Chapter IV: Part 4

Along the banks of the Wear, three miles west of Wolsingham, is situated the village of Frosterley. Here early settlers appear to have had an abode on the banks of the river. The present name of the village is evidently derived from the forest or foresters of the Bishops of Durham, who resided here to manage the great forest westward, but the Scandinavian personal name, Frosti, is worthy of consideration. There appears, however, to have been a far earlier settlement here. A very small enclosure near the river-side is named Bottlingham, but not a vestige of a settlement remains, and the name of the small plot of ground is all that is now left. Bolihope, a tributary valley to the Wear, and which empties its burn into the river a hundred yards or two below the place under consideration, was called, in Bishop Bec’s time, Bothelinghopp. In these two names we have the _hope_ and the _ham_ of some Anglo-Saxon settlers, named Pottel, which by the law of interchange might become Bottel. Bodvulf, who died in 655, was canonized, having founded the monastery of Ikano. This saint’s relics were dispersed, hence several churches are dedicated to St. Botolph, and Bottlebridge is St. Botolph’s bridge. The old chapel at Frosterley was, according to tradition, dedicated to St. Botolph, and close to the chapel site there is Bot’s Well, a name which would appear to confirm the local tradition in respect to the dedication.

Stanhope, too, with its Anglo-Saxon initial syllable _stan_, a stone, and Celtic _hope_, had an older settlement in all probability than the present town, which takes its name from the adjoining Hope, which is full of rocks or stones. At the west end of Stanhope town there is a small stream called Allerton Burn, which gathers its waters near Allerton Riggs, lying north-west of Stanhope. The stream joins the Hope Burn, near Stanhope Hall, but where is Allerton? which is, or was, the _ton_ or town beside the allers or alders, or more probably the enclosed place of some Saxon named Alder or Ealder, from Anglo-Saxon _ald_, old, and _hari_, warrior. The site of this place was most likely near Allerton Bridge at Stanhope Hall, and this old hall residence--the seat of the Fetherston-halghs, from the days of King Stephen--probably represents the spot which we are in search of; it occupies a tongue of land between the confluence of the Allerton and Stanhope Burns.

Seven hundred years ago, persons bearing the Saxon names of Osbert, Ethelred, Meldred, Goda, Aldred, Collan, and others, held lands at Stanhope, and did service under the Bishops of Durham.

Considering the close proximity of the principal Danish settlement in England, that of Yorkshire, it would not be surprising if an inquiry into local names of places revealed the fact that the followers of Odin’s prophetic raven had left a footprint of some value in the Durham dales. The most remarkable, if not unique, footprint of the adventurous Northmen is preserved in the word _thing_, pronounced _ting_, which in names of parishes and places points out the localities where the Vikings, in their days of rule, held their outdoor national assemblies, and promulgated their national laws.

When the daring Northmen touched the shores of England, subdued in the year 867 Northumbria, and set up Inguar, the first Danish King, as ruler, they brought with them, and implanted, their traditions and customs.

In Weardale there is a Thimbleby Hill, on the south side of the Wear, opposite Stanhope, and if the Danes were in this dale for the purpose of assembling a _thing_ or council, this hill is the one above all others which they would have chosen. It has on the top a considerable flat, and it overlooks Stanhope Town on the north, commands a most excellent view down the valley eastward, and up the valley westward, whilst to the south lies a rising heath-covered ridge. The position of the hill would at once recommend itself to the Danes, who always took care to have their national courts held in places which would be free from surprise; and it is possible that Shield Ash represents the shealings of ash bows, erected for the accommodation of those attending the court. Stanhope is in Darlington _Wapentake_, which word is Danish, and each wapentake had its court or _thing_. Presuming that the Danes held a council at Stanhope, they do not appear to have established themselves to any extent; but, as we find the Danish _toft_, as in Toft Well, and a place in Bolihope, named in Hatfield’s Survey Turpenstanes, the boundary stones of _Thorfinn_, a Danish personal name, and that in A.D. 1183 persons holding the Scandinavian names of Russell, Thore, Arkil, and a son of Turkill, held lands at Stanhope, it would not be a matter of surprise if a Danish council did take place in Weardale, which is situated so close to the Danish district, and which was under the rule of the first Danish King in England.

One of the most striking instances of the Norwegian element in Weardale, is what was fifty or sixty years ago the "national" winter sport of the dale. This was _skeeing_, the national sport of Norway. Within the memory of a few of the oldest inhabitants no snowy winter passed in Weardale without this sport being practised to its full extent.

In the mountainous district of Weardale, one of the most important North of England rivers is cradled, and into this isolated highland dale the Celtic name of the Durham river has penetrated. Almost all the English rivers have retained the names given to them by the Celts, and _avon_, _dur_, _esk_, _rhe_, and _don_, are Celtic roots repeated, over and over again, in names of streams, not only in England, but on the Continent. In the name Nent Water, in Cumberland, we have the simple name "water," and the Cymric _nant_, a hollow or valley formed by water--a common name in Wales. Writers mention Nant Lle as+ the vale of Lle; Nant Gwyrfai, the vale of fresh water; Nant Frangon, the beavers’ hollow or ravine; and Pennant, the head of the valley. The little village Nenthead, on the western slope of Killhope, is the head of the valley. From the root _dwr_, water, and the frequently occurring Celtic _gwent_, an open region, comes Derwent, the name of the stream on the north of Weardale, and of various other rivers in England. The local pronunciation, however, in the district of Derwent is _Darwen_, which suggests _dwr_ and _gwen_, the clear water.

The River Wear is formed by the joint streams of Killhope and Burnhope Burns, which meet at Wearhead village. Its course through the dale is rapid, receiving many tributaries from the hopes. On reaching Auckland it takes a north-easterly course. "And now," says Camden, "the river, as though it proposed to make an island, compasseth almost on every side the chief city of this province standing on an hill, whence the Saxons gave it the name _Dunholm_. For as you may gather out of Bede, they call an hill _dun_, and a river island _holme_." The Wear, which enters the sea at Sunderland, was called _Vedra_ by Ptolemy, _Wirus_ by Bede, and in Bishop Pudsey’s time (1153-94) the name was written _Were_, the same as we find in Hatfield, 1380, Holinshed 1577, and Camden 1604. The latter form is the proper modern spelling up to about the last century, when _Were_ became _Wear_, the present form of the name of St. Cuthbert’s stream. Ferguson, on the authority of Pott, gives the Sanscrit _ud_, _udon_, water, from which comes the German _wasser_, English _water_, as the root of Ptolemy’s _Vedra_.[8] _Wirus_ suggests the Celtic _gwyrhe_, rapid water. Perhaps _gwy_ or _wy_, water, and _garw_ or _arw_, rough, form the roots. The former root enters into the names of several rivers, as the Wye, Edwy, Elwy, and others. In all the forms of spelling the river-name of Durham the letter "r" is conspicuous. It is the principal one in _arw_, which enters into the names of several streams--the Ayr, Are, Aire, Arre, being variations of this widely diffused root. The Welsh _rhe_, rapid, with _gwy_, may show equal claim to notice as first mentioned--namely, _gwyrhe_. Omitting the initial _g_ in the first, and the middle letter in the second, root, we have _wyre_.

A _hope_ is a small opening running up to the mountain ridges as a tributary to a main stream. From the burns again branch out _grains_, which, fed by springs, issue from _brocs_. The _cleugh_, _gill_, and _sike_, contribute their waters generally to the burns, whilst a _well_ may come from a _dene_, and empty into the main stream. The western dales of Durham are pre-eminently dales of _hopes_. This word is the Celtic _hwpp_, a slope or hollow between hills--a little dale in which a stream of water gathers. These openings at the sides of the dale may very properly be termed places of refuge, places of shelter for animals, such as the deer, and in these days we find sheep located in the various _hopes_, where they have their _heft_--a locality to which they become attached; Anglo-Saxon _hæft_, from the having a holding or place. The Norse _hop_ is a place of shelter or refuge. An inquiry into the Bishop’s possessions of game in Weardale, nearly three hundred years ago, particularly mentioned forests, parks, _hopes_ and pastures. The place-name _hope_ is common throughout the hilly parts of Durham, Northumberland, Yorkshire, and Derbyshire. In the neighbouring parish of Wolsingham there are Harehope, Ouselhope, and Thornhope; in Allendale Swinhope, Sinderhope, Ellershope, and Mohope; the Boldon Buke records in the Bishopric, Ayleshope, Rokehope, Cazhope, Refhope, Horsleyhope, Histeshope, Baldingehope, Burnhop, and Roueleiehope; and in Teesdale we have Egleshope and Hudeshope. In Weardale we have the Hope, sometimes called Stanhope Hope, probably to distinguish it from the town of Stanhope.

In Weardale there are sixteen _hopes_, distinguished in name by some characteristic feature, as represented in their respective initial components.

Burnhope and Killhope, with Wellhope, are the three vales which contribute their streams to form the Wear at Wearhead. The initial components _burn_, _kil_ and _wel_, are all Anglo-Saxon, meaning water, and have been given according to the custom of the early settlers. From the head of the River Wear, the hopes, striking into the hills encircling the head of the dale, are those out of which come water. _Burn_hope is the hope of the burn, Anglo-Saxon _burne_, a stream; _Kill_hope is from Anglo-Saxon _keld_, a fountain; we have also Icelandic _keld_, Danish _kilde_, Norse _kill_, a fountain or brook; _Well_hope from Anglo-Saxon _wyl_, _wel_, a well or fountain--hence they are all the hopes of water. _Kil_ is the Scotch and Irish word denoting a church, and if the situation had been favourable, and had there been any evidence of a St. Godric having been located here, as at Wolsingham, we might have had the hope of the _kil_, kirk, or church, but in Camden we find _Kelhop_ and _Welhop_. Leland, at an earlier date, gives _Kelhope_ and _Welhop_, and Holinshed _Kellop_. Brocket says _keld_ is a word used in Yorkshire, Westmorland, and Cumberland, for a well or spring. Taylor gives _kell_ and _well_ as synonymous terms for a place from whence water flows. We read in Simeon of Durham of the Scots, in A.D. 1070, having marched through Cumberland and devastated Teesdale and the parts bordering; then they came to the place called in English, Hundredeskelde--that is, "the hundred springs." Barnard Castle water-supply comes from a place called Spring Keld.

One of the Bishopric knights at the Battle of Lewis was Sir Henry Merley, of Herkeld, in Witton; and Besanskeldes is a Boldon Buke place-name. We thus have, at the western confines of the county of Durham, the hopes of water, and which pour forth their streams to form the main river of the historic county of Durham.

Ireshope, Middlehope, and Westernhope, derive their initial components from their position. _Middle_hope occupies a central position in the forest. The first tributary burn to the Wear after its formation is, of course, the most western one, _Ire_shope, from Erse _iar_, the west. Snowhope, sheltered under the southern hills, retains patches of its winter covering long enough, no doubt, to have warranted its name--_Snawhope_, as it was formerly written, Anglo-Saxon _snaw_, Danish _snee_, German _schnee_, Belgic _sneeuw_--a name given to many mountains subject to being covered in winter, as Snafell in Iceland, Sneekoppe in Bohemia, Sneeuw Bergen at the Cape of Good Hope, Snee Hatten in Norway, Snafell in the Isle of Man, and Snowdon in Wales. In respect to Ireshope, there is the Anglo-Saxon _yrfe_, _erfe_, _irfe_, inheritance, from the root _ar_; Old English _ear_, _earth_, as the _Ar_yan races were the tillers of the ground. There is also a root _ar_ applied to rivers, as the _Ayr_, _Are_, and _Aire_: Welsh _araf_, gentle; Gaelic _ar_, slow; Celtic _arw_, violent--some of which might apply.

Stanhope and Rookhope are characteristic names in a district of stone and rock. In the Boldon Buke and Hatfield’s Survey we have Stanhope, Rokhop, and in the times of Bishop Beck, Stanehop, and Stanhop. The first components in these names are from Anglo-Saxon _stan_, German _stein_, Icelandic _sten_, Danish _steen_, a stone; and Gaelic _roc_, a mass of stone. The district is full of stones, as the many stone fences which net the whole of the inlands and the higher lands to the moors testify. From Boltsburn village the Rookhope stream runs over successive edges of limestone and freestone, and culminates in a grand display by leaping over several picturesque linns at Eastgate.

Two of the place-names, Harthope and Swinhope, carry us back to the wild beasts of the forest. One was the lodging-ground or resort of the hart or stag, Anglo-Saxon _heort_; and the other gets its initial component from Anglo-Saxon _swin_, _swyn_, a swine; Old German _suin_, traceable back to the Sanskrit _su_. The boar tusks found in Heatheryburn Cave, and the Roman altar at Stanhope Rectory, testify to Weardale being the abode of boars. The local word _aswin_, obliquely, Welsh _asswyn_, does not apply to this place-name. A far more probable etymology is the Celtic _swyn_, holy. Charnock is of opinion that the several rivers named "swine" or "swin" may be from this root.

Bolihope, the name of a considerable subvalley on the south of Frosterley and Stanhope, is interesting, if not so easily explained. The name is evidently associated with the district of Frosterley, where the stream from Bolihope enters the Wear. At this village we have as place-names Bottlingham and Bot’s Well, and the ancient chapel is said to have been dedicated to St. Botolph. Bishop Beck granted to Walter Berington twenty-seven acres of land in Bothelinghopp. The initial component would suggest the Anglo-Saxon _botel_, _botl_, _botles_, an abode, mansion, or dwelling; also Norse _botl_, German _buttel_. Leo, however, says that very few Anglo-Saxon names of places are united with this word. Bolton was formerly written Bodeltune. This, however, does not appear to be the etymon of the name in question, as _botel_ and _ham_, both Saxon for a dwelling, would not be found in one name. A large number of names of places have the Saxon patronymic _ing_, which often forms the medial syllable, such as Wolsingham, Darlington, Easington, Washington, Heighington, and, if the medial syllable of the name under consideration be the Saxon patronymic, then it is an Anglo-Saxon place-name--the home of the sons of some Saxon named Bottel. Bot is a Scandinavian personal name, but we find the Saxon Byttingas and Potingas, _Liber Vitæ_, Bota, and Frisian Botte. The personal name Pottel--which by the law of interchange of initial letters might become Bottel--would explain that the _hope_ and the _ham_ were belonging to the son of some Saxon settler of this name, as elsewhere mentioned.

Boltshope is a small offshoot from Rookhope. Bolt, as an iron-door bolt, is from Anglo-Saxon and Danish _bolt_, German _bolgen_, from the root _bole_, round as the bole of a tree. The Anglo-Saxon _bold_, _bolt_, originally _búld_, _búlt_, means a house or dwelling, an abode; Danish _bolig_; and we have mention made in Hatfield of Bold Shell in Rookhope. Boltsburn is the village of the Rookhope Valley, and is situated at the foot of Boltshopeburn. At the top of the hope is Bolts Law, which is probably the place earliest named, and in all probability is from a personal name. Bold Shield would not be from the Anglo-Saxon _bold_, an abode, but is evidently Bold’s shield, the _shield_, or home, of Bold, as the eminence might be the _law_ of Bold or Bolt.

_Dene_ is from the Celto-Saxon _den_, a deep, wooded valley; Anglo-Saxon _den_, _dene_, _denn_. The best specimen of this kind of valley in the county of Durham is probably Castle Eden Dene, a wooded, narrow valley near the sea. Its name is interesting, and contains the ancient and modern spelling. Its earliest name was evidently Eden, from _ea_ or _e_, water, and _den_, a wooded valley; and this becoming a proper name, a second _den_ was added--namely, Eden Dene, which gives us water-dene-dene. We have also in the north Hesleden, Deneholm, and Hardwick Dene.

_Burn_, _grain_, _broc_, are allied. The first of these may be said to 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.

_Seat_, Anglo-Saxon _set_, a sitting; _sæta_, settlers, inhabitants. The root _sæte_, _set_, or _seta_, enters into several names of places in England, some of which are county towns, as Dorset, Somerset; Old Norse _setr_, a seat. The Norwegian _seter_ is a pasture or mountain-side--Burnhope Seat, Dora’s Seat, and Raven’s Seat. One was the settlement of a person named Raven, or Rafn; the other that of Dora, or Dore. In 1614 we find Dorry Sette. Bishop’s Seat was the place where the lords of the Bishopric settled when hunting in Weardale Forest. Another name is Laverock Seat, evidently Leofric’s Seat, modernized into Lark-seat.

_Head_, Anglo-Saxon _head_, _heafod_, a head. In a district full of undulating lands and small valleys there are several places deriving their names from being the top or head, or finished part of something, as Lanehead, Wearhead, Dalehead, Sidehead, Nag’s Head, Lamb’s Head, and others.

_Rig_, _rigg_, Anglo-Saxon _rig_, _hrycg_, and various other forms; Danish _ryg_; Icelandic _hriggr_, a ridge, a back. Stangend Rigg is 2,075 feet above sea-level.

_Plain_ and _pike_ are sufficiently expressive--the one a broad stretch of land, and the other a peak or pointed eminence. Five Pikes are near Paw Law Pike, a south-eastern boundary point on the hills. Ireshope Plains is a euphonious name; and Bewdley Plain, Sedling Plain, Outberry Plain, may be mentioned in the list.

_Moor_, _fell_, _common_, are well-known terms. Anglo-Saxon _mor_ is waste-land, a moor, a heath; Danish _mor_ is a moor, or morass; we have Killhope, Burnhope, and Wellhope Moors. _Fell_ is Old Norse. All the Weardale moorlands are called fells. Chapel Fell is 2,294 feet above sea-level; A _common_ is a tract of unenclosed pasture or outside land on which the tenantry of the inlands have a common right, or right of common for their sheep.

_Bank_, _band_, _brae_, and _brow_, are common in place-names, as Brook Bank, Owsen Bands, Whitfield Brow, etc. _Batts_, low, flat ground near water; Anglo-Saxon _bæth_, a bath, land subject to be soaked with water. _Berry_, as Knoutberry Hill, Bleaberry, and Snodberry, are from the Anglo-Saxon _beorg_, _beorh_, a hill. _Cut_, _cove_, as Cove’s Houses; _crooks_, as Milncrook, Seggecrok, Crawcrook, are found. Also _end_, as Hill End; and _edge_, as White Edge, Band Edge. _Flat_, _green_, and _ground_, are also found in several place-names, as Barnflat, Willow Green, and Trodden Ground. In the Boldon Buke we have Pelhou, Quesshow, and Dunhow, from _haw_, Anglo-Saxon _hæge_, a hedge.

_Haugh_ is a common name in Northumberland for low-lying grounds close to rivers. It is frequently met with on the Tyne, but it is not so common on the Wear. Worsaae returns _haugh_ in no other county than Northumberland, to which he ascribes ten, the _haugh_, or _how_, being given as the Scandinavian _haugh_, a hill; but the _haugh_ of the Borderland is low-lying and sheltered meadow-land close to the winding rivers. In 1380, at Stanhope, there was a Castle Hogh, known as the Castle Haugh until within fifty years ago. There is a _haugh_ at Softly, and a _haughing-gate_ at Eastgate. There are various _haughs_ in and about Blanchland, and it might appear that Weardale, where it is very rare, formed the southern boundary. But there are, however, three _haughs_ in the West Riding.

_Hooks_, _height_, _hole_, and _howl_. We have Fairy Holes--caves in the limestone--Foxholes, Brockholes, and Catholes, as names of places; Hole House, Clay Holes, and many others. Cuthbert Heights is from St. Cuthbert. _Knot_, _loc_, _lake_, _land_, as the Knotts, the Locks, Cocklake, and the Lands. _Mea_, Welsh _maes_, Erse _magh_--a plan--is very common in the Durham dales. In Teesdale there is Flushy Mea, Sow Mea; and, in Weardale, Broad Mea, Mea Sike, Pitty Mea, Rimea, and others. _Mound_, moss, _nook_, _rake_, _pit_, and _pot_, occur in many names.

_Side_, a Saxon word, Icelandic _sida_, the edge, a hillside, enters into a number of names of places, as Fell Side, Kirk Side, with _siders_, as Cuthbert Siders; and also _sedeing_, a sideling or sloping. _Slack_, _spot_, _wick_, _wham_, _clints_, _crag_, _carr_, _scar_, are amongst other words forming place-names.

Habitations and enclosures have their special names.

When the Angles and Saxons arrived in our island they planted settlements in fertile districts. By the margins of some meandering river, which had already been named by the earlier Celtic race, the Saxon families located themselves and established homes, many of which are now large towns. The forest growth was cleared, and, with that love of home characteristic of the Saxons, a portion of the cleared land was enclosed, guarded, or protected, with the _tines_ of forest growth--the tines or twigs of the wood; hence _tun_ occurs in 137 Anglo-Saxon names of places in the 1,200 taken from Kemble’s Charters. This termination became to mean, not the tines or twigs alone, nor yet the hedges of which they were made, but the whole enclosure or estate was the _tun_ or _ton_ of some person; or the _ton_ otherwise distinguished, as Stockton, the stockaded town; Middleton, the middle town; Willington, the town of the family of Willing--sons of Will. Other terminations indicate Saxon homes, as _ham_, _worth_, _stoke_, _stow_, _fold_, _bury_. In the Boldon Buke we find the Danish _toft_; and the universal description of small holdings in Hatfield’s Survey is a _toft_ and a _croft_. We also find in primitive days the villagers holding _dales_ of land--land divided into long, narrow strips or divisions, each villager knowing his own strip. When Weardale was more under cultivation, it was customary for the inhabitants to _take in_ land from the moors; hence we find the place-name _intake_, locally _intak_. And at a later period still, when Acts of Parliament dealt with the division of moorlands, we got the name _allotment_, abbreviated to _lotment_ and _lot_--the allotted land.

_Acre_ is mentioned, as in Farnacres, in the Boldon Buke; and in later surveys are Longacre and Etheredacres. _Barn_, _berry_, _beeld_, _byre_, and _by_, _bower_, _cave_, _castle_, _chesters_, _close_, _croft_, _dale_, and _darg_--as six darg, from Anglo-Saxon _dæg-weorc_, day’s work. _Fold_, _farm_, _faw_, _frith_, _gate_, _garth_, _hot_, _ing_, _ham_, _kirk_, _lodge_, _park_, _meadow_, _pry_, _shield_, _stead_, _ton_, and _wall_, are common in the dales of the county of Durham.

Amongst the names referring to buildings we have _cross_, as Killhope Cross and Edmundbyres Cross. Stone crosses to guide the wayfarer were once erected at these places. _Brig_ is from bridge, whether built of stone or wood. _Currock_, a pile of stones erected on the moors or fells as a landmark. _Peth_ and _lonnon_ and _way_ are also common names. And all these have their adjectival component, as Lodge Field, Leases Park, Mill Houses, Pry Hill, Old Faw, Shield Ash, Watch Currock, etc.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL

BY THE REV. WILLIAM GREENWELL, M.A., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.S.A.

In the year 875 the great Scandinavian invasions were assuming large proportions, and among other parts of England where the Danes landed and harried the country was the coast of Northumbria. The monks fled from Lindisfarne, which had been selected by Aidan principally because of its resemblance to Iona. There was probably another reason for the choice: its neighbourhood to the stronghold of Bamborough, the seat of the Northumbrian Kings. Lindisfarne is very near to it, and naturally would be under the protection of the King who lived there.

Bamborough, however, proved no protection against the Danes, who came oversea, and, landing on the coast, overran not only a great part of the North of England, but also a considerable portion of the South of Scotland. The monks, fearing lest they should be deprived of St. Cuthbert’s body and their other treasures, and of their lives as well, fled from Lindisfarne, carrying with them the body of the saint. Many churches dedicated to St. Cuthbert in these parts probably mark the spots where the monks in their journeying rested for a while.

After wandering from 875 to 883, having remained for a short time at Crayke, they settled at Chester-le-Street, which was given to them by Guthred, a Danish King then reigning in Northumbria, and who had become a Christian.

There the body rested, and from it the Bernician See was ruled until the removal of Bishop Aldhun and the congregation of St. Cuthbert (after a short sojourn at Ripon) to Durham in 995. The difficulties of an adequate defence probably proved to the monks that Chester-le-Street was not a suitable place for their protection. The superior position of Durham was no doubt the reason why it was selected for the site of the see. This, then, was the commencement of the church and city of Durham.

In 999 Bishop Aldhun, having commenced it three years before, completed the building of a stone church, to which the body of St. Cuthbert was transferred from a wooden building (_æcclesiola_, Symeon calls it), where it had been at first placed. Of that church no part remains visible to the eye, though there are no doubt thousands of the stones belonging to it enclosed within the walls of the present church.

The first building remained until after the Norman Conquest, a great change having taken place in the meantime. The monks who, with the Bishop, had originally constituted the congregation of St. Cuthbert, had fallen from the rule which was first observed. There was in those days a great tendency among the regular clergy in the Saxon Church to degenerate into a kind of secular clergy. Symeon says those at Durham were neither monks nor regular canons. At Durham, as at Hexham, some members of the congregation were married and had families, and there was springing up at Durham possibly, as there certainly was at Hexham, an hereditary system, son succeeding father; and had the system gone on, there would have arisen a sacerdotal caste, with all the evils attending such a body. The Norman Conquest happily did away with that, as it did with other abuses. It is probable that some remains connected with these married members of the congregation were discovered in 1874, when the foundations of the east end of the old chapter-house, which was so ruthlessly destroyed in 1796, were laid bare. The graves of Bishops Ranulph Flambard, Galfrid Rufus, and William de St. Barbara were met with, each covered with a slab bearing his name--probably not quite contemporary--and in them were found three episcopal rings of gold, set with sapphires, and in the grave of Flambard, the head, made of iron, plated with silver, and the iron ferrule of a pastoral staff, all of which are now preserved in the cathedral library. Below the level of the Bishops’ graves there were found a considerable number of skeletons of men, women, and children, with one of which was deposited the iron head of a spear, having the socket plated with gold. There can be little doubt that these bodies belonged to the married portion of the congregation and their families, who occupied the monastery at Durham from the time of Aldhun to their being dispossessed by Bishop William of St. Carileph.