Settlement Association

[Calthrop]

I like Latin mottoes on settlements' coats-of-arms; for me -- the more vacuous, the better. Wilmslow's is Nobis Habitatio Felix = "a happy dwelling-place for us". That of Sevenoaks, Kent -- which settlement showed up a couple of days ago -- is, appropriately enough, Floreant Septem Quercus [Latin grammar here a bit dodgy, I suspect -- more-learned scholars than me, might advise] = "may the seven oaks flourish". (Seven acorns are also pictured on the Sevenoaks c.o.a. shield.)

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Chevening in Kent was also once administered by the Hundred of Codsheath.

 

[Calthrop]

An echo of another matter occurring here a couple of days ago -- and apologies for the "thing" which I appear to have about my bete-noire, Jane b****y Austen; who seems to crop up in a million and one localities in the "southernmore" parts of England. Chevening is no exception, if in a very convoluted way: tangled stuff involving J.A.'s second cousin, and her father's uncle, who both had to do with the place. She also surfaces one way or another, re the Isle of Wight (which I believe she visited at some point) -- in Northwood, I.O.W. (between Cowes and Newport) there is a minor road called Chawton Lane -- the annoying lady of course spent the latter part of her life in Chawton, Hampshire; but so far as I know, the abovementioned throughfare has nothing to do with the mainland settlement, or the literary-creative person. (I know that this is a bit of a "non-association".)

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Aberdare in Rhondda Cynon Taf also has a church that is dedicated to St John the Baptist.

 

[DerekC]

In the mid 19th Century Aberdare was the scene of a major dispute between two ministers, one Anglican and one Nonconformist, about the impact of the Welsh language on local culture and morals. Jon Griffin, the Anglican, claimed that Welsh speaking encouraged immorality and bad behaviour, Thomas Price taking the opposite view. Griffin gave formal evidence to a government inquiry into education in Wales on the subject, demanding that the Welsh language be officially suppressed. Local feeling (stoked by Price's sermons and public meetings on the subject) became so high that Griffin was moved by the church to Merthyr Tydfil to escape the difficulties his presence was creating.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Cilfynydd in Rhondda Cynon Taf also lies on the line of the River Taff.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

All of the following were born in William Street, Cilfynydd:

• Merlyn Rees (1920–2006), politician
• Geraint Evans (1922–1992), opera singer
• Glyn Davies (1927–1976), international rugby player
• Stuart Burrows (born 1933), opera singer
• Rhys Britton (born 1999), Commonwealth Games cyclist.

Of the ones no longer with us, Sir Geraint Evans died in Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth at the age of 70 on 19 September 1992.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Neath in Port Talbot Neath also has the site of a Celtic hill fort within its environs.

 

[Calthrop]

Neath is located on the river of that name. Scholars of these matters, suggest that the name may come from the Indo-European root -nedi : simply meaning "river". Possibly in like case, is the River Nidd in North Yorkshire. (Instances, if so, of the phenomenon involving various languages: of watercourses in Britain which can be seen as effectively being called -- redundantly and perhaps absurdly -- the "River River".) Lofthouse (North Yorkshire) lies in upper Nidderdale.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

The village of Lofthouse is is the principal settlement in the civil parish of Fountains Earth, which also includes the northern part of the village of Wath.

 

[Calthrop]

There are several "Waths" (some with elaborations on the name) in northern England. Another just plain Wath, is in Cumbria -- five miles east of Tebay.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Wetheral in Cumbria also lies on the line of the River Eden.

 

[John Griffiths]

The Labour politician Hugh Dalton, Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Attlee government, was born in Neath. He was briefly, in 1925, MP for Peckham, and from 1935 to 1949 for Bishop Auckland in County Durham.

 

[John Griffiths]

Wetheral's parish church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity and St Constantine. Another church dedicated to St Constantine is to be found, appropriately enough, at the village of Constantine in Cornwall.

 

[Calthrop]

Just west of Constantine village, lies the hamlet of Brill. There is in Buckinghamshire, another settlement named Brill: larger than the Cornish one, and I would reckon, better-known (not only to standard-gauge-light-railway fans ).

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Brill's name is tautological, being a combination of Brythonic and Anglo Saxon words for 'hill' (Brythonic breg and Anglo Saxon hyll). The name attracted the attention of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE FRSLJ, who based the Middle-earth village of Bree upon it. J R R Tolkien died on 2nd September 1973, aged 81, in Bournemouth, Hampshire.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Alkrington in Greater Manchester also has a church that is dedicated to St Thomas More.

 

[Calthrop]

A feature of Alkrington, is Alkrington Woods Local Nature Reserve; which includes a lake where kingfishers may often be seen. Another good spot for this bird species is the RSPB Reserve at Middleton Lakes, near Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire -- a little way south of Tamworth.

 

[John Griffiths]

Henley-in-Arden , Warwickshire, also lies on the Heart of England Way.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Morton Bagot in Warwickshire was also once administered by the Hundred of Barlichway.

 

[Calthrop]

Washington, Tyne and Wear, also has a church dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

 

[John Griffiths]

Heston in west London also shares its name with a motorway service area (Washington services on the A1(M), Heston services on the M4).

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Scrattage in Middlesex was also once administered by the ancient Hundred of Isleworth.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

I'm unable to find any real information about Scrattage, other than it is now part of Osterley.

 

[Calthrop]

We've had part of this one before, re Osterley: one of the Sultan of Brunei's several residences in Britain, is the Aviary Farm, Osterley. Brunei has had historically, a complicated relationship with Britain; involving inter alia, "our taking various bits of the country off them" -- including Sarawak, featuring the famous "White Rajah" of same, James Brooke (1803 -- 68). With this gentleman's having retired from Rajah-ing and gone back home: he died in Burrator, Devon -- some ten miles north-east of Plymouth.

 

[DerekC]

Burrator Parish Council owns the Royal Oak Inn in Meavy, one of the small settlements in the parish. In the same way the Parish Council in Longparish, Hampshire, now owns the Plough Inn - in that case after local residents ran a campaign to prevent its being turned into a residence.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Burnage in Greater Manchester also has a church that is dedicated to St Nicholas.

 

[Calthrop]

Born in Burnage, was Martin Lings aka Abu Bakr Siraj al-Din (1909 -- 2005): we learn, a renowned Islamic philosopher and Shakespearean scholar (via Wiki, we come upon some characters with intriguingly improbable combined avocations). This gentleman died in Westerham, Kent.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

There is a statue of Sir Winston Churchill on the village green at Westerham. It was sculpted by Oscar Nemon (1906 – 1985) and stands on a base of Yugoslavian stone, the gift of Marshal Josip Broz Tito. Another of Oscar Nemon's works is a statue of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, which is situated in the grounds of the Tavistock Clinic in Hampstead, North London.

 

[Calthrop]

In Hampstead, near its Heath, is the much-loved Spaniards Inn. Kinsale, Co. Cork, has a similarly-named bar / restaurant: the Spaniard.