Taking place names back to their roots

THE first-time visitor to Yorkshire could be forgiven for thinking he had wound up in a land of madmen. Having motored down through the Dales, he may well have passed through the tiny hamlets of Booze and Crackpot.

Hardly guaranteed to give a favourable impression of the native Yorkshireman, these - especially if, on stopping to ask for directions to Fryup - he was greeted with the phrase: "Eeh, I doan't knoaw" (the first Yorkshire phrase I ever heard) and much scratching of heads.

Having somehow found Fryup and looked for the fish and chip shop in vain, our visitor could then decide to head south for Sinnington. Fortunately he would find not a latter-day Sodom or Gomorrah just a delightful little village nestling at the southern edge of the moors. But he may be forgiven for beginning to harbour serious doubts about the sanity of Yorkshire people by now - especially when, on resuming his journey, he travelled through Bugthorpe, Wetwang, Spittle and Warthill.

The poor visitor's confusion would be complete when he finally wound up in York (now there's a sensible name) only to find a traffic warden had slapped a ticket on him for trying to park in Whip-ma-Whop-Ma-Gate.

Nothing is ever quite what it seems, of course. If only our bemused visitor had thought to bring a copy of Yorkshire Placenames with him he would have been spared so much misunderstanding.

Because of course, as every Yorkshireman knows, Booze in Arkengarthdale isn't so called because it is the haunt of heavy drinkers. The name comes from the old English Bowehouse, meaning 'house by the bow or curve of land'. And Crackpot, four miles down the River Swale from Muker, isn't named after a madman at all, but probably derives from the Old Norse words 'kraka' (crow) and the ancient Cumbrian 'pot', or deep lake. What it probably means is something like 'water hole where the crows abound'. Simple, really.

All this and much more is explained in Yorkshire Placenames, the latest in a series of books published by Dalesman celebrating all that is special about God's own country.

Admittedly it's written by Peter Wright, who has the misfortune to live in Stockport. But he is to be pitied rather than blamed for that - and he has written a delightfully informative little book about some of Yorkshire's weird and wonderful place names that is guaranteed to have you chortling over your pint of Tetleys but is a fascinating mine of information about the county's geography and history too.

Dip into this slim volume and you will learn that far from being a Mecca for lovers of unhealthy breakfasts, Fryup simply means 'Friga's valley', from the Old English 'hop' (valley) and equally Old English name Friga.

Sinnington, meanwhile, isn't so named because it is the last resting place of a tribe of notorious sinners. It's much more harmless than that - the name comes from the River Seven on which the village stands.

Bugthorpe, similarly, is not a retreat for those with a passion for collecting butterflies - it's 'Buggi's village' from a Scandinavian nickname. And the folk of Spittle near Pocklington don't have a problem with bad personal hygiene habits - Spittle's just a shortened form of the word hospital.

As for Warthill - banish all thoughts that there was once a sanatorium there for people with ugly facial blemishes. Warthill derives from the Old Norse vartha (beacon) and simply means Beacon Hill.

Yorkshire Placenames is organised in handy chapters covering different areas of the country - the York area, the Dales, and the East Riding - and there is an index at the back so you can turn straight to the place you are interested in.

And if your interest goes beyond mere place names, there are sections on streets and the names of rivers, mountains, hills and dales as well. Here are just a few that caught our eye:

Malton - a number of possible origins for this name, but the one we like most is the suggestion it derives from the Old English 'maethel', meaning a formal speech often given to a council, plus tn. Malton could thus mean 'village of endless formal discussion'. Quite right - have you ever sat in on a town council meeting?

Raskelf - a nice one, this. The name probably comes from the Old English 'r' meaning roe deer and the Old Norse 'skjalf', or 'sloping ground'. So Raskelf means 'Roe deer slope'.

Pocklington - probably 'farm of Pocela's people', from the old English name Pocela plus 'ing' meaning 'his followers' plus tn. But also possibly - and more sinisterly - 'town of Puccla', from the Old English 'pcel' or 'goblin'. Goblinstown? Be careful next time you're there!

Whenby - spelt Quennebi in the Domesday Book, this probably comes from the Old Norse words 'kvenna' ('of the women') and 'by' or settlement. So Whenby is the 'settlement of the women'.

York - Yes, we all know this one already: but here it is again just for those who don't. The Anglo-saxon name of this splendid city was Eoforwic. Some people apparently mistakenly thought this meant 'boar territory' from the Old English 'eofor' or 'wild boar' - but Mr Wright thinks the derivation is different. Eoforwic, he believes, is just an early English corruption of the city's Roman name, Eboracum. Whatever, the Vikings turned Eoforwic into Jorvik (their J being the same as our Y) and this over time became York.

River Ouse - a common name, from the Old English 'se' or 'water'. There are at least eight River Ouses in Britain

River Nidd - a lovely name for a river, probably from the Celtic word root 'nei' meaning 'brilliant, shining'

River Wharfe - 'winding river', from the Old Norse 'hvefr', meaning 'winding'

Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate - I knew you would ask. Pretty obvious, really - it was probably the site of an old whipping post or pillory, the name deriving from the obvious, plus the addition of the Old Norse 'gata' or street.

Jubbergate - and finally, an interesting (as well as shaming) historical footnote. Originally called Bretegate or 'street of the Britons', this became Ju-Bretgate when Edward 1 expelled Jews from the city and they settled here. Corrupted over time to Jubbergate.

Yorkshire Placenames by Peter Wright is published by Dalesman at £3.99 and is available from most good local bookshops.

Updated: 10:59 Wednesday, April 11, 2001