Gloriously Odd Town Names

To start out, I thought I would change the name of the blog because...well, I was bored with the other name (which I chose hastily, for lack of a more clever title). Mind the gap is a phrase the Brits use to mean "watch your step". There are "mind the gap" signs posted all over the Tube stations and train stations. It is a typical British phrase, putting something just a little differently than we do. T-shirts with "mind the gap" written across them are popular. Then, there is, of course, the physical gap between us and those of you who read this blog, so...Bob's your uncle (another way of saying, "there you have it"). Now on to the Gloriously Odd Town Names... On our recent trip to Dover I had some time to kill while I waited for Rhett and the kids to finish up "extreme" hiking on the famous white cliffs. So, as is habit, I reached for a book. The only book available was an English atlas we had with us. I turned the page to the area we live and was lazily looking over the names of towns around us, when I saw Six Mile Bottom. What a great name! So I looked some more and kept finding these wonderfully wierd town and village names. Searching out these odd towns has become somewhat of an obsession, and has amused me for a few months. It doesn't seem too hard to figure out how some of these towns got their names, but for others, I am just left with a puzzled look on my face. I thought I would share some of the names I have found and hope it amuses you as much as it has amused me. Itchingfield Burnham-on-Crouch Bath (the cleanest place in England) Womenswold St. Just-in-Roseland (get him outside of Roseland and he trades his halo for horns!) Herodsfoot Crumplehorn Blubberhouses (but they have lovely personalities) Budge's Shop Botusflemming Notter (is that even English?) Slapton Boohay Coffinswell (is it, though?) Combeinteignhead (I am sure this is Olde English for "I got the comb stuck in my hair again") Budleigh Salterton (note to Jamie Melin: sounds like a great name for a little boy, and you know none of the other boys in school will have the same name) Beer (a real "man's" town) Great Weeke Rumps Point Headcorn (it's where the hair style "corn rows" originated) Denton Lower Peover Upper Peover Cross o' th' Hands Bunny (now that's just cute!) Hose Breedon on the Hill (stay away from that hill on Saturday nights!) No Man's Heath Sheepy Parva (by far, my favorite!!!) Barton in the Beans Blaby (we just can't stop talking about how great this town is) Bitchfield (the female version of being "in the dog house"??) Needingworth (a town full of people with self esteem issues) Upton Snodsbury (which is located right next to ...) White Ladies Aston (my second favorite :) ) Dummer Three Legged Cross (huh?) Droop (a town with less energy) Oxenpill (imagine the size of that pill!) Butleigh (which is next to...) Butleigh Wooton (so nice they named it twice) Hand and Pen Inkpen Hopes Nose (it's sooo green here) Newton with Scales (you laugh, but not everybody has scales... it's something to brag about) Much Hoole (again, huh?) Locking Stumps Ramsbottoms Turton Bottoms Dunnockshaw Love Clough (sounds like Celtic ebonics) Triangle (lol) Upperthong Netherthong (kind of put off by Upperthong, yet absolutely afraid of Netherthong) Holyland Nether Whatstandwell Near Cotton (a new form of polyester that's softer than before) Netheravon (where under achieving Avon ladies are sent; incidently, they are now accepting special cases from Mary Kay and Amway) Mary's Hoo Dumpton Broadstairs (now, them are braggin' rights) Bapchild Tong Goodnestone Old Wives Lees Upper Harbledown (say that ten times fast) Rough Common (not an easy place to grow up) Ratling Sandwich Barfestone Paddlesworth Bossingham (don't you hate it when your pig starts ordering you around?) Three Chimneys Smarden Bell Smarden (I don't get it) Pluckley Thorne *these next four towns are all close to each other* Dymchurch Newchurch Ivychurch Woodchurch Baldslow (who needs Rogaine when you can live here?) Barking Thong New Barn Locksbottom Elmer's End Tooting Tooting Bec Much Birch (but few oak) Much Dew Church Cross Ash (what you have left after a cross fire) Crickadarn Powderham (just add 'Waterloo', or the next town) Canworthy Water (water fit for watering the garden or rehydrating powderham) Broadwoodwidger (sounds like the name of a racehorse) Minions Portwrinkle Crafthole London Apprentice (it's a thankless job) Barripper Westward Ho! (seriously, it even has the exclamation point after it) Hole Sheepwash (sheepwax is extra) Virginstow (hummm?) Chaddlehanger Harrowbarrow (home of Henny Penny, Chicken Licken, Turkey Lurkey) Frogwell (yes, he's fine, thank you) Luckwell Bridge Four Forks (but no spoons) Swimbridge (doesn't invoke feelings of confidence) Wookey (the hometown of Chewbacca) Catsgore Little Load (is right next to) Long Load Tintinhull Odcombe Curry Mallet Burnworthy (the people weren't that impressed with this town from the get go) Axmouth (yikes) Exmouth (yeah, that used to be my mouth but we broke up) Jack-in-the-Green (as if a Jack-in-the-box isn't scarey enough, there's one waiting to pop up out of the grass) Lower Upcott Uplowman Craze Lowman Otter St. Mary (ooookay) Downhead Temple Cloud (just lovely) Chewton Mandip (an exclusive town, for members only, of female cannibals) Evercreech Beer Hacket Hamlet Piddletrenthide (obviously didn't hide it well enough if the whole town knows about it) White Lackington (don't tell anyone from the ACLU) Piddlehinton Hillbutts *these next five towns are all in the same area* Tolpuddle Puddletown Affpuddle Briantspuddle Turners Puddle Overcombe (where Donald Trump grew up) East Creech *these next three towns are all in the same area* Over Wallop (when your mom hits you just one more time because you made her so mad) Middle Wallop Nether Wallop (the wallop of no return) Well, I have more but I also have four kids, a husband, and a Kayla to feed, so I must go make dinner. I'll post some more from time to time.