32 UK Towns With CRAZY Names (Americans React)

[@WanderingRavens]

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[@robertlawes522]

knob= old english for head (so one for his knob - as the bonus point for turning up the jack in the card game cribbage) - slag=waste from smelting iron or tin - so slagford would the place the wagons from the iron works crossed the river

[@DPYROAXIS]

Prat is like IDIOT "You stupid prat"

[@DPYROAXIS]

I live how you make up your own histories

[@DPYROAXIS]

@@robertlawes522 now knob is mainly for door handles or electronic panels "knobs and dials" and also an uncommon word for penis. I never knew it was also a word for head but people get called dickheads and knobheads meaning the same thing. Slag and slut here pretty much mean the same thing and Slag still keeps its old meaning. There is a teansformer called slag (the triceratops).

[@DPYROAXIS]

Lastly, sod is mainly used for in the non sodomy way. If someone does something and fails or not right you might call them a silly sod "you are wearing odd socks you silly sod". It 8s also 8n some lyrics of a Christmas song, good king wenceslas. In his master's steps he trod Where the snow lay dinted Heat was in the very sod Which the Saint had printed Therefore, Christian men, be sure Wealth or rank possessing Ye who now will bless the poor Shall yourselves find blessing

[@andrewbutler7681]

Just to say: before it got used in slang, "slag" was a waste product of metal smelting, so I expect the place-names refer to former metal-refining industries. Oh, and "bottom" just used to mean a valley...

[@WanderingRavens]

Good to know! Thank you!

[@paulqueripel3493]

Two valleys that I know of with "bottom" in the name, Loose Bottom and Big Bottom.

[@annalieff-saxby568]

"Bottom" also used to mean "having substance" - the metaphor is drawn from ships. Dr Johnson once referred to a woman as having "a bottom of good sense". When his interlocutor laughed, he drew himself up and replied "I say, Sir, that the woman was Fundamentally Sensible!" (See Boswell's Life of Johnson). You're welcome.

[@derektighe5131]

Iron was smelted in Sussex in small quantities pre industrial revolution. Slag lane is most likely referring to iron making. Slag, slut and slatten are old English words for an untidy woman or one with a dirty house. By old English I mean 15 century. Many of the words you are looking at are from very old areas. Over 1000 years. Some are viking. You can’t look at current meanings. East gate doesn’t mean gate. It from the Viking Garten meaning road. Aldgate is old road.

[@MrJonno85]

I once worked with an Indian woman who was most amused by the word "bottom" added to the end of surnames. She thought this must have been the result of a medieval punishment, whereby wrongdoers and their descendants had to walk the earth with the shame of a silly surname.

[@philipareed]

In Somerset, near the town of Frome, there is a lane called Dead Woman's Bottom. There was a protest there a while back to do with a new road causing destruction to a wooded area. The local paper, The Somerset Standard actually ran the following headline: Police Enter Dead Woman's Bottom. I am not joking.

[@WanderingRavens]

Gotta love the UK press 😂😂😂

[@marconatrix]

And since we're here, IIRC _Frome_ is pronounced "froom" (at least one Frome is).

[@philipareed]

@@marconatrix Yes, I know. It's seven miles away. BUT. I work in a call centre and nine times out of ten, callers mispronounce it as in 'home'. They can't pronounce Sutton Veny either.

[@jonathangriffin1120]

Frome also has a road called 'The Butts', when I was at school in Frome nearly sixty years ago we were told that the name referred to targets set up for archery practice. Another name that always raises a smile is the sign to 'Friggle Street' on the A362 going towards Warminster, it always makes me think of the activity that took place amongst the rigging on the 'Good Ship Venus'..........

[@pabmusic1]

Bottom or Botham is Anglo-Saxon, meaning "valley" (the low place between two higher places). Butt or Butts is from hillock, treetrunk, cask, archery ground.

[@JDBooker]

the list totally missed out 'Cockermouth', 'Muff', 'Lickham Bottom' and 'Tickle Cock Bridge', to name but a few.

[@brianwhittington5086]

There is a Tickle Cock Fair on for one day at Easter in Conisbrough South Yorkshire. Origins of the name are lost in history. It's now got modern fairground rides but has been going a long time. A well known chat up line by girls to get a date to take them was "I'll tickle your **** at the fair"

[@frogandspanner]

From the innocent mouth of Humph on Clue: "Samantha is off on a tour of the Lake District with a naturist gentleman friend who wants to strip off at Keswick and Cockermouth."

[@Edlar89]

I went camping once in a place called Sandy Balls

[@CrazyInWeston]

Mossy Bottom is a place up in Cumbria.

[@alexhando8541]

@@CrazyInWeston I swear that's the farm in Shaun the Sheep!

[@adamfisher8048]

While in the UK we use metric measures for most things, we still use miles when referring to distance travelled or how far to somewhere.

[@jerrygamblemusic]

In the UK we also use Farenheit when it gets hot, but Metric when it gets cold. (eg It's 90 in the shade / It's minus 3 out there).

[@bubblestarburst4595]

@@jerrygamblemusicmost of the uk doesn’t use Fahrenheit so idk what ur on about lol

[@BasicModelling]

@@jerrygamblemusic Metric? You mean Celsius??

[@jerrygamblemusic]

@@BasicModelling Celsius or Centigrade, whatever you want to call it.

[@meganwagstaff4275]

Oh also im so surprised cockermouth wasnt on there 😂😂

[@WanderingRavens]

I guess we'll be needing a part two? 😂😂

[@jessfreer]

It's at the mouth of the river cocker I believe.

[@danhewett6086]

Will never forget the BBC journalist who tried so hard not to smile 😂

[@aidanm5849]

@@WanderingRavens if you're doing a cities part 2 you should do carlisle, and as it happens I've lived in both carlisle and cockermouth

[@alexhando8541]

@@jessfreer actually it's at the confluence of the river with the River Derwent, but let's not be too pedantic. Monmouth shares the same problem as it's actually at the confluence of the River Monnow with the River Wye.

[@djalice]

Naughty Word Warning!: The most eye opening English street name I ever heard was Gropecunt Lane. The name died out in the 16c but many cities had one or more streets of this name. As you can imagine it was used to indicate a place where you could enjoy the company of friendly ladies to visiting merchants etc. without the embarrassment of having to ask a local. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gropecunt_Lane

[@camerachica73]

Magpie Lane in Oxford was originally called Gropecunt Lane - I always thought the names were changed in the Victorian age of prudishness, but I guess it was a long time before?

[@djalice]

@@camerachica73 That's very interesting. I'll check it out the next time I'm there. From what I read it seems that people weren't as prudish in the past as we think. In fact it seems we are getting more conservative as time goes by. Mozart wrote some very shocking things in his letter's to his Mother and the Greek play 'Medea' from 431BC is one of the most shocking things I've ever seen. I think the Victorian's were a very liberal bunch but maybe we get the prudish impression from the queen who seemed very dull for the times.

[@Polyglot85to90]

I read that one Gropecunt Street in London was changed to Grape Street. Also, Codpiece Alley was changed to Coppice Alley

[@tireeandcoll2603]

Gropecunt Lane in Banbury was changed to Parsons Street

[@djalice]

Suzie Dent gives a short history of The English language's Premier word kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXikk4aqibB5f9k

[@ericcox8252]

A Butt or sometimes standing butt refers to a place where archery was practised usually in medieval times

[@ryledra6372]

It's still used in target shooting (or at least it was when I was in cadets)

[@geoffpriestley7001]

They have shotting butts in the dales

[@yorkshirecoastadventures1657]

That explains a road in Scalby called Tibby Butts. I thought it was a reference to sausage rolls.

[@virtualatheist]

@@ryledra6372 Yep. Still used in the army too. A Range day means spending some of your time in the butt.

[@jerrygamblemusic]

A Butt is a barrel which could be used for liquids or fruit.

[@debbiepoole2247]

Shitterton is a hamlet in Dorset, England. It has attracted worldwide attention for its name, which dates back at least a thousand years and means "farmstead on the stream used as an open sewer"

[@MrGlewYouTubeChangedMyHandle]

I've heard it's twinned with Showerton and Shavington.

[@robertengland8285]

@daro2096 no the previous answer is correct. The steam it sits on was polluted upstream.

[@alexhando8541]

@@robertengland8285 It must be one of the few appropriately-named~inappropriately-named villages in the whole of Britain! Quite literally being the village on the Shitter.

[@BassandoForte]

Where you buy shit buy the ton...?? 🤣 Obviously a place surrounded by fertiliser manufacturers..?? 😜

[@fernweh9316]

I'm still surprised you guys haven't come across the Welsh place name "Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch" yet, I would definitely like to see you pronounce it lmao

[@mathiasosiriswoodhal]

Yeah I was thinking that but new to them so still going through videos love to see them try pronounce it lol still hoping to see it lol

[@dominique8233]

Fanny Hands Lane was named for the wife of Mr John Hands. He was a land owner in Lincolnshire who married Frances and named the lane after her. Frances is often shortened to Fanny or Fran for females and Frank for males.

[@WanderingRavens]

Really?! That's quite the background! I''m sure Mr. John Hands meant well 😂😂

[@ledger4321]

One of the first cooks on British TV was Fanny Craddock.

[@boredsund]

Fanny is still quite a popular name on the continent.

[@michaelhawkins7389]

@@WanderingRavens Minge means vagina

[@maccladoz]

BONK: The act of sexual intercourse.

[@jerry2357]

ian clark It can be a noun (as you describe) or a transitive or intransitive verb...

[@Gambit771]

Forgive my French here but all I remember from learning it in secondary school was où est la bonk. I don't think bank is spelt that way in French though.

[@Hali88]

yes, "they're totally bonking" is very different from "they're totally bonkers"

[@davidcridge6072]

Bonk, onomatopoeia...a dull bang (sexual)

[@rogerclarke860]

The look on Eric's face when he discovered the meaning of 'minge'....PRICELESS!!!🤣🤣🤣

[@WanderingRavens]

😂😂😂😂

[@selkie76]

8:31 "Hole" in English place names derives from the earlier "Hol" (a leftover from Danish influence on our placenames during the Viking era) meaning a depression or valley. You'll typically find that places with it in their name are low lying, surrounded by hills.

[@ofs82]

"Sluts" also is likely to be derived from the Viking era too, as Slott and Slutt are Nordic words for castle (related to German Schloss)

[@ddemaine]

@@ofs82 According to Rude Britannia (which compiles 'rude' place names in the UK), it's a corruption of the Dutch words for sluice-- "sluits".

[@stevedrake1965]

Slag Lane is probably named after a place where slag was tipped from an Iron foundry

[@andrewdoubtfire4700]

Just so British. “Worlds End - Please drive carefully”

[@p00kaah]

I've been there and you really do need to drive carefully but you made me laugh Mr Doubtfire. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2584246/Its-end-world-Tiny-remote-Welsh-village-called-Worlds-End-communications-blackout-month-storms-brought-phone-lines.html

[@nicolachandler7563]

I used to be a delivery driver and often delivered to a village called Dean's Bottom. The amount of times I had to ring back to base and tell them I was lost in Dean's Bottom was alot.🤣

[@rogoth01themasterwizard11]

lets hope you didn't work with someone called dean, that could have been a bit awkward the first few times you say it :D

[@dayzfallingdownx190]

In England we have the equivalent phrase "arse end of nowhere".

[@robertlawes522]

in wales the place would be called fawddffukawe [pronounced where th(e) fuc(k) are we]

[@redceltnet]

*Britain

[@dayzfallingdownx190]

@@redceltnet I identify as British, but am mostly English with a little Irish. I didn't want to speak for (& possibly offend) everyone.

[@helenwood8482]

The 1 will be 1 mile. We do not use kilometres much.

[@littlemisshappy2002]

The etymology stories have me in hysterics 😂 I have binged your videos over the last few days - your vids have a really warm tone. I love seeing others' reactions to our roads/towns etc

[@joethomas5216]

"I think I've heard of bellend," looks at Eric...

[@WanderingRavens]

😂😂😂

[@brianwhittington5086]

Use the term with some caution Eric, among mates in jest it's a popular insult to trade each other, but to strangers it's provocative. In some parts of the UK, you may hear a stronger insul, that is to replace Bell with Jeb, or use it on it's own. Be prepared to make a speedy exit, if you call someone that, you're comparing them to the same specific part of a stray dog and all it does😝😝

[@brianwhittington5086]

Wetwang in Yorkshire, associated with the late Richard Whiteley, of Countdown quiz show fame. It always raise questions leading to if it was near Leaky Bottom as Wangers is a slang term for underwear/ undercrackers in some parts of the country.

[@kjo78]

Bell end is literally a street away from my house!!😂

[@brianwhittington5086]

@@kjo78 Keep it at that, remember social distancing Kurt lol

[@RACHELTAYLOR7]

There was a stream in Shitterton that was used as an open sewer.Its apparently a really pretty wee town with thatched cottages.The name goes back a thousand years to Anglo Saxon times.There is also a Scratchy Bottom and River Piddle in Dorset.Brokenwind in Aberdeenshire deserves a mention too..

[@justcode2822]

Slag is the glass-like by-product left over after a desired metal has been separated (i.e., smelted) from its raw ore.

[@koalabear2752]

“Twatt” is a place in the Orkney islands. Also I live on one of those roads and the picture in the article is from my uncle who put it online 😂

[@bbj0097]

There is also a place called Twatt on the Shetland Islands - the name is derived from Old Norse meaning a small parcel of land.

[@Theringodair]

"Where are you from?" "Twatt." "Excuse me?' "Twatt is where I'm from."

[@frglee]

slagheaps are common here, slag = piles of rock from mining

[@WanderingRavens]

Good to know!

[@derpimusmaximus8815]

Well, technically that's a spoil heap. Slag is a by-product of smelting (it's what's leftover after extracting the metal from ore).

[@antonymash9586]

@@WanderingRavens There was a disaster back in the 50s I think. A mining slag heap colapsed and wiped out a village school in wales. Kicked up a big stink about mine waste and lead to reforms. I can not for the life of me remember the towns name though.

[@HelmutPolischer]

@@antonymash9586 That would be the Aberfan disaster

[@antonymash9586]

@@HelmutPolischer Than you.

[@grizzlybear3809]

Fanny is used as a name in the UK, but it is mostly the elderly with the name. Also the phrase "Sweet F.A." actually refers to "Sweet Fanny Adams". Look her up.

[@Sylancewillfall]

I love you guys! Absolutely love everything you post and its great to see how you see the UK with the good and the odd! Also as i drive to work every day, i drive past the sign for "fanny hands lane". I spoke to someone who lives there and they have the number for the exact council department because the sign gets stolen atleast once a month!

[@yorkhawk]

I used to live near the village of Stank in Cumbria. The one time we drove through it, it lived up to its name.

[@gracieuniverse]

When someone calls you a prat it means you a bit of an idiot, it’s not super rude and is often used jokingly. Like “Alex fell in the pool, he’s such a prat”

[@WanderingRavens]

Good to know! 😂

[@benkernow280]

Or prat fall as used in comedy

[@0utcastAussie]

@@benkernow280 I used to live next door but one to a Philip Pratt. I thought my Surname was bad (Hovell - Clue... There are TWO "L's" and we apparently originate from the French village of Hauteville).. And... At least my great great... great...Was a famous explorer -Captain Hovell - ( Hovell-Hume) lol

[@speleokeir]

It's because prat is an old word for your bum. e.g a prat fall is when you fall on your backside. If you call someone a prat it's another way of saying they're an arse.

[@grahvis]

Back in the 60s I worked for a wine merchants. We had two customers who lived next door to each other, a Miss Pratt and a Miss Pryke. We often referred to the latter as Miss Prick, the van driver was always nervous in case he slipped up when talking to her.

[@sb1056sb]

Crackpot is 1 mile away not 1km.

[@mattpotter8725]

They've been in France too long!!!

[@tinysrh6812]

I live close to B*tchfield! Also used to live in Oxford where there there are many funny street names- my personal favourite being Crotch Crescent.

[@begin6215]

I cycled through it today 😂

[@jenniedarling3710]

The name Fanny used to be popular way back in Jane Austin's Manfield Park there's a character with this name. No ones called that now.

[@Mark_Bickerton]

Hole and Bottom were often used to describe geographical features, like the opposite of a hill, an undulation or dip in the ground. So if someone called Pratt, owned a large piece of land, one area might be called Pratts top, ( the highest point of his land) and Pratts bottom ( the lowest point of his land) then one or other might be discontinued, thus clouding the origin of the name for latter generations.

[@WanderingRavens]

Thank you for letting us know! We love learning the history behind stuff like this

[@weejackrussell]

We also have surnames like Winterbottom, Sidebottom, Bottom, Bottoms the list is endless .

[@markrichardson3421]

Penistone is pronounced penny-stun. Fanny is also a name in the UK - not really used anymore. There's a film called 'Fanny by gaslight' which has humorous UK connotations.

[@WanderingRavens]

So we did get the pronunciation of Penistone correct? :D

[@welshdragon99]

@@WanderingRavens Yup. Incidentally, there is an automated censorship problem in informatics called either the Penistone problem or the, more offensive, Scunthorpe problem. The problem arises if you just censor certain strings of letters and therefore place names get censored even though they're completely innocent uses...

[@speleokeir]

The first real celebrity chef was a woman called Fanny Cradock. Her husband once famously said "May all your doughnuts look like Fanny's!" Pure smut! www.independent.ie/incoming/incoming_dailyfeed/may-all-your-doughnuts-look-just-like-fannys-26605471.html

[@brianwhittington5086]

@@WanderingRavens As an addition, do you ever watch the motoring show Top Gear ? In one of the shows they are involved in a 24 hour track race in a BMW. The car has sponsorship decals all over it. One of which is Penistone. In several Main presenter Jeremy Clarkson can be seen at the side of the car. He's a local lad from the Doncaster area of South Yorkshire. Penistone is only a few miles away from both of our hometowns. Hes a bit of a controversial practical joker who people love or loathe. In several scenes from that show, Jeremy is deliberately stood holding open the car door or something is blocking out the " tone" part of the logo. I'm sure it's on KZbin so check it out if you can. Hilarious antics if you're a fan or not as Jeremy is often called a Bell End, Penis or other derivatives in jest by his co hosts, fans and leathers alike. Hes a great presenter and often ridicules himself as part of the show.

[@lisastygall9062]

Also, near the town of sandwich in kent there is a hamlet called ham. The local roadsign pointing the way to ham sandwich has "gone missing" several times.

[@georgemacpherson1992]

Lisa Stygall Not that log away from Sandwich there is a place called Deal.

[@andrewbutler7681]

@@georgemacpherson1992 I always used to like it when the station announcers seemed to be offering me a "warmer dill sandwich" when naming three consecutive stations! (Different spellings for the first two, of course.)

[@casinodelonge]

You can imagine how amusing that place where the groundhog thing happens, Gobblers Knob is in the UK.

[@dannydorko7075]

Dutch people live in the netherlands, us brits live in the 'nether regions'

[@WanderingRavens]

😂😂

[@hughmackey7369]

Butts are watering places for horses (butts are water troughs) so butt hole road is watering hole road👍

[@WanderingRavens]

Ah, interesting! Thanks for the extra context :D

[@speleokeir]

Actually "The Butts" more usually refers to archery butts in Britain. It used to be compulsory for all English Yeomen to practice archery in medieval times. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archery_butts

[@myvids1415]

In 1363 a law was passed that made every Englishman practice archery on a Sunday. The practice range was known as "the Butts" and every town had one and the road that led to them would have had that name. www.lordsandladies.org/the-butts.htm

[@emmapark8530]

Or a butt was used as a target for archery

[@hughmackey7369]

emma park, yes a mound of earth behind the target. Also a butt is a rain water container found in old towns for watering live stock 👍

[@svhr1959]

As for Slag lane; slag as a derogatory name is relatively recent (50 years or so), so I would suppose the original/correct meaning of slag would apply. Slag > mining waste or the crud on the top of molten iron in a foundry.

[@robertgrason393]

at univesity i came across a place called upper ramsbottom, made me smile but i was young

[@philipareed]

Shame they got rid of all the Gropecunte Lanes. Yes, that's right.

[@WanderingRavens]

What?! No! 😂😂

[@maryavatar]

Wandering Ravens yup - Victorians renamed a lot of brothel streets.

[@Moricant]

Wandering Ravens They were often renamed Grape Lane; the original version was a reference to prostitution.

[@leedshunk]

It's true that a lot of those were road names rather than place names , but just spend half an hour scanning a map of England and you'll discover dozens of crazy , funny and baffling names - along with many pretty ones too 😎👍🏻

[@pabmusic1]

Many Medieval towns had a Gropecunt Lane (or variants such as Gropecunte, Gropecountelane, Gropecontelane, Groppecountelane and Gropekuntelane) where you could buy the services of a prostitute - usually on the street itself, not in a brothel. They are pretty much all renamed (Grape Lane, Shrewsbury; Magpie Lane, Oxford; a street in the City of London - I can't recall it's present name, but it was near a Pissing Alley).

[@halcroj]

I have a friend who lives in Lewes at 2 Juggs Close! Twatt is in the Orkney Islands and is also slang for a woman's privates. Slag will normally refer to the waste from a mine, as in a slag heap. There's a village in Northumberland called Noplace.

[@hayley591]

'SOD' is also an affectionate nickname for example if I decided to play a prank on my mum or someone older than me they would say 'You little sod'

[@ivylasangrienta6093]

I mostly use "sod" to tell someone to sod off...

[@shinigamitoryuu9574]

It comes from the word sodomy

[@notnotjase7909]

For your next pronounciation video; Altrincham Levenshulme (which has a street called 'The Street With No Name) Hawarden Besses o' th' Barn Caergwrle

[@mikeswift6713]

Interesting mention of Upperthong in your video. I worked in Holmfirth for 30 years, it is in the Holme Valley, the valley of the river Holme, near Huddersfield, Yorkshire. There is also a Netherthong and Thongsbridge within a few miles. Wikipeadia. The name Upperthong may derive from Old English 'uferra' (upper) + 'thwang' (narrow strip [of land]); since there is also a Netherthong, which is situated on lower ground than Upperthong, the names could designate lower and higher strips of land. End Thongsbridge may be a strip of land by the bridge, there is a bridge over the River Holme to this day. This could also explain the Thong as an item, just, of clothing. Michael Swift, Kirkheaton, pronounced Yetton by locals, Yorkshire.

[@steveshephard1158]

A village near where I grew up in Staffordshire is called Tittensor.

[@danlernihan]

Bonks was referring to ‘bonking’ rather than bonkers! 😂 very funny video!

[@WanderingRavens]

Thank you! :D

[@MrJonno85]

The 80s tennis player Boris Becker was referred to as "Bonking Boris" in the UK press because of his sexual adventures.

[@jamesc4999]

There is a map with most of the names and locations on. Edit it’s called Marvellous map of great British place names

[@sophiedrawwater4647]

A interesting bit of information is that Nottingham used to be called "Snottingham" pre the Norman invasion in 1166 - home of "Snotts" but the french (Normans) struggled with the S sound so it was dropped for Nottingham!

[@sallycrane6317]

Butt probably refers to an archery butt ( the target) and hole means hollow so Butts hole lane probably means a hollow in amongst the archery butts. Back in the day it was required that every man practised archery so they could defend against invaders. Where I live there is an area called St Mary's (church) Butts that was used for this purpose.

[@brianwhittington5086]

Spot on Sally. That one is in Conisbrough near Doncaster, S Yorks and i passed it most days. Local paper ran a story about it that you can Google. Sign was stolen on occasions and it was a popular tourist photo spot before it got renamed. It is close to the castle made famous in Ivanhoe.

[@littleannie390]

Slag is also a name for a waste heap from an industrial site or coal mine.

[@WanderingRavens]

Good to know!

[@TomJohnson67]

I live near Shitterton. Yes, it's pronounced exactly as you'd think.

[@christopherdrake54]

I believe shit originally meant filthy or clarted up. I think Chaucer describes a 'shitten shepherd' meaning he was grimy and unwashed etc.

[@diogenesegarden5152]

The history behind the profanity ‘shit’ apparently comes from a naval term derived from when galleys on ships used peat as a fuel to heat food in the galley. It was stored dry in bales and marked ‘Store High In Transit’ or SHIT; as if it got wet, it turned to sh..!

[@diogenesegarden5152]

Ps I’m not too far from Shitterton myself (Weymouth)

[@TomJohnson67]

@@diogenesegarden5152 I was just in Weymouth earlier today. It's a small world!

[@adventussaxonum448]

@@christopherdrake54 Shit comes from the Old English for shit ... more specifically, the runs.

[@peadarruane6582]

Not British...but over here in Ireland we have Bastardstown, there was a proposal to change the name, but the locals all objected. There is also a Muff (slang for female genitalia), and there is actually a Scuba place there, called the Muff Diving School..

[@markrichardson3421]

Suddenly I want to take up scuba diving. - in Ireland

[@WanderingRavens]

'Bastardstown', love it! 😂😂

[@pmc8451]

The reason the Shitterton sign is carved in stone and not a normal town sign is because the normal sign kept getting stolen, it was a right of passage for local youths to nick the sign and so the the council eventually replaced it with something that was harder to steal. The name means something like town on a stream used as a sewer.

[@Peterd1900]

With the name Crackpot that translate as Crow-Hole comes from the Old english Kraka which mean crow and the Viking Pot which means cavity or deep hole. The disatance on the sign to crackpot doesn;t refer to Kilometers. The UK uses miles

[@marktait2371]

dear mate the view from crackpot hall ruins are considered one of the best views in swaledale or anywhere in the dales we intended to go up there but was closed to motors too steep and far to walk abandoned farmstead a must see for many keen rambers view out towards angram and kisdon if clear can see all the way to high birkdale

[@MathewODonoghue]

Near me there is a village called Christmas Pie, it's near Guildford

[@WanderingRavens]

Sounds like a cheery place :D

[@AndrewJLeslie]

My Dad was born there in 1918.

[@MathewODonoghue]

@john smith it's part of the parish of Normandy. It's in guildford borough council but is represented in parliament under woking

[@dorthusiast]

@@AndrewJLeslie Your dad was born in 1918? You must be really old...

[@AndrewJLeslie]

@@dorthusiast if 64 is really old, then yes.

[@buzzardbrother1911]

Thanks for the video, to make up for the two lost ones. In County Durham there is a village called 'No Place', there is also a village called 'Pity Me'. In the city of York there is a place called Lund's Court but it was formerly known as 'Mad Alice Lane', also there is a part of the city called 'Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma Gate. Stay Safe.

[@adrianpetyt9167]

Enid Blyton's Far Away Tree stories originally starred children called Duck and Fanny. Oddly, the later editions call them Ricky and Fran.

[@alexdawson5293]

The next village over from me is the village of Gotham. Whilst its pronounced "Goatham" it apparently did inspire the creator of Batman. It also one had a reputation for being full of crazy people and so the creator of Batman based some of Arkham Asylum on the stories from Gotham. Also, theres a muff lane in northern island with a diving school on it

[@GhostAce901]

The town butt hole road is in, is conisbrough It means the hole in a butt/barrel from medieval times Check out info on conisbrough castle and earl de Warrene that resided there

[@phoebus007]

Fanny used to be a popular girl's forename in Britain. A young girl named Fanny Adams was murdered in 1867. This gave rise in the 20th Century to the saying "Sweet Fanny Adams" as a euphemism for "Sweet F*** All", often shortened to Sweet F. A, as in "I was starving as we had Sweet F. A. to eat."

[@philipmason9537]

Other “interesting” town names are: Cockermouth, Willey, Sandyballs, Cocking, Lickfold, Fingrinhoe, Feltwell, Rimswell. Wetwang.

[@soggyoggy8208]

And those all from the Dave adverts

[@madyottoyotto3055]

I will add cruddington

[@samsonhorner1487]

I'm surprised wetwang isn't on.

[@ChrisPage68]

Ugley and Nasty. Near each other on the Essex-Hertfordshire border.

[@hayley591]

Butt hole road is in Conisbrough where I live, it's a street name and has already been renamed! Also about Conisbrough we have a famous castle :D

[@brianwhittington5086]

I remember years ago it was a popular photo stop for tourist coaches, the sign has been stolen in the past too. In the 1980s/90s I worked for the vehicle rental company at their repair workshop on the crossroads. I passed BHR every day testing repaired vehicles and often saw dozens taking photos. The name is a reference to where medieval villagers and soldiers at the castle were required to practice archery, butts being the targets and earth mound enclosure they were placed in.

[@tonycasey3183]

There's a great book by Caroline Taggart called The Book Of English Place Names: How Our Towns And Villages Got Their Names. It's very interesting and informative

[@Moricant]

Moving away from the more biological names, there are two adjacent villages in the Cotswolds named Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter. And as interesting road names were included, York infamously has Whip Ma Whop Ma Gate, while Hull has the Land of Green Ginger.

[@WanderingRavens]

Oh my, dare I ask what the history of Upper and Lower Slaughter is? 😥

[@Moricant]

Wandering Ravens It’s actually fairly boring IIRC - an archaic spelling of “slough” or something. It sounds marvellously dramatic to modern ears though.

[@dang5554]

Your faces reading that rather graphic description of the word 'minge' had me in hysterics. Minge is one of those words utilised in small town Britain for comic effect. As are 'crusty', 'spam javelin', 'gunt' etc..

[@mitochondriaph6936]

In the uk many old signs are put on rocks do don't worry about laughing at somebody's gravestone

[@04nbod]

Yeah its a medieval tradition of town markers. A giant old stone will do, this is where they town begins

[@jumpferjoy1st]

"Dumb Woman Lane" is between Rye and Winchelsea in East Sussex. The late and great Spike Milligan lived along there. Spikes grave is in the Winchelsea Church grounds with "I told you I was ill!" in gallic on the stone. P.S. Both Rye and Winchelsea are must visit places for history and Rye especially for Cream Teas.

[@helenchelmicka3028]

Best epitaph ever!

[@helenwood8482]

Fanny used to be a popular diminutive of Frances. Now never used, because of the connotations.

[@rebeccaleeson6805]

Way back in the 1300’s (I think!), England’s armies were greatly strengthened by archers who used the English longbow. To fire a longbow required great strength, as they were difficult to bend. At one stage there was a law which insisted that all English men of fighting age must practise archery daily in order to ensure that there were enough bowmen for a war. Every town had a place to practise archery and these were called butts. I expect Butt Hole Road is the road that led to the butts in that town. In my home town (Bicester in Oxfordshire), there is a lane called Crump’s Butts.

[@KD-wm5po]

‘Butt’ is an American expression.

[@dazzanomas9418]

Also used in the Rhonda Valleys and some surrounding area's in South Wales when asking someone how they are. For example, "how you doing Butt". The word Butt meaning friend and not arse.

[@jonathanconnor8190]

I think Sodbury means Sod = grass and Bury = Hill. Sodbury means a hill with grass on it.

[@wrorchestra1]

Dumbbell also has the same route. People used to go bell ringing to keep fit, eventually some rich folk had the bell ringing equipment fitted to their houses but with weights on the end rather than a bell. As it didnt ring, it was called a Dumb-Bell

[@andrewcoates6641]

Not a town or village name but in York there is a place called Whip- Ma -Whop-Ma Gate which is the name for a road that pierces the old fortified city walls hence the many streets in the UK called NorthGATE, or NewGATE and other similar road names, even if the city walls have long gone.

[@125pheonix]

I live in a town call “Scunthorpe” take a look in the name for a certain 4 letter word

[@XNY_Music]

Thor?

[@monicawarner4091]

@@XNY_Music . 🤣🤣🤣

[@hakarthemage]

Just FYI it's pronounced "Pen-iss-ton" (ton like the unit of weight)

[@slightlyconfused876]

There is a tiny hamlet called Piddle In The Hole, Many road named were named after the profession that was carried on there in the middle ages so numerous towns had a Gropecu** Lane until recently when they were renamed.

[@simonsaunders8147]

It is mentioned in a quirky rhyme of local village names: Upton Snodsbury, Peopleton and Crowle North Piddle, Wyre Piddle, piddle in the hole Wyre Piddle has a real ale brewery which has made Piddle In The Hole, Piddle In The Wind, Piddle In The Dark and Piddle In The Snow - 'to piddle' is 'to pee'.

[@Rozco50]

The Butts were usually located on the margins of villages or towns on common land. Definition: The word Butt is derived from the Anglo French word 'bouter' meaning to expel. Which sort of shows why butt became slang for backside.

[@maryavatar]

Search for ‘Irn Bru fanny ad’. Y’welcome :)

[@WanderingRavens]

That was great 😂 thanks for that.

[@jillhobson6128]

@@WanderingRavens Read Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. One of the best lines in literature "Where's my little Fanny?"

[@Bungo_the_Gimp]

The 1 on the "Crackpot" sign is for 1 mile not kilometre

[@WanderingRavens]

Oh!! Are UK signposts in miles?

[@Bungo_the_Gimp]

@@WanderingRavens yes all signposts in the UK are in miles. In mainland Europe all the signposts are in kilometres. This often gets confusing for tourists when travelling to either place.

[@meganwagstaff4275]

Yeah i noticed they seem to be wrong about our measuring system because in a pervious video they thought we measured our hights in CM and we dont. We use feet and inches.

[@pjschmid2251]

Megan Wagstaff the UK seems very conflicted about using the metric system.

[@Westcountrynordic]

@@meganwagstaff4275 I use both cms and Metres and feet and inches but use Kgs for weight

[@barryfowles-zl5ib]

Next time Monica Lewinsky is visiting England, she might want to visit, Cockermouth and Staines.

[@YangSing1]

People in the UK don’t call dogs bitches in general, because it’s so heavily associated with its other meaning. But I think bitch is still technically the word for female dog in the whole English speaking world.

[@duncanwyer2460]

A Butt is the name of an archery target !

[@cefngwyn]

In England a shooting-butt often took the form of a long turf embankment, against which longbow targets would be placed, designed to minimise the effects of overshooting. It is possible that 'Butt Hole Lane' was driven through one of these ancient embankments.

[@DoctorAkikoFukuwara]

I am a PhD candidate and a 5th Dan martial artist and instructor and it seems I am so immature because this is some funny shit 😂😂😂

[@WanderingRavens]

Right? 😂 We don't normally get a laugh out of this sort of thing, but these names were hilarious 😂

[@DoctorAkikoFukuwara]

Forgive me guys if this is has been explained elsewhere in the comments. Streets like: "Slut's Hole Lane" are remainders from old Medieval street names and were red light areas in Medieval times. In fact there used to be several Gropecunt Lanes in the UK but all were renamed to spare peoples blushes.

[@frankbrodie5168]

There's a lovely little hamlet called 'Maggieknockater' in the highlands of Scotland. And up in the same area, whilst not a rude name or anything, is a gorgeous village almost on top of a mountain. Which consists basically of one street and is called 'Dallas.'

[@grahamtravers4522]

My grandfather's local pub was "The Three Cocks" (cockerels), commonly known as "The Cocks". Pratt is a surname, as in "Pratt and Whitney" engines, so Pratt's Bottom would just be low-laying land that belonged to someone called Pratt.

[@davidtalbot941]

Crackpot is a village in Swaledale, Yorkshire. The name refers to local limestone caves ("pots"). The distance on the sign is a mile, not a kilometer...

[@WanderingRavens]

We never know when to use miles or kilometers when in the UK. 🤦🏻

[@gillchatfield3231]

@@WanderingRavens All road signs are in miles. If you're into running, distances are usually kilometres, eg 5k, 10k. But marathons are in miles!

[@richt71]

They missed one of my favourite towns I frequented a lot as a kid Cockermouth!

[@WanderingRavens]

Oh no! I guess we might have to do a part two haha 😂

[@Lydia.Callaghan]

I’ve been to Cockermouth...they have a beer called Cockerhoop😂

[@dorthusiast]

@@WanderingRavens Possibly the most famous one - Cockfosters. It's a suburb in North London and the terminal of the Piccadilly line :) Btw I believe it comes from: cock - cockerel (rooster), fosters - adopters so basically it used to be a farm where people adopted roosters.

[@alangknowles]

@@WanderingRavens and parts 3 & 4...

[@lancejacksonclapham7934]

Just so you guys know slag is a by-product in the process of smelting metal. Also on sighs the 1 after the name is the distance but we use miles instead of kilometers. Kilometers are only really used for outdoor maps. And with the crackpot I believe it's in yorkshire, a pot in the yorkshire Dale's is a vertical cave system for example Alum Pot.

[@scottmcmurray3233]

One of the main tourist streets in Edinburgh is Cockburn Street. Pronounced as Coburn Street.

[@joshdadswell1085]

10:40 I live in Sussex, South East England, near Upper Dicker, and sure enough there is also a Lower Dicker. The place name is derived from the Middle English word "dyker" which means "ten" as in a plot of land for which ten iron rods were paid in rent. Hope you find this helpful.

[@EddersGTI]

I live down the road in Polegate, we call Upper and Lower Dicker, the Dickers.

[@mmigesh4735]

I had a foreign friend who used mock Italian pronunciation: Polly gahtay.

[@gmdhargreaves]

Minge is the main lady part, aka gash, flange, poonarni

[@WanderingRavens]

Oh! So it's more than just the grassy bits?

[@Mark_Bickerton]

dont beat around the bush...Axe-wound!

[@gmdhargreaves]

Wandering Ravens If there’s grass on the pitch, let’s play?!

[@lorrainequinn]

@@WanderingRavens😂😂😂😂😂

[@alangknowles]

@@WanderingRavens A contraction of micturate.

[@tonycollins7965]

Slag is also a term for the material that forms on molten metal. it is full of impurities and is NOT wanted in the product. So the 'slag' is skimmed off before the metal is used. It usually then put in a dump near the foundry in which it is produced. Hence Slag Lane. There are also villages with Piddle in the name such as 'Wyre Piddle'

[@royboy6890]

Believe it or not, that Slag Lane sign was changed in the late 60s due to complaints from people from Liverpool who moved to the area. It was actually called Slag Alley. Seems like the local council told the newcomers that it was being changed to shut them up.

[@Jneedstostopobssessing]

My grandmother was called Fanny - wasn't short for anything. It had definitely gone out of fashion in the UK. To bonk is to have sex, BTW.

[@frankbrodie5168]

Fanny tended to typically be the shortform of Frances. Or very occasionally Stephanie. In fact, the Japanese name translation website translates Stephanie to 'Sutefanii.

[@Jneedstostopobssessing]

@@frankbrodie5168 the Japanese translation is more to do with how the Japanese language works. But yes, it was usually an abbreviation. Just not with my grandmother - Fanny is on her British birth certificate

[@markfudge5642]

Pen is stun

[@WanderingRavens]

Is that the correct pronunciation? That's different from what we thought!

[@markfudge5642]

@@WanderingRavens It how I would say it, with my Yorkshire accent .

[@brianwhittington5086]

I think it depends on where you are from in S Yorks or over in W Yorks etc. Here in Rotherham area, we tend to say it more Pen-hiss- ton or tun, with no pauses, rather than Penny-stun /ston. Subtle differences that only a local would spot if you were from Doncaster, Rotherham, Sheffield or Barnsley -who seem to have their own Yorkshire dialect to the rest of us. Around here you don't seem to hear anyone except foreign or non locals pronounce the E on the end as in Stone. I did once hear that the stone referred to millstones or milesstones in some way. Perhaps theres a common connection to the nearby village of Midhopestones too ?

[@markfudge5642]

@@brianwhittington5086 Should of said West Yorkshire (Leeds). Where 25 miles can make a big difference in accent.

[@brianwhittington5086]

@@markfudge5642 Ha Ha, yes Mark I know what you mean, have friends from Leeds. I'm on the very edge of Rotherham , towards Doncaster/ Barnsley. We sort of have a milder form of the De-Dar Sheffield dialect, where Barnsley have a totally different version, even though they're only around 8 miles away from me.

[@alessia0064]

Crackpot is a village in Swaledale, North Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the Old English kraka (a crow) and the Viking word pot (usually a cavity or deep hole often in the bed of a river, but in Crackpot's case it refers to a rift in the limestone).

[@eddyharris2372]

Shitterton is a town. The sign was replaced with the stone sign in the picture as people kept stealing the original metal sign and they got tired of replacing it all the time.