General Chat

Hi folks Some interesting replies. Must admit that it seems that some sources differ, which is all to common in anything to do with History Jim Mine has Gosport as a market town where geese are sold Fareham is a homestead where ferns grow Tracy Ipswich is a harbour or trading centre of a man called Gip Dee xx

I live in Albury Herts I have been told the name comes from the burial ground nearby that dates from the great plague

Have just googled Hayle... Hayle (Cornish: Heyl) is a small town in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is at the southern end of St Ives Bay, on the estuary of the Hayle River. Its name derives from the Cornish heyl, estuary. Formerly it was important as a fishing town and as a transshipment port for tin and other industrial products. ... Maz x

Thanks Paul, I was about to ask for Gawcott.

Malc My book shows Albury as 'old or disused stronghold'. There does seem to be anecdotal evidence of different meanings for quite a few places, historians often disagree it seems. Dee xx

Epsom comes from Ebba's Ham or Hamlet - I think in Saxon times. Ebbisham is another derivative and can still be seen in Epsom today in the name of the library building - the Ebbisham Centre. Sue xx

I live in Fishponds which is a district of Bristol. The local abbey dammed the river Frome to make ponds to provide their Friday fish - no real mystery. The ponds still exist but you would be lucky to find anything more than two inches long. I did not know about Snottingham, must tell my son. I once came across a competition to find the most inappropriately named city which was won by Buenos Aires. I wonder if any where in England beats New Castle.