Jump to content

Where Do The Estates Get Their Name?


mickjj

Recommended Posts

OK some are obvious Firth Park is named after the park. But what is the history behind the naming of "Parson Cross", Handsworth, Attercliffe etc? Anyone have theories or facts?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK some are obvious Firth Park is named after the park. But what is the history behind the naming of "Parson Cross", Handsworth, Attercliffe etc? Anyone have theories or facts?

I seem to remember Bayleaf is good at answereing questions like this, and that he has a book which explains a lot of local place name origins.

I think in another topic I once asked about the origins of the names Wybourne, Arbourthorne, Gleadless etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK some are obvious Firth Park is named after the park. But what is the history behind the naming of "Parson Cross", Handsworth, Attercliffe etc? Anyone have theories or facts?

Or Mark Firth who donated the park! lol

I recall when I was at Colley School on the Cross - our careers teacher Mr Wright told us a story that it was the point where two vicars used to meet on horseback as they travelled ministering to their flocks!

Attercliffe - there are prints about of the actual Cliffe which was visable before the industry & housing obiterated it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I recall when I was at Colley School on the Cross - our careers teacher Mr Wright told us a story that it was the point where two vicars used to meet on horseback as they travelled ministering to their flocks!

Attercliffe - there are prints about of the actual Cliffe which was visable before the industry & housing obiterated it!

I have read that in 18th century and before that, there were wooden crosses in some places where people would preach. It is entirely possible that before the victorians built all the protestant churches, that there were informal open air preachers administering to anyone who would listen under prominent trees or crosses.

I believe that at Wisewood there was once a pond where this happened called pond corner. Charles westley was said to have preached under the Big Tree at woodseats, and when the area that is now parson cross was rural and farmland it is entirely possible that there was a cross for just such a purpose. Especially as if you look at the district on an A to Z, there is "parson cross" and a little further north "the Cross" suggesting a cross or at least crossroads.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can solve Handsworth. It is found first in Doomsday Book as "Handswrth". It means the enclosure around the home of Hand. Perhaps the guy had big hands? he he

Other names around the same area are: Bramley = Bramble clearing. Though it could be it was cleared and overgrown with them again. Cinderhill = A dross hill! Perhaps just muddy. Gleadless could be "bright clearing or Kite clearing. Woodhouse is obvious. Ballifield = Balle is old Danish personal name so it would be some open land belonging to that person.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Or Mark Firth who donated the park! lol

I recall when I was at Colley School on the Cross - our careers teacher Mr Wright told us a story that it was the point where two vicars used to meet on horseback as they travelled ministering to their flocks!

Attercliffe - there are prints about of the actual Cliffe which was visable before the industry & housing obiterated it!

I like the story about the parsons, however as all true blue Sheffielders are aware, it's Parson Cross, not ParsonsCross, so some doubt there!

Cliffe in a placename can mean just that, but it also means a piece of sloping ground, as in Endcliffe, Greystones Cliffe etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did read something about the origin of Parson's Cross in some book by Addy. But it didn't make much sense to me. Something about it was part of the land of some religious order and Knights Templers who put these "cross" up. Then there was a law to stop them doing it. But S. O. Addy can be a bit like that with his explanation of names.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always been lead to believe that Herdings got it's name because it was formerly cattle grazing farmland.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is of course this, http://www.sheffieldindexers.com/Memories/CherishedMemories_OldPlaceNamesProbablyMeanings.htm which lists the more common place names, but not the more obscure.

Hope that it helpls.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the short answer is NO ONE KNOWS. Plenty of theories and heresay but there are so many that non can be taken seriously enough to be considered accurate.

For example I now know of 3 explanations of the origin of Fulwood?

It's either:

  • A Wood that is err Full?
  • An Anglo Saxon wet marshy woodland

or

  • A place where Roman's washed fleeces

Either one of them is correct or they are all wrong. I might come up with my own!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

only one I knew of :

It is more likely the Lancashire place name of “Fulwood” near Preston derived its name from an old English name of “Foulewode” meaning a fowl smelling wood.

I think they mean foul smelling wood and the same definition applying to Sheffield as well as Preston.

I think the short answer is NO ONE KNOWS. Plenty of theories and heresay but there are so many that non can be taken seriously enough to be considered accurate.

For example I now know of 3 explanations of the origin of Fulwood?

It's either:

  • A Wood that is err Full?
  • An Anglo Saxon wet marshy woodland

or

  • A place where Roman's washed fleeces

Either one of them is correct or they are all wrong. I might come up with my own!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the short answer is NO ONE KNOWS. Plenty of theories and heresay but there are so many that non can be taken seriously enough to be considered accurate.

For example I now know of 3 explanations of the origin of Fulwood?

It's either:

  • A Wood that is err Full?
  • An Anglo Saxon wet marshy woodland

or

  • A place where Roman's washed fleeces

Either one of them is correct or they are all wrong. I might come up with my own!

I think the woodland one, as in your and Richard's posts is the one I've come across most. Must admit the washing fleeces is a new one on me Mike. On the other hand it might explain the 'Washer Lands' up the Mayfield Valley!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Probably not from "foul smelling" wood. More likely a wood that was foul to walk in, IE: lots of mud, is my understanding of Fulwood.

Fulling mills were common in the 13th Century, the Roman name is far fetched. A Fulling mill was a waterwheel that dropped a large hammer on to the sheep's wool. This got rid of grease, of course it was a smelly and dirty operation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fantastic

I now have FIVE derivations of Fulwood:

  • A Wood that is err Full?
  • A Smelly Wood (Happy to reserve that for the Lancastrian side of things :))
  • A Boggy/Muddy Wood
  • An Anglo Saxon wet marshy woodland
  • A place where Roman's washed fleeces

The Roman one came from the word Fullo which apparently was a Roman cloth launderer? Sounds like a PC name for a washer woman!. I suspect that came out of the fact the Long Causeway is close, and as Bayleaf has pointed out the Washer lands of the Mayfield add some type of credible link - but that's how we convince ourselves isn't it? consequential links to make it plausible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think you can rule out the Roman word. As few Roman words such as that type, get used in place names. Roman place names are not that common, except of course the main Roman settlements, even then they get changed by later cultures. Many people think that the Roman Road names, such as Watling Street, come from the Roman names of them. In fact they are from Old English or others forms. And the word "street" is what they called this strange pathway. We have no idea what the Romans themselves called these "streets". They might have called them X or XI etc!

It's very unlikly that a Roman Washer woman, would have been remembered by any of the later population too. The Roman way of life tended to be ignored. Only the Christian religion kept it going.

I think you can reduce it down to two reasons for the name. Since the use of the word "full" to describe a wood would be pointless to the native population, you can get rid of that idea. The Bog/mud and marsh are the same thing. So that's one of the two explantions. The Smelly one being the other. However you can take it one step further, since marshland can produce smelly gas. So Fulwood is just a wood with a smelly marsh in it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think the Roman origin can be taken seriously, despite evidence of Romano-british occupation in the area. The boggy wood is entirely plausible though. There are plenty of boggy areas in the valley now. Bung a few more trees in and we'd be back to square one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back to the topic, (well, nearly), this is from the early 1920's

Anyone pin it down more exactly?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

found this one,any ideas. widnes estate

new one on me! Widnes I've heard of, but not an estate. :huh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...