The 31 SNSBI Annual Conference

 The first circular and Call for papers for the 31st annual conference - April 11-14th 2025 - at the University of Stirling has been released. More details on how to book will follow, but be sure to mark your diaries!

Programme for the upcoming SNSBI Spring Conference

The 2024 SNSBI Spring conference will take place from May 10 to 13 at the All Hallows Campus of Dublin City University (DCU) at Drumcondra. Accommodation will be provided by DCU on the Glasnevin Campus. Both are in the northern suburbs of Dublin, easily accessible from the airport.

Call for papers: contributions are welcome on a range of topics, both place- and personal names. If you are interested in giving a paper please email a title and abstract to confsec@snsbi.org.uk by January 25th.

For more information, and booking details, please see the first circular.

The SNSBI Spring Conference 2022 and 2023

 An unfortunate - but sadly necessary - announcement about the Spring 2022 conference, from the Hon. Secretary of the SNSBI

Well, 2022 - online, while 2023 -in-person!!!

The SNSBI autumn conference "Expanding horizons in name studies"

 We’re thrilled to announce that registration for the 2021 Autumn day conference (online), taking place on 23 October, is now open.

The conference is free for SNSBI members, with a small charge of £5 for non-members.

Full programme and booking link : http://snsbi.org.uk/2021_autumn_online.html….

Program

• 09.30 Rhian Parry: Collecting and sharing toponyms in Wales
• 10.00 Katie Hambrook: Promoting public engagement with place-name studies
• break
• 10.45 Susan Kilby: Urban communities, street-names, and challenging histories
• 11.15 Sara Uckelman: Update from the SNSBI outreach working group on schools
• break
• 12.00 Nic Coombey: Finding the field-names of Borgue, Dumfries and Galloway
• 12.30 Aengus Ó Fionnagáin: Community-led collection of minor place-names and the Westmeath Field Names Project 2018–21
• lunch break
• 14.00 Round table: Name studies in Britain and Ireland, 30 years on

The round table will celebrate thirty years since the launch of SNSBI in October 1991. Our panellists will reflect on developments in onomastics over the last three decades in their areas of specialist interest, and will look to the future of the discipline. The panellists are Richard Coates, Peter McClure, Kay Muhr, Simon Taylor, Hywel Wyn Owen, and the discussion will be chaired by Carole Hough.

The 29th SNSBI Spring Conference postponed to 2022

Please note that the SNSBI's spring conference that was to be held at Bridgend in April 2021 has been postponed to 2022: link. 

Further information will follow; the program below is not necessarily valid.

2020 SNSBI Autumn Zoom Conference

 SNSBI

17 October 2020: SNSBI autumn half-day conference (online).

A morning of short papers on personal and place-names of the UK from Keith Briggs, Kathryn Bullen, Thomas Clancy, Clare Green, and Paul Tempan. For those not familiar with Zoom, there will be advice on how to access and use it, and an opportunity for a practice session. Non-members are welcome to attend, though if necessary numbers may have to be limited. The conference is free but booking is essential. Further details on the booking process will follow in a few days.

1000 – 1110 Session 1 – Personal names

Keith Briggs The first girls in England

The words ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ are both of very obscure etymology. Both are attested as personal names before lexical use starts to be recorded about 1300, but whether the anthroponymic evidence is of any value for the history of the words is controversial. This paper points out that ‘girl’ occurs as a byname throughout the thirteenth century, but only in East Anglia. This allows speculation that the word originated in the east, possibly as a borrowing from a continental language heard in the coastal ports. The talk is based on a paper available here.

Clare Green (SOAS, University of London) Naming Welsh-speaking children: case studies from London and Gwynedd

Many factors go into choosing children's names, and for multilingual families there are extra issues to consider. Should the name represent all the family’s languages? How much should it take into account the linguistic environment the family lives in? Does the chosen name predict the language(s) a child will speak as they grow up? This paper looks at two families with a first-language Welsh-speaking parent, living in very different linguistic landscapes: one in London and one in Gwynedd, North Wales. Based on qualitative interviews with parents, it explores how they chose their children's names, the influence of their Welsh-speaking heritage, and how the decisions reflect their linguistic attitudes and practices. This research uses names as a medium to learn about personal experiences of multilingualism and family language policy. This paper is based on research for a Masters dissertation in Language Documentation and Description.

1110 – 1125 break

1125 – 1300 Session 2 – Place-names

Paul Tempan Names in the Irish built environment transferred due to a common function

Abstract to follow.

Kathryn Bullen (University of Nottingham) Axholme – place-names in the marsh

In this talk I will take you on a journey into the bogs and moors of the Isle of Axholme, situated in north Lincolnshire. The presentation will give an overview of my current PhD research, which aims to assess the impact of language, history, and landscape on place-names on the Isle of Axholme. I will explore the background to the project, demonstrate some of the evidence I have collected so far, and ask how what we know of the past can help manage future challenges.

Thomas Clancy (University of Glasgow) Iona's Namescape: place-names and their dynamics in Iona and its environs (report on a new project)

Abstract to follow.

SNSBI Twenty-eighth Spring Conference 2019

Link

This meeting will be held at the University of Nottingham. The program and abstracts are below.

Friday 26 April

• 1930: John Beckett, Laxton (Nottinghamshire): England's last open field village

Saturday 27 April

• 0900 David Parsons, Rolly, Judith and The Snogs: some place-name puzzles from Oswestry
• 0945 Justin Ó Gliasáin, Microtoponyms in the baronies of Offaly East and Offaly West, County Kildare
• 1015 Postgraduate workshop report
• 1100 Jennifer Scherr, Ford names in Somerset
• 1130 Ann Cole, John Blair's clusters and the directional tūns
• 1200 Richard Coates, Naming Shirehampton and the name Shirehampton
• 1330 Fred Puss, Estonian peasant surnames of English origin
• 1400 Peter McClure, The English surname detective: recent encounters with phantoms, doppelgängers, shape changers, impostors and victims of mistaken identity
• 1515 Eila Williamson, Place-names on the Scottish border
• 1545 Mícheál Ó Mainnín and Frances Kane, Scottish influence on the place-names of Co. Antrim
• 1615 Chloé Colla, Field-name evidence in a Lake District parish
• 1700 Liora Bigon, Enhancing place names studies acumen: historiographic reflections between (urban) Africa and Israel/Palestine
• 1730 Rob Briggs, A new lease of life (or three) for understanding the Old English -ing⁴ connective particle?
• 1800 Willian Patterson, The place-name Romanno in Peeblesshire
• 1945 Cameron Lecture: Lesley Abrams, Vive la Différence? Place-names and Scandinavian settlement in England and Normandy in the Viking Age

Sunday 28 April

• 0900 SNSBI AGM
• 0945 Keith Briggs, The surnames of thirteenth-century Ipswich
• 1015 Jeremy Piercy, Mint genealogies: moneying families in late Anglo-Saxon England
• 1100 Mairéad Nic Lochlainn, Project report on Logainm.ie and Meitheal Logainm.ie
• 1130 Pádraig Ó Cearbhaill, Irish place-names associated with death
• 1300 Excursion
• 1830 Conference dinner
• 1945 Thomas Clancy, The names of the parishes of the Galloway Glens
• 2030 Jeremy Harte, You'll never walk alone: haunted roads and goblin names
• 2100 Paul Cavill, A New Dictionary of English Field-Names
• 2115 Book launch: A New Dictionary of English Field-Names, by Paul Cavill, with a wine reception sponsored by the English Place-Name Society

Abstracts

John Beckett (University of Nottingham) Opening lecture: ‘Laxton (Nottinghamshire): England’s last open field village’

Laxton is unique. It is the only village in England which still has a working manor court, protected by legislation (1977). It has never been fully enclosed, and so it offers us an opportunity to studying the pre-enclosure landscape, fields, furlongs, strips and names galore. John Beckett has been researching and advising on the history of the village for thirty years. He is President of the Laxton History Group, and a trustee of the village’s Visitors’ Centre. In this talk he will be telling us something about the village and its history, and also about the current position, where the owner, the Crown Estate Commission, is trying to sell the property but to ensure that the historical traditions at Laxton are maintained.

David Parsons (Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies, University of Wales) ‘Rolly, Judith and The Snogs: some place-name puzzles from Oswestry’

In an undemanding early morning paper, I shall discuss some puzzling place-names from a bilingual border area. In some cases I have solutions or suggestions to offer; in others I am simply looking for help.

Justin Ó Gliasáin (Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge, DCU) ‘Microtoponyms in the baronies of Offaly East and Offaly West, County Kildare’

This presentation will give an overview of my PhD research which focuses on microtoponyms in the Baronies of Offaly East and Offaly West in County Kildare. Details will be given of the overall aims of the project as well as on the sources used to gather microtoponym data. Examples of some of the microtoponyms collected to date will also be given.

Jennifer Scherr ‘Ford names in Somerset’

Abstract to follow

Ann Cole ‘John Blair’s clusters and the directional tūns’

In Building Anglo-Saxon England, John Blair noted that places bearing certain -tūn names tend to cluster together, among them the Burtons and Charltons plus some functional tūns such as Stratton and Drayton. It was too big a topic to cover in Building, so John decided to discuss it in a separate book. He invited me to join him in the project and suggested that I look at the directional tūns (Aston or Easton, Norton, Sutton, and Weston) to determine their distribution and function – if any – in the clusters. Meanwhile we have been on the lookout for other topographical-element-plus-tūn names which might be functional, the prime suspects being hōh-tūn and halh-tūn. By dividing the four sets of directional tūns into DB/parish and post-DB/non-parish groups it has proved possible to get some idea of their function and from what places they take their directional names.

Richard Coates (University of the West of England) ‘Naming Shirehampton and the name Shirehampton’

Using the example of the place-name Shirehampton, I explore (1) the complications involved in understanding the history of a particularly difficult place-name and in the history of the naming of the place in question, (2) some practical consequences of different understandings of the place-name at different points in history, and (3) the historical transfer of this name into other onomastic categories. Some new understandings of the name and its history are proposed. The paper can be taken as a demonstration of the lexical-semantic and phonological difficulties of historical onomastics (and therefore as academically routine), but also in the pleasures of travelling unexpected byways in the history of onomastics and in cultural history. I endeavour to affirm by example, in case it needed to be done, the case for historical onomastics as a discipline which ranges more widely than establishing the etymology of a name.

Fred Puss (Estonian Biographical Centre) ‘Estonian peasant surnames of English origin’

Estonia has historically been under the rule of Denmark, the German Order, Sweden, Poland, Russia, but never under Great Britain. The higher class has since the 17th century been mostly of German, in lesser numbers of Swedish and Russian descent. This is also the reason why in the 1820s and 1830s, when Estonian peasants, after having been recently released from serfdom, during the general name-giving process received very many German surnames in addition to Estonian ones. The peasants were often not asked about their own choice for a surname, but those were assigned by landlords or clergymen. There are a few places in Estonia where surnames of clearly English origin appear. For example, in one area the peasants received surnames like Bastard, Drink, Karpenter, Muddy, Potter etc, in another area Bristol, London, Lieverpohl etc. Several of those surnames are still being carried by Estonians (London by 80 people, Bristol by 41 etc). It is the subject of this paper to discuss how those names came to be, what could be the reason of giving those specific names to peasants and who were the persons who made up those names. Author applies prosopographical-territorial method to find answers to those questions.

Peter McClure (Institute for Name-Studies, University of Nottingham) ‘The English surname detective: recent encounters with phantoms, doppelgängers, shape changers, impostors and victims of mistaken identity’

The experience of editing the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland has brought to light numerous examples of surnames whose deceptive appearances can lure surname historians and etymologists into mistaken conclusions about their origins. This paper illustrates the skills and methods that are needed to identify and unmask a myriad of surname disguises.

Eila Williamson (University of Glasgow) ‘Place-names on the Scottish border’

Abstract to follow

Mícheál Ó Mainnín and Frances Kane (Queen’s University Belfast) ‘Scottish influence on the place-names of Co. Antrim’

The Scottish influence on Irish place-names is most often considered in the context of the Plantation of Ulster from 1609; the settlement of large numbers of Lowland Scots in Ireland from that point is manifest in the presence of Scots elements (such as burn and brae) in the toponymy of Ulster and a further dimension of this influence can be seen in the employment of Scottish surnames in Ulster place-names (see McKay 2009). This paper seeks to establish if there is any other evidence for connectedness with Scotland in the place-names of east Ulster in view of the geographical proximity of County Antrim to the south-western highlands and the early connection between the two countries (going back to the fifth century at least) in terms of a shared Gaelic language. It will consider the elements most commonly found in County Antrim and seek to establish if any of these are distinctive within the Irish context and shared with neighbouring parts of Scotland. It will also look at other evidence for Scottish influence such as the presence of Albanach ‘Scot(tish)’ in place-names and the presence of what might possibly be Gaelic surnames of highland origin.

Chloé Colla (University of Glasgow) ‘Field-name evidence in a Lake District parish’

Abstract to follow

Liora Bigon (Holon Institute of Technology) ‘Enhancing place names studies acumen: historiographic reflections between (Urban) Africa and Israel/Palestine’

Embracing a synoptic perspective, we shall analyse research tendencies in place-name studies (toponymy) regarding sub-Saharan Africa, in light of their wider interference with other area-studies research traditions in toponymy, that is, of Europe and Israel/Palestine. While the last two decades are characterised in a “critical turn” in place-name scholarship and self-conscious engagement with critical theories of space and place, only meagre number of references touches sub-Saharan Africa (and Latin America and Asia). In addition, the recent research is over-concerned with the understanding that place naming reflects the power of modern political regimes, nationalism and ideology. The preoccupation with political power's control over both landscape and history is especially true for publications in English, which tend to be centred on the West and Eastern Europe, with only few geographic exceptions. The Euro-centrism is even enhanced considering the manifested uni-directionality of some of the research, such as that on street-renaming policies in European cities following revolutionary changes of political regimes, often disconnected from bottom-up responses on the part of the urban residents. It is also enhanced because of the classical methodological problem within the field of human geography, of the reliance on maps and gazetteers to study place names, on the expense of participant observation, interviews, and ethnographic methods. Similarly, in the case of the highly ideological and contested environment of Israel/Palestine, the Jewish-Arab conflict has engendered not only a divided and split space along status, ethnic and national lines ‒ but also split place-name historiographies with a remarkable contextual arrogance. By referring to some recent pioneering collective projects in place-name studies regarding the global South and by showing their potential enriching quality in terms of methodology and content, we strive to contribute for a de-Eurocentrisation of toponymic scholarship. This is through pointing on some inspiring and inclusive research directions, highlighting urban histories and colonial legacies.

Rob Briggs ‘A new lease of life (or three) for understanding the Old English -ing⁴ connective particle’

The fixation with chronology evident in a lot of Old English (OE) place-name studies, especially in the late 20th century, has too often been at the expense of due appreciation of the context in which early name-forms occur. Documentary sources have been mined for early attestations without adequate thought being given to their political, legal, or social backgrounds, and what these factors may contribute towards understanding the operative meanings of the name elements in question. So it is with the OE -ing⁴ connective particle, as classified by A. H. Smith more than 60 years ago. Identified as not being among the name-forming elements in earliest use in OE toponymy, it appears to have come into use after the advent of reliably-dated documentary sources in the final third of the 7th century CE. Despite the possibilities this affords for obtaining a detailed understanding of what it signified and why it was used, the particle tends to be translated in a very general manner (“associated with”). This paper will begin by surveying the documentary sources to establish when and where -ing⁴ first came into use in the OE toponomasticon. It will then move on consider the broader context, in particular legal and tenurial institutions, in order to offer new suggestions about the origins and most appropriate translation of the element. Slightly later textual testimony will also be noted that appears to represent either evidence to the contrary or a development in the significance of the -ing⁴ particle within a number of decades of its emergence in the extant documentary record. The research to be reported in this paper is incomplete, and the paper is intended to act as a catalyst for discussion and further research into the issues raised. Ultimately, it is hoped that it will demonstrate the potential for (re)considering certain OE place-name types and elements in relation to the different forms of tenure known to have operated during the Anglo-Saxon period.

William Patterson ‘The place-name Romanno in Peeblesshire’

The name which is now Romanno appears on record in the 12th century, in a grant de terra de Rumanac of land in feudo de Rothmaneic, to Holyrood Abbey (1165). Thereafter there is an alternation generally between Rumanach and Romanoch, till loss of final consonant as is typical of Gaelic place-names in middle to later Scots; Rothmaneic is thus an outlier, the only form containing the apparent first element in full. The name is generally explained on the lines of ‘monks’ earthwork or high status dwelling surrounded by an earthen rampart’ (Scots Gaelic ràth < Old Irish ráith < early Celtic rātis) + manach ‘monk’ in genitive plural). There are many ancient earthwork ‘forts’ and ‘settlements’ on the map, including a particularly impressive one at Whiteside Hill. This ‘monks’ rath’ has long seemed problematical, for reasons including that the francophone linguistic milieu of Holyrood Abbey and the aristocratic grantor would not have favoured such a Gaelic naming for a new property, the lack of any record, tradition, or archaeology supporting the possibility of an earlier monastic presence to justify the name, and conversely that other Gaelic place-names are a significant part of the linguistic mix in the locality. The search for a more satisfactory explanation looks at other manifestations of ràth (or close cognates) in Scotland, at other possibilities for the second element of the name, and at factors that make the location of Romanno rather special. It is in an area where ancient NE-SW and NW-SE routes intersect; where accordingly there was considerable activity and investment by the Roman military; and where important hoards of pre-Roman metalwork including items created far from Scotland have been found. Reflections on this feature of the area prompt a very speculative scenario linking those finds with the more famous hoards from Blair Drummond, Stirlingshire, and Broighter by Lough Foyle, Ireland; and offering a motive for the naming of the River Teith, for which a straightforward etymology has been in plain view but semantically difficult to justify.

Lesley Abrams (University of Oxford and University of Cambridge) The Cameron Lecture: ‘Vive la Différence? Place-names and Scandinavian settlement in England and Normandy in the Viking Age’

Scandinavians established themselves in a number of places outside their homelands during the Viking Age. This lecture will compare how place-names have been used in the construction of historical narratives about two of these locations, England and Normandy. Many factors – some institutional, some ideological – have helped to create contrasting attitudes to the impact of the Scandinavians. My lecture aims to explore these differences, focusing in particular on the role place-names have played in understanding the Scandinavian settlements in England and Normandy and on the forces affecting assessments of their historical value.

Keith Briggs ‘The surnames of thirteenth-century Ipswich’

By 1200 Ipswich was well established as one of the foremost English seaports. The town government produced numerous records which survive from about 1255 onwards, yet nearly all remain unpublished. They are a rich resource for the town’s history, and in this talk I will describe my work on the surnames in these records – town court rolls, recognizance rolls, charters, and deeds, which I have cross-referenced to national records such as the lay subsidy rolls which record many of the same people. The surnames reveal much about social structure, occupations, and place of origin of the local population. Amongst the names are several hard etymological puzzles which I offer to the conference for solution.

Jeremy Piercy (University of Lincoln) ‘Mint genealogies: moneying families in late Anglo-Saxon England’

The institutional cohesion of the minting structure in England during the tumultuous periods surrounding 1016 and 1066 is often used to bolster the idea of an Anglo-Saxon ‘state’. But, what if it was not so much the actions of the ‘state’ or royal administration, but the unity of the family and the persistence of hereditary practices that saved that institution and contributed to this idea of continuity? Through the examination of epigraphic records, this paper addresses familial insularity in the craft of minting. The moneyers operated within a skilled craft and passed on their operations to their progeny for generations until the mints themselves were formally consolidated in the thirteenth century. The naming practices of the moneyers maintained the Anglo-Saxon practices of using the forename element of the father in son’s and grandson’s names long after the practice had started to decline in much of England. The outcome of this was a group of skilled labourers that could respond to political and social upheaval with relative ease because the training and cohesion of their craft was maintained within the family. Therefore, the mints operated under traditional, centuries-long processes which circumstantially supported the historicized argument for an Anglo-Saxon ‘state’. This paper will look at the specific examples of this practice taking place at several different mints in order to illustrate a widespread pattern across the entirety of England for the eleventh century.

Mairéad Nic Lochlainn (Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge, DCU) ‘Project report on Logainm.ie and Meitheal Logainm.ie’

The project report will focus on the outputs of the current phase of Logainm.ie (the Placenames Database of Ireland) and Meitheal Logainm.ie (a crowdsourcing project for minor placenames in Ireland).

Pádraig Ó Cearbhaill (Placenames Branch) ‘Irish place-names associated with death’

My paper will outline some of the common generics associated with death in Irish toponymy, such as various words for burial mounds, graves and tombs, as well as some of the interesting specific elements for fratricide, death, soul and hell. I will consider the terminology from the point of view of distribution and meaning as well as highlighting significant aspects of a number of the names.

Thomas Clancy (University of Glasgow) ‘The names of the parishes of the Galloway Glens’

Abstract to follow

Jeremy Harte ‘You’ll never walk alone: haunted roads and goblin names’

‘‘The names of fierce, fabulous creatures are coupled with wild dismal places’’, wrote Kemble in 1852 and since then we have tended to agree, even if we prefer the tamer word ‘‘liminal’’. But the supernatural presences of medieval toponymy are not so easily shunted to the margins. Streets named after uncanny company can be found even – perhaps especially – in urban areas, making us think again about these goblin qualifiers. Up until now, we have practiced close reading in early place-names by focussing on durable facts and things, such as hills and land-ownership. What should we think of those names which refer to intangible and ontologically dubious entities? Do they represent one person’s strange experience, or the village’s common wisdom about the otherworld? Are we sure that they are literal statements – or are they just imaginative fictions? Puck Path and Hob Lane lead us to some unexpected places in semantic history.

Conference 'Exploring Kentish Naming Practices'

Kent Archaeological Society and the Centre for Kent History and Heritage are holding a conference 'Exploring Kentish Naming Practices' on Saturday 17 November.

Og46 - Michael Berry Lecture Theatre

Category Arts and Humanities

Date(s) Saturday 17 November 2018 (09:30-16:00)

Contact

If you require further information or have any questions about this event then please contact the organisers. 

Registration URL

https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/event-booking/book.aspx?event=183205

Dr Paul Cullen, the well-known expert on Kentish names, will head this exploration of all sorts of naming practices – place, family and trade, an exciting educational event where participants will have a chance to ask about intriguing and unusual Kentish names.

This educational event is a joint venture between the Centre for Kent History and Heritage and Kent Archaeological Society. As well as Dr Paul Cullen, other confirmed speakers are Drs Mark Bateson, Ellie Rye, Barrie Cook and Sheila Sweetinburgh. Among the topics speakers will explore are tavern names, early medieval place names and surnames.

Half of any financial surplus from this educational event will be added to the Ian Coulson Memorial Postgraduate Award fund which is used to support and encourage potential CCCU postgraduates to research Kent history topics.

Northern Names – regional aspects of the names of places and people

Regional Heritage Centre

Date: Saturday 03 February 2018 Time: 10.00-16.00

Venue: Management School Lecture Theatre 3 (marked MAN on campus maps, in area G), Lancaster University

 
The academic area of Names Studies encompasses the history and development of first names, surnames and place-names – with lots of potential for interchange between the three! This event will enable us to explore the depth and richness of some of the recent work in this field which casts light on our developing understandings of the cultural significance of names of places and people.

9.30 a.m.              Assemble Management School Lecture Theatre 3 (tea/coffee is not served at beginning of the day – but is available to purchase on campus*) 10.00 – 10.30      History and Names: Introduction to the Day – Dr Fiona Edmonds, Director, Regional Heritage Centre, Lancaster University
10.30 – 11.00     Recent work of the Lancashire Place Names Society – Peter Iles, Lancashire Place Names Survey
11.00 – 11.30      Coffee/tea & biscuits

11.30 – 12.30        Exploring language and dialect in North-West England through minor place-names – Dr Eleanor Rye, Institute for Name-Studies, University of Nottingham
12.30 – 1.30        Lunch*

1.30 – 2.30          Field-Names in the Lake District – Angus Winchester, Emeritus Professor of Local and Landscape History, Lancaster University
2.30 – 3.00           Tea/coffee & biscuits

3.00 – 4.00          Every Tom, Dick and Harry: the significance of personal names – Dr George Redmonds, author of titles including Names and History (Hambledon, 2007) and A Dictionary of Yorkshire Surnames (Paul Watkins, 2015)
4.00 p.m.      Close of Study Day
 

Fee for this event: £26 (£23.40 for Friends and Patrons of the Centre) (fee includes coffee/tea & biscuits)
Lunch: *Sandwiches/coffee/tea can be bought on the University campus (either at SPAR supermarket, Juicafe, Gregg's or Costa Coffee).  Hot and cold snacks and drinks are also available at Café Republic - or you are welcome to bring your own lunch.
Parking: On Saturdays free parking is available on campus.
How to Book: please book for this event through the University's Online Store here.

Printer friendly details of this event will be available shortly.

Contact: rhc@lancaster.ac.uk

Who can attend: Anyone
Our events are extremely popular and many book up within the first few weeks. We strongly recommend that you book early to avoid disappointment. If you do have to cancel your booking please give us five full working days’ notice and we will happily arrange a refund. Please note that refunds can now only be made via electronic means.  Should you require a refund we will need a note of your account name, account number and sort-code.  Payments originally made by credit card can be reimbursed via the same card details.


The Main entrance to the Management School (LUMS) has been blocked by construction works. Please look out for large signs (with arrows) directing you to the temporary side entrance around the corner, down Grizedale Avenue.
You will now enter the Management School via the Hub Café and proceed up the ramp towards Lecture Theatre 3 (signposted).
We apologise for any inconvenience. Parking on the university campus remains free of charge on Saturdays, but please allow extra time to make your way to the venue - we will start promptly with the first presentation commencing at 10:00 am.
Campus Maps are available online at: http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/contact-and-getting-here/maps-and-travel/maps/

Joint Conference with Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland

Scottish Place-Name Society

Scottish Place-Name Society
Comann Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba

Joint Conferencewith
Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland

November 4th 2017Mitchell Library, Glasgow

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE BOOKING FORM

1030  Registration *

Session 1: 

1100     Irene O’Brien: Glasgow City Archives – sources for people and places

1140     Peter Drummond: Some interesting and local Scots place-names

1220     Alasdair Whyte: Gaelic place-names in Glasgow

1300-1400 Lunch

Session 2:  

1400    Alice Crook: Scottish naming in the early modern period: the Old Parish Registers as an onomastic resource

1430    Katie Cuthbertson: Denotative naming in Scotland 1264 to 1600

1500     Sue Laflin: The surname Laflin

1530     Thomas Clancy: The Survey of Scottish Place-Names

1600  Close

*Morning coffee is not available at meeting room. There is a cafe in Library foyer, and next to Charing Cross station.

Please book well in advance so we can finalise numbers for lunch. Preferably return the tearoff slip by October 30th. Note that acknowledgements will not be sent.

Travel directions: the Mitchell Library is only a short distance from Charing Cross station, first station westbound from Queen Street low level. On emerging from the station, bear ahead right past The Baby Grand and coffee outlets to reach Bath Street, turn left and follow Bath St over the M8 on the road bridge. The Library’s eastern entrance is on the side facing the motorway.

Staffordshire Place-Names Study Day

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/ins/events/2016-17/04-02-2017-staffordshire-place-names-study-day.aspx

Interested in #placenames? Want to get involved in the latest research? Join us for a study day in Stafford on 4th February to find out more.

Location

Staffordshire Record Office

Date(s)

Saturday 4th February 2017 (10:30-16:00)

Contact

Staffordshire Record Office, 01785 278380

Join us at the Staffordshire Record Office for a study day introducing an exciting new volunteer project on Staffordshire place-names, run by the Record Office and the Institute for Name-Studies. Jayne Carroll, John Baker and Rebecca Gregory from the INS will be giving talks, as well as Dr Nigel Tringham, County Editor for the Victoria County History of Staffordshire.

There will also be opportunities to discover research conducted as part of The Place-Names of Shropshire project, and to see some of the documents we'll be using in our Staffordshire work.

Download the booking form and reserve your place today!

Lancashire Place Name Survey Annual Lecture

http://www.snsbi.org.uk/pdf/SNSBI_Newsletter_13.pdf

Lancashire Place Name Survey

Annual General Meeting to be held at Lancashire Archives, Bow Lane, Preston 25 October, 2016.

To commence 18:30

The Annual General Meeting will be followed by the Lancashire Place Name Survey Annual Lecture to be given by Dr Jayne Carroll of the University of Nottingham & the English Place-Name Society on the subject of “Completing the Shropshire place-name survey: landscape, language, history” 

The lecture is open to all. Tickets cost £5 each (no concessions) and must be paid for in advance.

Please note that due to the limited space available, tickets must be purchased in advance. Please send a cheque for the full amount due and payable to Lancashire Place Name Survey to: LPNS, Jennifer Holt, 258 Blackburn Road, Haslingden, BB4 5JF.

All ticket orders must reach the LPNS by Monday 24th October 2016. N.B.The tickets will only be sent out (by second class post) where it is not possible to confirm the booking/ticket number(s) by email. 

Сonference "Names of north-east England and beyond"

http://snsbi.org.uk/2016_Newcastle.html

SNSBI 2016 Autumn day conference  —  Saturday October 15, 1000–1700

The SNSBI 2016 Autumn day conference on Names of north-east England and beyond will be held on Saturday 10th October 2015 at the Stephenson Suite in the Mining Institute, Newcastle upon Tyne (Neville Hall, Westgate Road, NE1 1SE).



The programme will include papers on place-names and personal names, with an emphasis on north-east England and southern Scotland. Speakers are:

• Paul Cullen on locative surnames of Northumberland
• Peter McClure on surnames like Northumbrian Surtees and Del Strother
• Fiona Edmonds on Gaelic place-names and personal names in north-eastern England
• Diana Whaley on the naming of Northumberland forts and castles
• Leonie Dunlop on coastal names of Berwickshire
• Simon Taylor & Alison Grant on names of islands and rocks in the Firth of Forth

The day will begin with a brief introduction to the Mining Institute, and end with a walk around historic Newcastle led by Colm O'Brien. The Mining Institute is in Neville Hall, a Grade-II*-listed Victorian Gothic building 3 minutes walk from Newcastle Central Station. Please note that the venue is on the first floor, presently without lift.
The registration fee, including lunch, is £15 for members of SNSBI, SANT and Explore, £18 for non-members. Please book your place by 8th October by completing this form and sending it, with a cheque, to: Julia Stanbridge, 5 St Edwards Drive, Stow-on-the-Wold, GL54 1AW. The form can also be returned by email to treasurer at snsbi.org.uk. Payment can be made using Paypal below.

SNSBI Twenty-fifth Spring Conference

http://snsbi.org.uk./2016_Maynooth.html

SNSBI Twenty-fifth Spring Conference  —  April 15–18, 2016

The SNSBI 2016 spring conference will be held at Maynooth University. Registration is now open using this form. Please register by November 15.

Maynooth University, a part of the National University of Ireland, was formally established as an autonomous university in 1997. The University traces its origins to the foundation of the Royal College of St Patrick in 1795. The conference will take place on the South Campus, which the University shares with St Patrick's College, a seminary. This campus comprises a relatively compact complex of imposing 19th-century buildings, and will provide accommodation, dining and lecture facilities for the conference in one location.

A postgraduate workshop will be held.

Maynooth is conveniently located 25km west of Dublin, with a regular train and bus service. The South Campus is just a few minutes walk from the train station. Access from Dublin Airport is relatively straightforward.

The cost of the conference, which will include full-board accommodation, is not yet finalised, but should come in below £300 for the full package, including registration fee and excursion. Day delegates rates will be offered for about £25 /€30 (dinner charged extra).

Contibutions are welcome on a range of topics, both place-names and personal names. If you are interested in giving a paper please email a title or abstract to confsec atsnsbi.org.uk.

The Rude British Place Name Quiz

http://www.buzzfeed.com/robinedds/the-rude-british-place-name-quiz#.yxXbvR2Ez

We found some of the rudest, most disturbing place names in Britain, and then made up some of our own. Can you tell the difference?

posted on Sept. 13, 2013, at 5:33 p.m.

Robin Edds

BuzzFeed Staff

1. Which of the following is a small settlement on the Orkney Islands?

1. 1. 
   2. 
2. 2. Correctly identify the former waste tip in Greater Manchester.
   1. 
   2. 
3. 3. Which one of the following is an unfortunately named town in Dorset?
   1. 
   2. 
4. 4. Which of these is a real place in Ross and Cromarty?
   1. 
   2. 
5. 5. Which one of these would you find in the New Forest?
   1. 
   2. 
6. 6. Which one of the following is a residential street in Haydock, Merseyside?
   1. 
   2. 
7. 7. Believe it or not, one of these is a real road in Lincolnshire. But which one?
   1. 
   2. 
8. 8. What do the English call the Welsh village of Aberllynfi?
   1. 
   2. 
9. 9. Richard Whitely was honorary mayor of which town?
   1. 
   2. 
10. 10. Correctly identify the Essex village.
    1. 
    2. 
11. 11. Which of the following is a real place in rural Northamptonshire?
    1. 
    2. 
12. 12. Which one of these is a village located 6 miles from Newcastle?
    1. 
    2. 
13. 13. Which of these is a clifftop valley between Durdle Door and Swyre Head in Dorset?
    1. 
    2. 
14. 14. In which Dorset village did Prince Harry once stay in with his then girlfriend, Chelsy Davy?
    1. 
    2. 
15. 15. Which of these would you find in Stockton-on-Tees?
    1. 
    2.