The English Place-Name Society (EPNS) is a
learned society
A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...
concerned with
toponomastics and the
toponymy of England
The toponymy of England derives from a variety of linguistic origins. Many English toponyms have been corrupted and broken down over the years, due to language changes which have caused the original meanings to be lost. In some cases, words used ...
, in other words, the study of place-names (
toponyms
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
).
Its scholars aim to explain the origin and history of the names they study, taking into account factors such as the meaning of the elements out of which they were created (whether from the principal endemic tongues
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
, early
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
,
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
,
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
,
Cornish,
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
,
Norman French
Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...
– or others); the topography, geology and ecology of the places bearing the names; and the general and local history and
culture of England
The culture of England is defined by the cultural norms of England and the English people. Owing to England's influential position within the United Kingdom it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate English culture from the culture of the ...
.
History
In 1922 Professor
Allen Mawer read a paper to the
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
about setting up an English place-name survey. He obtained the formal and financial support of the Academy. Within a year he had brought into being a society composed of interested persons, provided it with a constitution and laid down the lines of its future conduct. The headquarters of the Society were first at the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
, where Mawer was Professor of English Language. The publications of the Society began in 1924 with two volumes, a collection of essays and a dictionary of place-name elements. Mawer and Aileen Armstrong acted as General Editors for the annual volumes of county place-name surveys. Starting in 1929 JEB Gover collected material and was sub-editor of the volumes.
In 1929 Professor Mawer was appointed Provost of
University College, London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
and the Society moved there at the end of the year. When World War II came the Society moved briefly to
University College, Aberystwyth, back to London, and then to Stansted Bury,
Stanstead Abbotts
Stanstead Abbotts (alternatively Stanstead Abbots) is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England; it lies on the county boundary with Essex. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,983. ...
in east
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
. In July 1942 Sir Allen Mawer died, and Sir
Frank Stenton
Sir Frank Merry Stenton, FBA (17 May 1880 – 15 September 1967) was an English historian of Anglo-Saxon England, and president of the Royal Historical Society (1937–1945).
The son of Henry Stenton of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, he was edu ...
became General Editor. The Society moved to the
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
until 1946. When Professor
Bruce Dickins
Bruce Dickins, FBA (26 October 1889 – 4 January 1978), a graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge, was Professor of English Language at the University of Leeds from 1931 to 1946 (where he succeeded E. V. Gordon), teaching medieval English and Ol ...
succeeded as Honorary Director the Society moved to the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, and Miss Margaret Midgley (later Dr
Margaret Gelling
Margaret Joy Gelling, (''née'' Midgley; 29 November 1924 – 24 April 2009) was an English toponymist, known for her extensive studies of English place-names. She served as President of the English Place-Name Society from 1986 to 1998, and Vi ...
) was appointed Research Assistant.
When Professor
Hugh Smith assumed the position of Honorary Director in 1951, University College, London became once more the Society's headquarters, with
Margaret Midgley continuing research there until 1953. Hugh Smith produced two new "Elements" volumes and 14 others on county place-names. On his death in 1967 Professor
Kenneth Cameron became Honorary Director and the Society's offices were split between London and Nottingham, where the university provided room for the Library and Archives, as well as the services of a secretary. In 1972 the Society moved completely to Nottingham where it remains at the Centre for Name Studies.
Victor Watts
Victor Watts, (18 April 1938 – 21 December 2002) was a British toponymist, medievalist, translator, and academic, specialising in English place names. He served as Master of Grey College, Durham from 1989 until his sudden death in 2002. He ...
became Honorary Director in 1992 until his death in 2002 when he was succeeded by Professor
Richard Coates
Richard Coates (born 16 April 1949, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and educated at Wintringham School) is an English linguist. He was Professor of Linguistics (alternatively Professor of Onomastics) at the University of the West of England, Bristo ...
.
The Survey has been consistently supported, morally and practically, by the
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
; and from 2005 to 2010 was supported by a large grant from the
Arts and Humanities Research Council
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities.
History
The Arts an ...
.
Research breakthroughs
From the 1960s detailed comparison of distributions of the place-name types which had been thought to be early Saxon – and of archaeological evidence – has produced a re-written interpretation of some. The net effect, statistically, has been to find an original bias towards
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
. This means more names re-attributed, than the reverse, have been shown to be more likely
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
. In particular,
Kenneth Jackson contributed to much of the research, identification and morphology of Celtic names.
[
]
Publications
Traditional county or county subdivision publications
The Society divides England firstly by traditional counties. The vast majority (or more convenient subdivisions) are sequentially covered in 91 volumes of the ''Survey of English Place-Names'' but whose early volumes are less detailed. These are used mainly by scholars and academia. The volumes for the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire and parts of the West Riding are available free of charge on the society's website. In 2016, the Society published its first volume in the "Popular Series", on the county of Suffolk.
Other publications
By 2018 the society had published a range of other books and booklets by category (e.g. field-names), and some county dictionaries aimed mainly at a non-specialist audience.
The Society is publishing a 2010s series of booklets on place-name elements, running in to the 2020s.
Since 1969, the Society has published an annual ''Journal'', which contains essays on various place-name topics.
Substantial citation
EPNS material was used as the basis of ''The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names'', published in 2004.
See also
* English toponymy
The toponymy of England derives from a variety of linguistic origins. Many English toponyms have been corrupted and broken down over the years, due to language changes which have caused the original meanings to be lost. In some cases, words used ...
* Scottish Place-Name Society
The Scottish Place-Name Society (''Comann Ainmean-Áite na h-Alba'' in Scottish Gaelic language, Gaelic) is a learned society in Scotland concerned with toponymy, the study of place-names. Its scholars aim to explain the origin and history of the p ...
* Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba
Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba (; "Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland") is the national advisory partnership for Gaelic place names in Scotland. Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba are based at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on Skye.
History
Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba began as the ...
* Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland (SNSBI) is a learned society of members with interests in proper names, including place-names, personal names, and surnames relating to the British Isles.
The SNSBI is the successor to the Counci ...
* International Council of Onomastic Sciences
The International Council of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS) is an international academic organization of scholars with a special interest in onomastics, the scientific study of names (e.g. place-names, personal names, and proper names of all other kind ...
* ''Rude Britain
''Rude Britain'' (subtitled ''100 Rudest Place Names in Britain'') is a 2005 book of British place names with seemingly rude or offensive meanings. The book () is written by Rob Bailey and Ed Hurst, and published in the United Kingdom by the P ...
'', a book of selected British toponymy
* Richard Coates
Richard Coates (born 16 April 1949, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and educated at Wintringham School) is an English linguist. He was Professor of Linguistics (alternatively Professor of Onomastics) at the University of the West of England, Bristo ...
* Eilert Ekwall
Bror Oscar Eilert Ekwall (born 8 January 1877 in Vallsjö (now in Sävsjö, Jönköpings län), Sweden, died 23 November 1964 in Lund, Skåne län, Sweden), known as Eilert Ekwall, was Professor of English at Sweden's Lund University from 1909 to ...
* Oliver Padel
Oliver James Padel (born 31 October 1948 in St Pancras, London, England) is an English medievalist and toponymist specializing in Welsh and Cornish studies. He is currently Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{authority control
1923 establishments in England
Archaeological organizations
English toponymy
Learned societies of the United Kingdom
Organisations based in England
Organizations established in 1923