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The Book of English Place Names: How Our Towns and Villages Got Their Names
Take a journey down winding lanes and Roman roads in this witty and informative guide to the meanings behind the names of England’s towns and villages. From Celtic farmers to Norman conquerors, right up to the Industrial Revolution, deciphering place names reveals how previous generations lived, worked, traveled, and worshipped, and how their influence has shaped the landscape. From the most ancient sacred sites to towns that take their names from stories of giants and knights, learn how Roman garrisons became great cities, and discover how a meeting of the roads could become a thriving market town. Region by region, Caroline Taggart uncovers hidden meanings to reveal a patchwork of tall tales and ancient legends that collectively tells the story of how England was made.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published April 28, 2011
11 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Caroline Taggart
76 books125 followersI was an editor for 30 years before Michael O’Mara Books asked me to write what became I Used to Know That. I think its success took everyone by surprise – it certainly did me – but it led to my writing a lot of other books and finally, after about three years, feeling able to tell people I was an author. It's a nice feeling.
Until recently the book I was most proud of was The Book of London Place Names (Ebury), partly because I am passionate about London and partly because, having written ten or so books before that, I finally felt I was getting the hang of it.
Now I have to confess I’m really excited by my first venture into continuous narrative. For A Slice of Britain: around the country by cake (AA) I travelled the country investigating, writing about and eating cake. From Cornish Saffron Cake to Aberdeen Butteries, I interviewed about 25 people who are baking cakes, biscuits and buns that are unique to their region, part of their heritage – and pretty darned delicious. The Sunday Times reviewed it and described me as ‘engaging, greedy and droll’, which pleased me enormously.
Until recently the book I was most proud of was The Book of London Place Names (Ebury), partly because I am passionate about London and partly because, having written ten or so books before that, I finally felt I was getting the hang of it.
Now I have to confess I’m really excited by my first venture into continuous narrative. For A Slice of Britain: around the country by cake (AA) I travelled the country investigating, writing about and eating cake. From Cornish Saffron Cake to Aberdeen Butteries, I interviewed about 25 people who are baking cakes, biscuits and buns that are unique to their region, part of their heritage – and pretty darned delicious. The Sunday Times reviewed it and described me as ‘engaging, greedy and droll’, which pleased me enormously.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 13, 2017
Interesting, light read
October 12, 2022
English Place Names
Overall the book is very satisfying but (and it's a small but!) I would have liked a little more detail for the older histories of small villages.
Overall the book is very satisfying but (and it's a small but!) I would have liked a little more detail for the older histories of small villages.
April 9, 2018
Standard go to guide for the history of place names. Would recomend that you dip in and out of this one instead of trying to read as a straight through narrative. Interesting book though.
June 25, 2015
Do you look at the names of the places around you? Have you ever wondered where they come from? Well this book attempts to explain, some of them at least.
It focuses solely on England, going area by area, county by county. Even so it only covers the more interesting place names or larger towns and cities. It’s enough to show the history of diversity we have though, with many areas showing a prevalence from among the Old Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Danish and Norman names.
There are also several sections where particular naming conventions are explored, such as names resulting from farming, for example. There’s also a handy appendix detailing the elements common to many place names. Every ‘rule’ has exceptions though, as detailed throughout the book.
It included plenty of information I didn’t know before, in the naming of places, but also their history. I live near Southampton, for example, and didn’t realise the county it belongs to (Hampshire) is named after it. It was originally just called Homtun, the reference to south was added later, to distinguish it from what would become Northampton.
This is far from a straight dictionary of names and meaning though. While it may not cover as many places as other books, each entry has a description of the name and often history relating to it, making it a more pleasant read. The nature of the entries also make it very easy to dip in and out.
A very interesting read.
It focuses solely on England, going area by area, county by county. Even so it only covers the more interesting place names or larger towns and cities. It’s enough to show the history of diversity we have though, with many areas showing a prevalence from among the Old Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Danish and Norman names.
There are also several sections where particular naming conventions are explored, such as names resulting from farming, for example. There’s also a handy appendix detailing the elements common to many place names. Every ‘rule’ has exceptions though, as detailed throughout the book.
It included plenty of information I didn’t know before, in the naming of places, but also their history. I live near Southampton, for example, and didn’t realise the county it belongs to (Hampshire) is named after it. It was originally just called Homtun, the reference to south was added later, to distinguish it from what would become Northampton.
This is far from a straight dictionary of names and meaning though. While it may not cover as many places as other books, each entry has a description of the name and often history relating to it, making it a more pleasant read. The nature of the entries also make it very easy to dip in and out.
A very interesting read.
October 25, 2012
Charming book..... its fun to ponder, a little, the origin of names...
Snape, Sodbury and Spennymoor......Pease Pottage, Hedge End and Great Snoring.... you will find yourself delighting in the explanations and will take to wandering the house muttering odd English town names.
Quy, Ingleby Greenhow,Cockermouth, Hetton-le-hole, Belper and Bootle.
Delightful.
Snape, Sodbury and Spennymoor......Pease Pottage, Hedge End and Great Snoring.... you will find yourself delighting in the explanations and will take to wandering the house muttering odd English town names.
Quy, Ingleby Greenhow,Cockermouth, Hetton-le-hole, Belper and Bootle.
Delightful.
July 1, 2015
A wonderful (and frequently funny) look at what town and village names in England mean. She also adds a sort of "how to" section so that you can take the principles she mentions and apply them to names that aren't in the book. Excellent reading for all.
October 23, 2017
Entertainingly light read but overall I was left disappointed that too much seemed to be - no one is quite certain really about why this strange name exists. Good to be acquainted with naming conventions and old words that mean something different to the obvious but generally no where near as informative as I anticipated it was going to be.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews