What’s in a name?
Debbie Lewis - Education Consultant and specialist in the use of technology across the Creative Curriculum
Place names are not an accident – Successive generations of invaders and
settlers looked at a landscape which was unfamiliar to them and gave
names, using their own language, to the features they saw.
Take any a look at a map of the British Isles,
focus on a small area and you will discover
many clues about the people who have
lived there.
Celts
The ‘Celts’ were tribes from Europe, i.e,
southern France, Switzerland and Austria and
settled mainly in Cornwall and Wales. They
came in the Iron Age and lived in circular
huts and hill forts. The Iron Age Celts lived
here 750 years before Jesus was born. The
Iron Age ended in AD43 (43 years after Jesus
Anglo Saxons
The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes are known as
the Anglo-Saxons. The Angles and the Saxons
were the largest of the attacking tribes hence
They were warrior farmers from Northern
In time, like the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings
Europe - Northern Germany, Denmark and
The Netherlands and shared the same
language but were each ruled by different,
strong leaders. They settled in England in
places near to rivers or the sea, which could
be easily reached by boat.
The Romans called these people Britons.
ago when the Anglo-Saxons invaded. Much
Some Celtic languages, Welsh and Gaelic, are
of the country was still covered in thick oak
still spoken today and you will find lots of
forests. At this time most of England's one
evidence remaining in place names.
million people made a living from farming.
The Anglo-Saxons took control of most of
5th century very few Roman place names
survive in any recognisable form. It is also
suggested that the lack of Latin place names
could be because the language was not
much spoken outside the built up areas.
Cataractonium is still almost recognisable
as the modern Catterick but the majority
of Roman place names have disappeared
altogether.
Words with Chester, cester and caster
indicate the presence of a Roman castrum
– a military camp, fort or walled town as in
Manchester and Doncaster; but it can also
apply to the site of a pre-historic fort.
Place names with the element street may
indicate the line of a Roman road.
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Sea. They came from the three countries in
Scandinavia Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
England looked very different 1,600 years
As Roman Britain fell apart during the early
The Vikings (Danes) came across the North
Anglo-Saxons.
was born) when the Romans invaded Britain.
Romans
Vikings
Britain, although they never conquered
Scotland, Wales or Cornwall so there is a lot
of evidence to be found.
made their home here. They drove the
Saxons out of part of the country and took it
for themselves.
King Alfred, the Saxon King of Wessex, fought
them in a great battle, but he could not
drive them right away and had to let them
have part of the country, which was called
Danelaw.
We can tell where the Vikings settled by
place names of towns and villages today.
Many of the names of places in Britain are
made up of Viking words.
I was born in Ormskirk, Lancashire.
The place name ‘Ormskirk’ is Old Norse in
origin and is comes from Ormres kirkja, this
is from a personal name, Ormr (which means
"serpent" or dragon), and the Old Norse word
kirkja for church. Ormr may have been a
Viking who settled here, became a Christian
and founded the church.
What will you discover about your
local area and beyond?