Humbledon Hill ("with a bare hilltop"), Hetton ("rosehip hill") and at Warden Law, which was, and still is, "a look-out hill".
What is in a place name? |
The importance of rivers and streams is also commemorated in Anglo-Saxon place-names. There were fords at Ford and Deptford ("deep ford") and the local dialect word burn occurs at: Bournmoor ("stream on a moor"), Seaburn ("flowing into the sea") and Whitburn ("white water"). "Well" was used where there were streams: Fulwells was "foul", Springwells was "by a copse" and Grasswells was "in the grass".
On occasions the location of the settlement was enough to distinguish it: Biddick was "by a ditch", and Shiney Row was "in beautiful countryside". Of course there are always exceptions, and the origins of Witherwack defy all research and academic investigation!
Words: Ian Robinson
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