WORCESTERSHIRE certainly has some weird and wonderful place names, some of which may be memorable for the wrong reasons and draw a nervous giggle or even a stern scowl.
From places that sound like something from a fantasy or fairytale (think Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter), to some rather (to our modern ears), rude-sounding names, here is a short guide to some of the peculiar place names in Worcestershire.
But before you wash your mouth out with soap and water or put a penny in the swear box, consider that many of these words, though sounding vulgar (even taboo) to us now, have a more innocent origin, reflecting how language has changed and evolved over the centuries.
HISTORY: Not all place names that sound rude mean what they mean now, including Minge Lane (Image: Newsquest)
(1) Bell End, near Hagley: This village shares its name with slang for part of the male anatomy, often used as an insult directed against someone behaving in in an idiotic manner.
However, the origins of the name are not as rude as you might first think. The village gets its name from an old bell tower which once stood at the end of the main road, or from the prominent “Bell Hall” manor estate built in 1847.
(2) Wyre Piddle, between Evesham and Pershore: The name sounds like slang for a mundane bodily function. But it’s not an attempt at toilet humour. The roots of the name go back to the word Wyre which originated from the Celtic word gweyr meaning river and the Old English ‘pidele’, meaning marsh, fen or small stream.
Many of ‘rude’ names do not mean what you think
(3) Minge Lane, Upton: The name always draws giggles as a rather vulgar term for part of the female anatomy. However, it’s origin has nothing to do with this modern slang. So you can use it with impunity, provided you put ‘Lane’ on the end. You are sharing nothing more than your deep and abiding love of curious English place names.
The word “minge” had an entirely different meaning historically. In Middle and Early Modern English, the verb “to minge” (or “ming”) meant to mix or mingle. So now you know, there’s nothing remotely funny about the word ‘minge’.
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(4) Upton Snodsbury, near Worcester: Whenever I hear this name, I picture a haughty and quintessentially English gentleman in a top hat and a monocle looking snootily down his nose at all in sundry and insulting me in impeccable Latin. The name Upton is from the Old English upptūn, meaning ‘settlement higher up’.
IDYLLIC: Upton Snodsbury near Worcester has one of the stranger sounding place names in Worcestershire (Image: Google)
Meanwhile, the Snodsbury comes once again from the Old English, this time from Snoddsburh or Snodd’s fort.
(5) White Ladies Aston, near Worcester: This village has a more wholesome sounding name than others on the list. The origins of the name are equally wholesome, deriving from two distinct historical elements. The first part identifies land owned by white-robed Cistercian nuns, while the second traces back to an Anglo-Saxon farming settlement.
(6) ‘The Woo’, slang for Worcester: Although this rather toe-curling nickname is not an official term for Worcester, some people in the city do use the term. The nickname is apparently also used by people in Worcester in Massachusetts. Within Worcester itself ‘Brickies’ is often used to describe the area of the city known as Brickfields and ‘Tolly’ for Tolladine.
(7) ‘Detroitwich’ or ‘D-Town’: This playful, tongue-in-cheek nickname is sometimes used by locals on platforms like Reddit. If you haven’t heard or used this term to describe Droitwich, you are probably very old and ought to be exploring taking up residence in a nursing home very soon where you can lament the deterioration of the English language.
Honourable mention: Cockshot Lane, near Dormston
