Barf
(Photograph by Ann Bowker, from Wikimedia CC) \u00a0Please note the white object up on Barf\u2019s side.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I bought a book on English place names\u00a0during a prior trip to England when we were in the Midlands, and it has given me a great deal\u00a0of pleasure. \u00a0I mean, how can you possibly top village names like Upper Piddle<\/em> and Lower Piddle<\/em>? \u00a0Or Lickey End<\/em>? \u00a0Or Letch Lane<\/em>? \u00a0(Is that Lois\u2019s disreputable brother?)<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once you get the hang of them, it\u2019s fun to make additional such names up, to operate as a kind random generator. \u00a0Here are a few of my own hasty creation:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sodding Chumbury<\/p>\n
Bishops Lolly<\/p>\n
Preston Waddlethwaite<\/p>\n
Monk Binglethorpe<\/p>\n
Dander-on-Slamsbottom<\/p>\n
St. Bilge\u2019s Cross<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I bought another small book on the subject here, on this trip. \u00a0One focused specifically on toponyms in the Lake District. \u00a0By far, most of the names in this area\u00a0have their origins in Old Norse.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I\u2019ve found another favorite: \u00a0Barf<\/em>.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Barf is a fell, or barren mountain, in the northwestern part of Cumbria\u2019s Lake District.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
And closely\u00a0associated with\u00a0Barf is a famous feature called\u00a0Bishop\u2019s Rock<\/em>\u00a0or, even better, The Bishop of Barf.<\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Bishop of Barf is\u00a0a seven-to-ten foot high whitewashed pillar of rock at an elevation of about seven hundred feet on the stony lower slopes of Barf\u00a0that is clearly visible from the road between Cockermouth (the birthplace of Wordsworth) and Keswick, which we drove just this afternoon. \u00a0It marks\u00a0the spot where, according to local legend, the Bishop of Derry\u00a0was killed in 1783 by a fall from his horse, having\u00a0drunkenly wagered that\u00a0he could ride up the hill. \u00a0Both the Bishop and his horse, which apparently died in the same accident \u2014 although there is no reason to believe that the horse was as plastered as its master \u2014 are said to be buried near a much smaller stone, the Clerk, at the base of Barf. \u00a0For many years, the Bishop of Barf\u00a0was whitewashed each year by staff at the nearby Swan Hotel. \u00a0But then the Hotel was converted to apartments, so the whitewashing is now carried out by members of Keswick Mountain Rescue.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Posted from Brockwood Hall, Cumbria, England<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 I bought a book on English place names\u00a0during a prior trip to England when we were in the Midlands, and it has given me a great deal\u00a0of pleasure. \u00a0I mean, how can you possibly top village names like Upper Piddle and Lower Piddle? \u00a0Or Lickey End? \u00a0Or Letch Lane? \u00a0(Is that Lois\u2019s disreputable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Barf](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/06\/Barf_LD.jpg\")
<\/a>