be as pure Weardale as Saxon. Whilst the Norse _beck_ crowds the banks
of Teesdale, it does not exist in Weardale. _Burn_ spreads from this
dale northward through Durham, Northumberland, and Scotland. _Beck_ is
as foreign to Weardale as the Danish test-word _by_ and the Norwegian
_thwaite_, though all the three names crowd around, close to the very
hills on the south and west of the dale of the Wear. Within the bounds
of Stanhope parish the Wear is fed by several tributary burns. These
streams receive or are formed at the head by _grains_, and the grains
are fed by springs from the _brocks_. _Brock_ is from Anglo-Saxon
_broc_, _brece_, to break forth--the place where the water first breaks
through the earth--hence _brook_, literally water running through the
earth. A _brock_ is a little hollow a few feet wide, formed by water
breaking through the ground, and washing out a miniature valley. The
moors of Weardale and surrounding district abound with these broken
places, which are mostly known to shepherds and game-shooters. They
exist on the top of the fells, where they are the only natural shelters.
Platey Brock, on Chapel Fell, receives its name from an exposed plate or
shale bed. To show how numerous these places are, I will mention that on
Burnhope Moor there are also Coldberry Brocks, Limestone Brocks,
Highfield Brocks, Wester Langtayhead Brocks, Todsyke Brocks, Lodgegill
Brocks, Scraith Head Brocks, Browngill Brock, Cocklake Brock,
Sally-Grain Brocks, Lang Brock. To the above may be added the
better-known names of Black Brocks, or Moss Brocks, in Burnhope, and
Welhope Brocks.
_Grain_, Icelandic _grein_, is a division, a branch, as the grain of a
fork; Danish _green_, a branch, a bough. Generally the branches at the
head of a burn are distinguished by north and south, and east and west
grains; and sometimes by name, as Sally Grain in Burnhope, and Jopla
Grains in Bolihope. "East Graine under Craggs" is in Bolihope. At
Harthope Head there are the east and west grains, which meet and form
the burn. In addition to the sixteen hopes previously mentioned, from
twelve of which flow the principal tributary burns to the Wear, there
are some thirty secondary streams, named _burn_, Anglo-Saxon _burne_, a
_bourn_, stream, brook, river, and which are distinguished by the names
of the hope, or place, from which they flow, or from some other
characteristic feature or condition.
Sowen Burn, near Stanhope, is a very characteristic specimen, the
adjectival component being the Old English _sounen_, sound, the noisy
burn, or, rather, the sounding burn.
Fine Burn, in Bolihope, is so named owing to the stream being a line of
boundary. The words "fine," "confines," "finish," "finis," mark the end,
and the above stream is the boundary between the parishes of Stanhope
and Wolsingham. The Roman camp, _ad fines_ camps, is situated close to
the border-line between England and Scotland.
In Rookhope Smails Burn implies the small burns--Anglo-Saxon _smala_,
small--two little runners rendered somewhat historic in the days of
Border broils, as we find in the old ballad of Rookhope Ryde. In the
same district we have Red Burn, and Over Red Burn. _Red_ is from
Anglo-Saxon _read_, _rud_; Danish _röd_, red, the red stream; or the
Celtic _rhyd_, a ford; whilst _over_ is from the Anglo-Saxon _ofer_, a
shore, or _ofer_, over, above or higher--hence High Redburn.
Yeky Burn is from Anglo-Saxon _æc_, _eac_, oak, the stream of the oaks.
There are two Heathery Burns, one associated with the noted cave at
Stanhope. Old spelling hetherie, hetherye, hethery, from heath,
Anglo-Saxon _hæth_, Scotch heather.
The name _well_ is given to a large number of tiny streams in Weardale.
Dutch _wellen_, Anglo-Saxon _wel_, a fountain of water, and in Saxon
names of places, _wel_, _wyl_, and _well_ often occur.
Kelhope and Welhope are literally the hopes out of which water _wells_.
The source of the latter is named Wellheads. At the head of smaller
wells there are _springs_, places where water springs out--Anglo-Saxon
_springan_--hence we have such names as Spring Wells, Whitewell Spring,
White Wells, White Springs.
Ludwell is the people’s well, Anglo-Saxon _leod_, people. This water
springs out of a cave in the great limestone, where, in olden times, the
Weardale folks might have congregated, for the Saxon prefix shows it to
have been the well of the people, like Ludlaw, the people’s hill,
suggesting the days of village communities, and the days of superstition
when wells were in many cases held sacred. These were generally iron
wells--locally, _haliwells_. There are many wells known as holywells in
this district, some of which are also termed _spa_-wells. This term is
from the bath town, Spa, in Belgium, derived from _espa_.
Of other wells proper, we might mention Sunderland Well, Hunterley Well,
Huntshield Well, Black Dene Well, Carrbrow Well, Earnwell; Anglo-Saxon
_earn_, _ern_, an eagle--the eagle’s well. Several names of places in
England are from the eagle. Toft Well, east of Stanhope, is the well in
the toft or field, and the initial in Totley Well is probably from toft.
Bot’s Well, at Frosterley, is supposed to be that of St. Botolph, to
which saint, the old chapel, close by the well, was dedicated. Poppet
Well is a curious name, and is probably "coppet," from _cop_, a head.
The adjectival component in Duntert Well is evidently the same as in
Dunter Linn, at Eastgate. Boutes Well is Bolts Well, as in Boltsburn.
Berry Well is apparently the well of the mountain, Anglo-Saxon _beorg_,
_beorh_, a hill, a mountain. At Newhouse there is a Bank Spring, and at
Westgate a Spring Bank, indicating at each place a bank and a spring of
water. Cuthbert’s Spring, near Westgate, is in honour of the patron
saint of Durham, and it is no wonder that we find the name of St.
Cuthbert associated with names of places. On Harthope Moor, and close to
the road, is an excellent spring called Jenny’s Meggie, and at
Frosterley a spring is called Meggie.
_Cleugh_, _gill_, and _sike_ are associated with water. We have in the
parish of Stanhope, in round numbers, 30 _cleughs_, 10 _gills_, and 70
_sikes_. _Cleugh_ is from the Anglo-Saxon _clough_, a cleft down the
side of a hill; Danish _kloft_; Norwegian _kliufa_, to split--a narrow
ravine more like a cleft in the hill than a water-worn valley. Yearn
Cleugh, written _earne_ in 1666, is the eagle’s haunt, or that of the
falcon, the latter being once reared in Weardale for the purpose of the
Bishop’s hunt.
In 1666 we find mention of Addercleugh, the adder being frequently found
in Weardale. Whick Cleugh--in 1595 written Weekerclough--is probably
from the Anglo-Saxon _wic_, a marsh, but more probably from _wice_, the
mountain ash, or rowan-tree, well known in the dale, and also known as
the wich-elm.
_Gill_ is from the Norse _gil_, a mountain chasm, a glen or fissure in
the hillside. For this name we are indebted to the Norwegians, who
peopled the neighbouring county of Cumberland. The best-known places of
this class are Aller Gill, Lodge Gill, and Dry Gill, as being associated
with habitations and lead mines. The first is the _gill_ of the alders.
In Burnhope there is Lodge Gill, a well-known name owing to a once
famous lead-mine being there situated. The name very probably originated
from some forest animal lodging there, as we find Lodge Field,
Anglo-Saxon _logian_, to place, put, lodge--the field where probably
deer were lodged in the forest-hunting days of the princely Bishops of
Durham.
In Burnhope, a lead-mine in 1666 was called Hesley Gill--the hazel gill.
In Witton Gill we may have a very important place-name, for here may be
the gill of the witness--the spot where the inhabitants met, similar to
the meetings held in primitive times at particular stones. Leo says: "By
the names Wittan-ig, Wittan-mor, Wittan-mær, and Readan-stan, we are
informed of those national and provincial meetings for self-government
which have always characterized our race." Anglo-Saxon _witan_, to know;
Icelandic _vita_; German _wissen_, to know. The _Witena gemot_ Bosworth
explains as "the assembly of the wise, the supreme council of the
nation." Edred the Saxon King held a witan at Ginge, in the parish of
West Hendred, Berks, and there is a Witan Dyke at Worthe in Hants,
whilst in our valley there is the village of Witton-le-Wear. Mirke Gill
in Bolihope is the dark gill from the Anglo-Saxon _myrc_, Icelandic
_myrk_, dark. It is curious to notice how the Danish and Saxon _cleugh_,
the Norwegian _gill_, and the Anglo-Saxon _burn_, are intermixed in
Rogerley-Gill-Burn, Willowgreen-Burn-Gill, and Stock-Gill-Cleugh; but
such are many names of places, for if the term _burn_ was not understood
by a Norwegian settler, he would add his own term, _gill_; if this was
not sufficiently clear to a Saxon, _burn_ would be added to convey his
own meaning of a mountain-stream, and in a similar manner the various
races of mankind have stratified and built one upon another the various
components of place-names which are ethnological and historical
landmarks too invaluable not to be closely investigated.
_Sike_ or _syke_ is a very common local name. It is from Anglo-Saxon
_sic_, _sich_, Icelandic _sikje_, Norse _siki_. Sullivan says a _sike_
is the drainage of a marsh, and that all sikes were once marshes.
Natural productions have given names to several sikes, as the marshy
hollows were the homes of trees, grasses, and animals; hence we have
Rowantree Sike, where there is an excellent ironstone mine; Saugh Sike,
two Aller Sikes, Rushy Sike, Bents Sike, Moss Sike, and Birk Sike. Where
we find trees we find birds, so we have Hawk Sike, Hawk Sikes near
Stanhope, and Snipe Sike. Todd Sike is where the fox haunted, and Goat
Sike wants no explanation. Chisholm Sike, Anglo-Saxon _ceosel_, _ceosl_,
gravel, sand, the sike by the gravelly or sandy holm. In Teesdale there
is a Whey Sike, in Burnhope a Whoe Sike, and in Ireshope a Hoe Sike. In
Middlehope there is Scar Sike, the sike of the rock. Anglo-Saxon _carr_,
Danish _skær_, Swedish _skar_, a projecting or prominent rock, a
cliff--as Scarborough, Scarthwaite, Scarcliff, and Scarsdale, written in
Doomsday Book, Scarnesdele. At Middleton on the Tees there is a place
called Skears, and _scarr_, _skarr_, _skire_, are forms found in
place-names. Whetstone Sike is where the whetstone sill is exposed.
A _linn_ is a deep or still pool, from the Celtic _llyn_, water, a lake,
flood; Anglo-Saxon _hlynna_, a brook. In the North of England, however,
a _linn_ is understood to be a cascade or cataract, evidently owing to
the waterfall being a more attractive feature in a river scene than the
linn or pool, which is always found at the bottom of a fall. In Scotland
a _lin_, _lyn_, is described as a cataract, and in a secondary sense the
pool below. In Ireland _lin_ is a pool; and the Icelandic form of the
word is _lind_. The most attractive _linns_ in Weardale are Linnkirk, on
Shittlehope Burn, near Stanhope--a romantic spot where there is a tiny
waterfall and a cave close by in the great limestone; the Dunter Linn
and Holm Linn at Eastgate; and the Linny--a waterfall on the Harthope
Burn, near St. John’s Chapel. The Danish _dundre_ is to make a noise
like thunder, and the Scotch _dunder_ has the same meaning. The Saxon
Donar is the god of thunder, hence Dunter Linn is that which makes a
great noise.
_Kern_ is from the Anglo-Saxon _cyrn_, _cyrin_, _cerene_; Danish
_kjerne_, a churn; Icelandic _kirna_; Scottish _kirn_. The primary
meaning appears to be to turn, the act of turning, allied to quern, the
ancient mills for grinding corn. _Kern-holes_, found in the bed of
rivers, are holes worn out by the churning motion of water mixed with
sand. On Chapel Fell there is a watery hole called Jackson’s Kern, owing
to one Jackson being accidentally drowned in it whilst coming from
Middleton; but this might be _cairn_, a heap of stones. In Burnhope
Burn, at Six-dargue, a deep hole in the stream is called Kern Pool.
_Pool_, Anglo-Saxon _pol_, Welsh _pwll_, Icelandic _pollr_. There are in
the Wear and its tributaries a large number of pools which have names.
Holm Pool is the pool by the holm, and Wash Pool very probably was a
place where the good wives washed their linen in the days when
spinning, weaving, and various other methods of manufacturing household
requisites were in full operation. Winn Pool, from the Anglo-Saxon
_winn_, _gewin_, contest, struggle, to win--the pool where the meeting
of the waters cause a fight, and struggle, as it were, to _win_.
The _eale_ and _ealand_ are our isle and island, and are the names given
in Weardale to alluvial land on the margins of the main river. In the
river and place-names Gret_a_, _Ea_, _Ea_mont, Batters-_ea_,
Aldern-_ey_, Pont-_eland_, _ea_ or _a_ represents water or a river.
Bishop Egelwin, 1069, "after having, with all his people, passed three
months and some days at _Ealande_, returned to the church of Durham,"
according to the Saxon writers. In the Boldon Buke we find in a charter
of Bishop Flambard--“R. Biscop greteth well all his thanes and drenghs
of _Ealand_scire and Norhamscire." In Wolsingham parish we find in
Hatfield’s Survey, Papworth-ell, Small-eys, and in the same record
Catherine of the Ele is mentioned. The names of places containing the
Anglo-Saxon root _ea_, in the parish of Stanhope, are about a dozen.
In 1380, according to Hatfield, the parson of Stanhope held the Frith,
and a place _parcellum del Ele_, containing one acre. In 1608, in a list
of lands held by the rector of Stanhope, we find "one close called ‘The
Parson Ele.’" A few hundreds of yards eastward, just below the Butts, we
have Bond Eale, a stretch of land subject to be flooded, and formerly
held by bond tenants, who had to perform services in connection with the
land, such as thatching and carrying the running gear for Stanhope
corn-mill.
Thomas Morgan, by will dated 1641, left for charitable purposes amongst
other lands: "One parcel of arable ground in ye said Frosterley lying
and being at ye west end of ye same town in a place there called Hudse
Eale, and one acre and a rood of ground lying and being in ye said
Frosterley in a place called ye Mille Eale, and all other my lands and
tenements with ye said appurtenances in Frosterley aforesad--Barnes
Eale--excepted."
A mile and a half west of Eastgate we have, between Hunterley Well and
Parkhouse Pasture, the interesting Cammock Eale, locally called "Cammo
Keel," for the derivation of which we have the adjectival component from
the Celtic _cam_, crooked, and the ending _og_, diminutive, Celtic
_ock_--hence the little crooked isle.
_Holm_ is akin to ealand. Taylor says: "The suffix in the name Durham is
properly not the Saxon _ham_, but the Norse _holm_; and Dunelm--the
signature of the Bishop--reminds us also that the Celtic prefix is
_Dun_, a hill-fort, and not _Dur_, water. In the Saxon Chronicle the
name is correctly written Dunholm." _Holm_ is also Anglo-Saxon, and is
described by Bosworth as "a river island, a green plot of ground
environed with water--hence holmes."
Holmside, in the county of Durham, and Midge Holm, Holmwath, and Yallow
Holm, are names of places by the river in Teesdale.
By the Wear, at the west end of Rogerley Park, is situated Burry Holm.
In the year 1583 Thomas Blacket, Esq., of Woodcroft, demised to Peter
Maddison, gent., three closes of land being part of Woodcroft estate;
one close was on the west side of the low pasture, and another close of
meadow was called "Buiri Holme." It might be the holm of the burdock
(_Arctium Lappa_), or the berry holm from Anglo-Saxon _berie_, _berige_,
a berry, or the _bere_ holm or place where barley grew, Anglo-Saxon
_bere_, barley. Again, the spear plume-thistle (_Cnicus lanceolatus_),
called in Scotland the bur-thrissil, might flourish here, or the
burtree, the common elder (_Sambucus nigra_).
The names _flask_, _swang_, _bog_, and _wass_, indicate wet land, and
are kindred terms to a certain extent. Those accustomed to travel on the
highlands of Weardale will be familiar with lands denominated _boggy_,
_swampy_, _swangy_, _marshy_. The term _wass_ may be considered
obsolete, and that of _flask_ nearly so.
In Hatfield’s Survey there were in Bolihope lands called the Wasses and
Seggefeldland. _Wass_ is from the Anglo-Saxon _wæs_, water, and _segg_
from the Anglo-Saxon _segg_, _seeg_, a reed or sedge, which commonly
grows on wet land.
A pasture in Killhope, between Low Moss and the Rush, was some thirty
years ago called the Flask. Langtay Flask is in Burnhope, and a
lead-mine here was known by that name 200 years ago. In the bailiffs’
roll under Queryndon, we find in Hatfield, lands called _fennes_,
_flasskes_, and a place called Atthillswang. In Quesshowe there was le
_Flaske_. At Framwelgate, Broom cum le _Flassh_, at Cotam les _flaskes_.
_Bog_, Gaelic _bog_, Irish _bogach_, marsh, morass, quagmire, needs
little explanation. Riggy Bogs, Boghouse, White Bog, and Bog Hole, are
amongst names of places in the dales.
_Den_, from the Celto-Saxon, is a deep wooded valley, and has already
been considered under valleys. The most important _denes_ are Easter
Black Dene and Wester Black Dene.
Hot Hill is no doubt the wooded hill, but Hotts has another derivation,
and appears to be from _hut_, an abode or sheltered place. Another name,
_hurst_, pure German, a thick wood, is confined, as far as Weardale is
concerned, to Shield Hurst.
The termination _shaw_, a thicket or small wood, is frequently met with
in place-names. The Danish _skov_ is a wood or forest, Icelandic
_skogr_; the Anglo-Saxon _scua_, _scuwa_ is a shade, the same as the
Swedish _skugga_. Anglo-Saxon _sceaga_ seems to mean shaggy wood. In the
Hatfield’s Survey, a place in Bolihope is called Watteshawe--a wet
wooded place. Near Allergill we have Birkshaw, the place shaded by
birch-trees. In Shittlehope there are two places on the expanding
moorlands called Bashaw and Mogshaw. The former was probably the badger
shaw or wood. In the latter we have an important root, the Erse _magh_,
Welsh _maes_, a plain. Taylor gives _magh_ as a Gadhelic test word, and
says that it is found in more than a hundred Irish names of places.
The various place-names embracing _mea_, _may_, are from the same root,
and probably Migg Clos, held by the parson of Stanhope in 1380, is a
kindred name. A place on the south side of Bolihope is named
Harnshaw--written in 1614 _Hornyshawe_, and in 1666 _Harnshaw_--from
Anglo-Saxon _hyrne_, _hirne_, an angle or corner, a resemblance to a
horn--hence the _hyrne_ shaw would be the horn-shaped wood. Ramshaw,
particularly known for its well, is evidently the ram wood, Anglo-Saxon
_ram_, _ramm_, a ram; but some authorities derive _ram_ from _raven_.
These etymological conclusions give us a broad birch, a horn-shaped and
a wet wood, a wood on a plain, and a wood frequented by the ram and the
badger.
_Wood_, Anglo-Saxon _wudu_, _wode_, woodland, enters into a few local
names, as Bradwode or Broadwood.
In Rookhope there is a Foul Wood, a lead-mine so named over two hundred
years ago. Its name is evidently from the Anglo-Saxon _ful_, rotten, the
same as Foul Sike was the impure watercourse. In 1401 Roger Thornton
leased a lead-mine in Weardale at a place called Old Wode Clough.
In _field_, _ley_, and _ridding_, we have indications of clearings in
the forest--places where cattle might feed. In Weardale there are some
thirty _leys_, numerous _fields_ but very few _riddings_. The latter
word is from Anglo-Saxon _hreddan_, to rid; _hredding_ a ridding; Danish
_rydde_, to clear, grub up; _rydning_, clearing. The Weardale people are
familiar with _rid-up_, a house; _rid-out_, a quarry; and similar terms.
It is different from the _riding_, from Anglo-Saxon _thri_, _thry_,
three; _thridda_, the third; _thrithing_, a third part of a province, as
in the Yorkshire Ridings. Five hundred years ago John Migg held at
Stanhope four acres of land in the _Ridding_, Robert Todd held _j
Ridding_ over an acre, and Alexander Brancepath held five acres and one
rod in the _Riddying_. In Queen Elizabeth’s time Michael Fetherstonhalgh
of Stanhope Hall purchased of Follinsby a parcel of ground called
Pathemairidding. In Path-mairidding we have the ridding on the plain
over which there was a path.
_Ley_, _lea_, _lee_, _lay_, is an open place, a pasture or field where
cattle may lie; from the Anglo-Saxon _leah_, _leag_, _lege_, _lea_,
_leah_; from _licgan_, _liggan_, to lie. The _lea_ was an opening or
forest clearing where cattle might be depastured, but where a good deal
of woodland might exist. Gray, in the opening lines of his beautiful
"Elegy," sings--
"The lowing herd winds slowly o’er the _lea_."
This terminal occurs in over twenty names of places in Boldon Buke. In
Weardale there are five names of places having this suffix which are
very important, as they give names to extensive stretches of land, and
very probably the adjectival components may all be derived from personal
names. These are Frosterley, Bishopley, Rogerley, Horsley, and
Brotherlee.
On the hill north of Eastgate is situated Bewley, where once a cross
existed, and in former days a watch for invaders was kept here. This
place-name is probably more correctly Bewdley. In 1380 and 1590 it was
written _Bowdlye_, and may be derived from the Anglo-Saxon _bige_,
_biga_, _bigan_, a turning, corner, bending, angle, the ley, or field,
on the bend or bow of the hill, the bowed ley.
Amongst the highest hills in Weardale are Fendrith Hill, Knoutberry
Hill, Noon Hill, St. Cuthbert’s Hill, and Horseshoe Hill. _Hill_, _hyl_,
_hyll_, is Anglo-Saxon, Norse _holl_, a name given to large and small
elevations. One of these hills is named after the patron saint of the
Bishopric of St. Cuthbert. Like Outberry Plain on the southern ridge,
Knoutberry Hill on the north, evidently derived its name from the
cloud-berry, _Rubus Chamæmorus_, which grows on the Weardale fells. In
1614, however, it was written Nookhill. Fendrith was written in 1539
Fenrake. The word _rake_ is common in Weardale, and means to walk or
range, or the extent of the walk--hence a sheep-_rake_, Swedish _reka_,
to travel, journey. A _fen_ is land covered with mud, a morass--hence
the Fenrake was the district covered by a large morass. The hill known
as the Horseshoe might be so shaped, or the suffix may be _shaw_, a
wood--the wood of Horsa.
Amongst hills of lesser elevations than the five abovementioned are
Billing Hills, where the Scots camped in 1327; Scaud Hill, in Burnhope,
from the Anglo-Saxon _sceawian_, _scewian_, to look; Batable Hill,
debatable land; Scrog Hill, Anglo-Saxon _scrob_, _scrobb_, a shrub, the
hill of shrubs; Dun Hill, Ancient British _dun_, a height or hill fort
(Gaelic _dun_, as Dun Fell, in Teesdale). Dod Hill and Dodder Hill are
mountains with rounded summits, as Dodd Fell, in the Lake District.
Cross Hill, in Stanhope, is where an ancient cross stood. We had a Paper
Hill and a Poperd Hill, which were the hills where the priests preached.
We have hills known or distinguished as _hard_, _long_, _windy_,
_slate_, _black_, _green_, _white_, _gold_, _quarrel_ (quarry), _hungry_
(poor), _stony_, _great_, _low_, etc. Animals contribute their names, as
in Hog Hill, Lamb Hill, Plover Hill, Fairhills (Norse _faar_, sheep),
and Cowshill, the hill where cows congregated.
_Law_, Anglo-Saxon _hlaw_, _hlæw_, rising ground, an elevation, a hill.
In the south it is _low_, as Ludlow, the people’s hill. Killhope Law is
2,206 feet above sea-level, Collier Law 1,692, Bolts Law 1,772, and Pow
Law and the Three Laws are the names of other hills in the district.