Becoming interested in place names

COVID-19 isolation has meant that I have been unable to make my annual visit by train to South Devon and the coastal towns that meant so much to me as I was growing up [1]. It is always a journey of anticipation, that becomes heightened as the train passes along the sea wall between Dawlish and Teignmouth, giving views of the coast beyond. Although I have not lived in Torbay for over 55 years, it is where I feel my roots are, especially as many generations of my ancestors called the region home.

Perhaps the lack of direct contact is why I’ve been reflecting on my childhood in Polsham Park (the road off which our house stood, see above), before I left Torbay in 1965. In an earlier blog post [2], I described how I was influenced by Mr Ian Kay, one of my English teachers at Torquay Boys’ Grammar School, who ventured outside the formality of a syllabus and told us about books we might like to read, and interesting things like the origin of words. I was aware that I had a good vocabulary but, until his lessons, I had paid scant attention to the derivation of place names.

I had always had a strong sense of place and felt very at home in South Devon and I knew there were many old buildings - Oldway Mansion, Kirkham House, Coverdale Tower, Torre Abbey, etc. – that linked my time to some previous one. Becoming interested in local place names was an extension of that and I rushed to the Paignton Lending Library to get a copy of the Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names. I have the most recent addition of that fascinating book [3] and it gives brief definitions of the origin of names (I am aware there are other volumes containing much deeper scholarship). 

Some of the derivations of place names that I discovered are given below [from 3] as an alphabetical list and those wanting to know more about South Devon origins (both peoples and names) should consult the posts by the excellent local historian Dr Kevin Dixon [4]. As expected, almost all the origins are from Old English, but how interesting to see the three Celtic “intrusions” marking embarkation points:    

Ashburton (town near Torbay) – farmstead or village by the stream where ash trees grow [OE]

Babbacombe (part of Torquay) – valley of a man called Babba [OE]

Barton (part of Torquay) – barley farm or outlying grange where corn is stored [OE]

Blagdon (village near Torbay) – dark-coloured hill [OE]

Brixham (town in Torbay) – homestead or enclosure of a man called Brioc [OE, name of Celtic origin]

Buckfastleigh (town near Torbay) – wood or woodland clearing near a place of shelter for bucks (male deer or billy goats) [OE]

Chelston (part of Torquay)  – estate associated with a man called Cēol [OE]

Cockington (a village in Torbay) – estate associated with a man called Cocc(a) [OE]

Dawlish (a station on the local railway line) – named for its dark stream [Celtic origin]

Dittisham (a village near Torbay) – enclosure or promontory of a man called Dyddi [OE]

Galmpton (a village in Torbay) – farmstead of rent-paying peasants [OE]

Goodrington (a station on the local railway line) – estate associated with a man called Gōdhere [OE]

Kingskerswell (a station on the local railway line) – spring or stream where watercress grows [OE] (the manor belonged to the king in 1086)

Kingswear (a station on the local railway line) – the king’s weir [OE] (Kingeswere in 12th Century)

Kirkham (part of Paignton) – homestead with a church [OE + kirk derived from OScand]

Livermead (part of Torquay) – thick or muddy water + meadow [OE] – given by Torbay local historian Dr Kevin Dixon as lily meadow.

Maidencombe (part of Torquay) – valley of the maidens i.e. where they gathered [OE]

Marldon (part of Paignton) – hill where gentian grows [OE]

Newton Abbot (a station on the local railway line) – the new farmstead, estate or village [OE] belonging to the Abbot of Torre Abbey

Paignton (a town in Torbay) – estate associated with a man called Pæga [OE]

Polsham (part of Paignton) – enclosure of a man called Paul [ME + OE] – perhaps – see https://www.torbay.gov.uk/media/7583/polsham-caa.pdf

Shiphay (part of Torquay) –  homestead (?) with a flock of sheep [OE] *

Stoke Gabriel (village near Torbay) – an outlying farmstead or hamlet [OE] - Gabriel from the saint [known from 1309] 

Teignmouth (a station on the local railway line) - the mouth [OE] of the river Teign [Celtic origin] 

Torre (a station on the local railway line) – the rocky hill [OE]

Totnes (town near Torbay) – promontory of a man called Totta [OE]

 

OE = Old English (the English language c.450 – c.1100) [3]

ME = Middle English (the English language c.1100 – c.1500) [3]

OScand = Old Scandinavian (the language of the Vikings, comprising Old Danish and Old Norse) [3]

 

[1] Roger S. Wotton (2020) Walking with Gosse: Natural History, Creation and Religious Conflicts. e-book 

[2] https://rwotton.blogspot.com/2020/11/my-secondary-school-education-in-torbay.html 

[3] A. D. Mills (2011) A Dictionary of British Place Names (First Edition Revised). Oxford, Oxford University Press.

[4] https://wearesouthdevon.com/author/kevin-dixon/