Coach Route place name origins.
Most of these come from David Watson’s guide. Some I have found clear contradictions with. Ones with ??? he has no
suggestion and i haven’t yet researched further. - HD
I thought it best to note in a different colour where I'd added information, so you can follow the development of the
research! SS
Ambleside: Amble=person’s name, side= Old Norse (ON)= shieling or summer pasture; Norse name from
Hamel = norse leader's name + saetr = summer grazing
Windermere: Person Vinander’s, Mere Old English (OE) Lake; Norse name Vinander + Saxon mere = lake ;
'Vinandr's lake' from ON personal name 'Vinandr' and OE 'mere';
Wray: ON remote place
Langdale: ON long valley; 'long valley' from ON lang dalr
Brockhole: OE badger sett
Trout Beck: Beck ON stream
Ings: ON Meadows
Staveley OE Staffs or Poles = prob a clearing where staves were gathered (coppicing)
Kendal : Ken from the British (Brythonic Celtic) name of the river Kent. Dale from ON Dale; 'valley of the River
Kent' from ON Kent dalr
Sizergh ?????; the Norse element erg, meaning 'shieling' comes from the Goidelic airidh and would have
been picked up during the Norse occupation in Ireland (Sizergh, Cleator)
Levens After the River, likely to be British as with many river names but no hard evidence as to its meaning;
'smooth-flowing river' from a Br word related to Welsh llyfn, 'smooth'
Foulshaw Moss: Foulshaw uncertain, Moss ON Bog
Lythe valley: ??? Hlith is Norse for sloping hillside
Lindale: Lin = ON Lime tree (Linden), dale ON
Grange Over Sands: OFr or ME (middle English) for a Farm which is remote from the main farm. (part of farm
of Cartmel Priory I think); 'outlying farm belonging to a monastery' from the ME grange. -over-Sands was
probably added in the 19th century when the town prospered as a holiday resort overlooking Morecambe
Bay. The term 'over-sands' may also refer to the ancient act of traversing morcambe bay sands as a means of
shortening the travel distance in the area.
Cartmel: ????
Cark: some debate! Possible B Cumbric for Rock; 'rock' from Br carreg
Holker ??? ON - 'a rising in marshy land' - can’t confirm this
Haverthwaite: Haver ON Oats. Thwaite ON Clearing
Greenodd: ????
Torver : either ON Torfi’s (Shieling) or turf as in cut peat used for building.
Coniston pos Kingston ie King’s village or estate; 'king's farmstead from ON konigs tun
Grizedale: ON Pigs Valley; 'valley with pigs' from ON gris dalr
Brantwood ME probably Burnt Wood ie charcoal making
Coniston Old Man: Can’t find my original reference but I have seen it suggested that it comes from something
like Alt mein meaning High Cairn; Norse alt = high + man = peak / summit; Old Man comes from Br maen
meaning stone
Wetherlam: ???? “Meaning Obscure “ – Geoffrey Leech, Lancaster Uni; “The unique heritage of placenames in
NW England”
Monk Coniston: monastic property; monk - (referring to land belonging to a monastery, usually Furness
Abbey)
Tilberthwaite: ????
Levers water: poss a personal name
Crinkle Crags: crinkle ? crag = rocky outcrop gaelic/Norse; Crag means 'rock' from the Br carreg
Scafell: ON Bald fell
Langdale Pike: ON Peak or summit; Pike means 'peak' from ON pík
Tarn: ON mountain pond or lake; tjorn - 'small lake' → tarn
Harrison Stickle. Stickle ON pointed hill or mountain;
Helvellyn - Coates suggests a Cumbric *hal velyn - "Yellow Moorland"
Fairfield Horseshoe: fair OE fine or lovely.
Elterwater ???; Elter from Norse for swans; 'swan lake' from ON eltr vatn
Skelwith Bridge ????
Brathay : ON Wide river; 'broad river' from ON breiðr á
Rothay: ON Ay = river but Roth?? Possibly trout; 'trout river' from ON rauði á
Penrith : Pen British head or top, Rith poss Cumbric Ford but in old documents you see it spelled Penred ie red
hill which seems much more obvious!