By Nicholas Rhea

THE Eskdale village of Fryup has been in the news due to its rather curious name. A group of activists known as Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has suggested the name sounds too like a hearty English breakfast, and has asked for the name to be changed (even on a temporary basis) to something that sounds healthier.

In fact, the name has nothing to do with the frying of food. It is an ancient name believed to be derived from two elements. First is the name of an Anglo-Saxon princess called Friga, and the second derives from hop, meaning a small valley.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, Fryup was known as Frehope and by the 14th century it had become Frihop. We must remember that the language spoken locally during those times would be very different from our present English accents; it would be a type of Scandinavian-based dialect, perhaps incomprehensible in modern times.

People who want to interfere with our traditional village names might be interested in Whaw and Booze in Arkengarthdale – Whaw derives from Kiwawe, which meant an enclosure near the fold where, oddly in our times, sheep were milked.

In the 14th century it was known as Quagh, and a similar name was the forerunner of Whenby, near Sheriff Hutton. In the 11th century, Whenby was known as Quennebi, this changing over the next four or five centuries to become Quenebi, Quenby and Qwheneby. By the 15th century it had become Whenbye and now Whenby. Names from a similar source are Quernhow and Wheldrake, the latter being known as Queldryk in the 13th century. I’m not sure whether the County Durham village of Quebec is from this source but it may have links with the mining industry and Canada.

Some County Durham village names are worthy of inclusion here – Shiney Row, Pelaw, Seldom Seen and even Spennymoor, along with the best of them all – Pity Me. This is probably derived from the old Norman French for small lake, i.e. petit mere, which has been corrupted into Pity Me. I understand that a small lake once existed there.

The suffix -by is often an indicator of a farm and there are scores of local towns and villages whose names end in this way. The forepart of their names, however, often indicate a person. For example, Asenby near Topcliffe derives from Eystein’s Farm, Baldersby means Baldhere’s Farm, Maunby means Magni’s Farm, Sinderby means Sindri’s Farm and so forth.

As most of us know, one of the most common suffixes to towns, villages and localities in Yorkshire is dale.

This has Scandinavian origins as dael or dalr and refers to a valley. It can appear in some meanings so obvious as Deepdale while rivers may give their names to dales such as Eskdale, Teesdale and Swaledale. There are some curious names too such as Bungdale, Whisperdales, Hard Dale, Nettledale and Anserdale. The suffix also crops up in County Durham names such as Croxdale, Dalton-le-Dale and Dinsdale.

With Newby literally meaning a new farm, Newby Wiske would indicate a new farm near the River Wiske. Wiske derives from an old Gaelic word uisge that means water, hence whisky from uisge beatha, which means the water of life. Some of our other river names also come from the same source, e.g. Ouse and Esk.

Another common part of our local place names is keld. This means a spring, the water that flows from a spring or the headwaters of a beck or small stream. It comes from an old Danish word kilde and appears in place names such as Keldhead, Keldholm, Hallikeld and, of course, Keld itself. This is one of the highest villages in England, being more than 1,000ft above sea level and surrounded by the fells, moors and crags of upper Swaledale. From this area, several streams send their waters down to swell the infant Swale, so the name is perfect.

The suffix -thorpe comes to us from an old Danish word torp which meant a village. Very occasionally, it appears alone and I came across such a village name in recent research. It was somewhere in Yorkshire and was visited by a bishop from York in 1349 but I have yet to find its location. Most Thorpes have either a suffix or a prefix, such as Thorp Perrow, Thorpe le Willows or Thorpe under Stone but there are lots with prefixes such as Coneysthorpe, Fylingthorpe, Langthorpe, Ugthorpe, Nunthorpe and many more.

The prefix coneys might suggest rabbits to some readers who might therefore wish to change it but in fact it means king. Coneysthorpe near Castle Howard therefore means the King’s Village, and it also appears in Coneythorpe near Knaresborough and Coney Street in York. It may also have prompted the names of Conisborough and Cold Coniston, also in Yorkshire.

Owls come back

In recent weeks there has been good news about some of our bird species. Buzzards seem to be thriving and expanding families and their territories. Indeed they make frequent appearances in the skies above our village where their mewing cries alert us to their presence. They soar above the fields and woods, seeking prey such as voles and rabbits, but also by clearing up carrion, and taking reptiles and earthworms. Shortly before compiling these notes, three buzzards soared above our village, a welcome sight.

Another species that seems to be thriving is the barn owl.

As a youngster living in a moorland village, I was accustomed to the silent white shapes of barn owls flying at night but as an adult I realised their numbers were dwindling. It was very rarely that I saw one. Their decline was attributed to the modernisation of the old barns and buildings they used both as nesting sites and living quarters, but also the increased use of pesticides which entered the food chain of several species of owls and birds of prey, and thus poisoned them.

Barn owls feed mainly on small mammals which they catch at night; these include voles, mice and shrews along with rats, bats and frogs. Small birds might also be taken by barn owls, even to the extent of having their roosts raided by these night-time hunters.

This success is due to the action being taken by landowners, farmers and conservationists who are ensuring the owls have access to nesting sites such as strategically placed nest boxes. These are vital to their future and it does show that humans can give a helping hand to the wild colleagues that live around us.

Squirrel Hunting Day

And finally – this coming Sunday, November 30, is the feast day of St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, but it was also known as Squirrel Hunting Day in Kent. In our enlightened world of this northern region, such activity may now be restricted to owls, birds of prey and four-legged predators.