@namestudies.bsky.social, @englishplacenames.bsky.social, @logainm.bsky.social, @placenames.bsky.social, @ainmean-aite.bsky.social, @placenamesni.bsky.social

Names in tūn (modern -ton) are so extremely common that they might seem tedious, but they can reveal a great deal about what was important to people in the past, and how places and resources were used.

Old English tūn, pronounced ‘toon’ and originally meaning ‘enclosure, fence’, crossed the North Sea with the Anglo-Saxons as they settled parts of Britain from the fifth century onwards, though its heyday began some three centuries later and lasted until after the Norman Conquest.

Tūn: From rustic fence to urban sprawl - SNSBI This story explores the ways in which Old English tūn was used in place-names and traces how tūn developed from a word meaning 'enclosure' or 'fence' to become the most commonly used element in Englis...

Today's name story is 'Tūn: From rustic fence to urban sprawl'. It is written by Nigel Suffield-Jones and Diana Whaley.
For more information, see www.snsbi.org.uk/exploring-na...

We enjoyed meeting you and glad you are inspired by names! :)

@namestudies.bsky.social, @englishplacenames.bsky.social, @ainmean-aite.bsky.social, @placenamesni.bsky.social, @placenames.bsky.social, @logainm.bsky.social

It is written by Professor Carole Hough of the University of Glasgow (www.gla.ac.uk/schools/crit...)

A tale of three Easters - SNSBI Place-names are not always what they seem! This tale of three place-names containing 'Easter' – from Scotland, England and Polynesia – shows how different and surprising the origins of apparently simi...

Place-names are not always what they seem! This seasonal name story 'A tale of three Easters' provides a salutary reminder of that. It traces the contrasting origins of three apparently similar names from Scotland, England and Polynesia. www.snsbi.org.uk/exploring-na...

And finally, Jeremy Harte shared 'Elves, devils and eccentrics: fictive senses of 'church' in English place-names', concluding a super range of talks and activities in Suffolk.

An excursion to Long Melford and Lavenham followed...

Abigail Lloyd gave a comprehensive overview of watery names and island sites - a comparison of Cambridgeshire, Ely and Essex.

Keith Briggs presented on the River Deben.

Peter Kitson shared his ideas on the British river-name list of the Ravenna Cosmography.

The outreach team shared developments and asked for feedback on the new website, name stories, and social media activities.

On Sunday morning, Jennifer Scherr talked about bridge names in Somerset.

Finally on Saturday, Keith Briggs introduced some street-names from Bury St Edmunds, prior to a walking tour later in the evening.

Chris Lewis shared Fashions in personal names and social mobility in late Anglo-Saxon England.

Shaun Tyas gave a presentation on the name of Redburga, queen of Ecgberht (802-839).

Paul Tempan talked about borrowing from abroad in Belfast street-names. Was Commemoration, marketing or other motivation?

Then @aofionnagain.bsky.social shared 'The fields of Athlone: town park and field names outside the walls'.

After lunch, Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich entertained us with Nicknames in working-class Wexford. Is this tradition likely to continue?

Following, @Eilidh NicGilleRuaidh shared her report on Gaelic place-names in Scotland - see www.ainmean-aite.scot

Now, Thomas Clancy shares 'A county of contrast: settlement names in Ayrshire'. See ayr-placenames.glasgow.ac.uk. Cunningham, Kyle, Carrick areas. Names containing Scots 'toun' largely have surnames as specific elements. Why are ' toun' names in the Kyle area different? Are they later?

Next, Lyn Boothman introduces prominent surnames, kinship, and stability in Long Melford. Agriculture and textile manufacturing. A family history for a place. Changes due to migration, infant mortality, local industries, changes in the Poor Law.

Edward Martin, landscape historian, shares place-names in a post-royal landscape - Rendlesham after Rædwald. Lordship and Landscape in East Anglia AD 400-800 (2024), Rendlesham and the East Anglian Kingdom. Pangle (1647 will) 'fenland', walk 'sheep pasture', went 'furlong' - complicated landscapes!

Now Gavin Smith speaks about Social systems analysis and English place-names: example of cultural hegemonies of Kings Æthelberht, Rædwald and Sigeberht. Hãm, -ingas (one in each hundredral centre in west/central Surrey), stede names: models suggest exonyms surviving in legal land docs.