Had to share this: Strange Place Names 🇬🇧

There is a Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate in York. Would love to see what went on there!

Sorry for typos - blame my neighbour's cat in for his late night cuddle !

Years ago lwhen female genitalia were called c--t or c--te without much offence each town had streets described as gropec--t Lane , where ladies offered their services for a price .
C--nt can be documented back to the 13th century .
These lanes existed during Georgian times , but by Victotian times the name caused deep offence .
Renamed streets are often called Grape Lane sometimes romantically Love Lane .
Petticoat Lane in London was also an area popular with prostitutes .

Nobottle in Northamptonshire - it used to be next to a firing range (closed by MOD 20 years ago) but this isn't where it got it's name - apparently, it meant 'new building '

J52

There’s a main road in Derbyshire called The Ditch. Recently our sat nav told us to take a right turn into The Ditch.

and of course, The Fosse! (ditch in French) which we use all the time.

Dull, in Perthshire, is twinned with Boring in Oregon, USA. They also have some link with Bland in Australia.

There’s a main road in Derbyshire called The Ditch. Recently our sat nav told us to take a right turn into The Ditch.

Bottom is the bottom of a valley

I remember many years ago seeing a village called Land of Nod in Yorkshire I think.

Mamie

Oh and my car once got sprayed in manure by a tractor in Shitterton.

Cold Christmas in Hertfordshire where it is said that the derelict church is haunted by the voices of children who died of the cold and are buried there.

We always had to divert through the village on the journey to my sons’ school at their insistence as they were fascinated by the story.

That's interesting FannyCornforth. One was a very steep hill, and I wondered if a cat came to an unfortunate end under the wheels of a out of control vehicle sometime in the past.

Apparently, Catsbrain is from the Anglo Saxon cattes brazen which referred to the stony, clay soil.
Lots of places are named after the quality of the soil.
My Nan (an aficionado of such matters) swore that the Black Country was first named because of the local soil, and was known as such prior to the industrial revolution, which is usually cited as the reason for the name.

I've lived near three different places that had a Catbrain road, hill, lane nearby.

Not exactly funny but rather interesting is Torpenhow in Cumbria. Tor, pen and how are all old names for a hill. The locals pronounce it Troppenna.

The London Apprentice pub is in Isleworth, just outside Syon House grounds. London Apprentice village is near St Austell. I can't remember now if there's any link between them.

My favourote name in Cornwall is Skinners Bottom. There was once a headline in the local paper which read "New bench for Skinners Bottom"

The Southern England map shows Crinkley Bottom, which was an imaginary place but then became a theme park run by Noel Edmunds. I'm not sure what goes on there now, if anything.

Oh and my car once got sprayed in manure by a tractor in Shitterton.

I think it was Bill Bryson who said that Dorset place names were like Barbara Cartland heroes (Charlton Marshall, Bradford Peverell) and Wiltshire names were like exhortations (Limpley Stoke!, Upton Scudamore!).
My favourite place name of all is in Spain and is Venta de Pantalones (Sale of Trousers).

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202211/medium-279723-place-names3.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202211/medium-703805-place-names4.jpg

Here's a couple more. Southern England seems to have the most, and an abundance of bottoms!

I was born in Pity Me and still live quite nearby, despite my childhood in Harrogate. There were lots of suggestions as to the place name, some of which revolve around French monks at nearby Finchale (pronounced Finkle) calling it Petite Mer, or Petite Mere, referring to areas of boggy ground. The OED also feels it’s just possibly a reference to peaty ground where things were difficult to grow, or Pity is a reference to the local mining history as in ‘pit’. There’s another suggestion that the monks carrying Saint Cuthbert’s coffin dropped it at Pity Me, where the Saint begged them to continue to carry him onto Durham as a final resting place.
Pays your money, takes your choice - as the saying goes.

Oh yes, love the Trossachs

Chestnut

A while back I came across the full UK map of funny names. There are nine sections covering the whole country, here are a couple.
The Bastard!

I know Perthshire well and recognise quite a few of the names, especially Loch Drunkie which is part of the Three Lochs Drive in the Trossachs. Beautiful freshwater Loch.

Grannybags

I always feel I should be living in Crackpot, North Yorkshire!

Somewhere I have a photo of myself standing next to the sign for Crackpot. It's always been my favourite odd place name.

Love this, thanks.

The London Apprentice used to be out favourite pub in the early 70s - but in SW London, not Cornwall.