Place Names and Heron

When I moved here, I was curious about some of the names of the towns close by. The closest on, and within walking distance, as long as you like walking, is called Tow Law. I did some research and quite simply it appears to mean “Settlement on the Hill” or “Town on the Hill” As there has been a settlement there since pre Roman times, the name appears to be derived from very old English.

It is interesting to note that while this is south of the Roman Wall, Hadrian's Wall, it was never fully under Roman Control. Not least because the people were miners, and traded the lead, zinc and copper, with the Romans but never allowed them to rule them. There is a still a degree of this independence in the local area too. However it was the question of the name that had me puzzled, and finally I had it cracked, Tow Law means “Settlement on the Hill” while the word Tow developed to the word Town.

The next nearest Town is a Market Town called Crook. That name does not mean its full of villainous criminals, but is derived from it being built in a “Crook” of the River Wear. The spacing of Market Towns within the landscape are a useful way of measuring distances as they are more or less spaced twelve miles apart. This was decided upon during the Dark Ages, as it meant that it was close enough for a peasant to walk to and back in a day and meant that each market was not creating unfair competition. Wisdom we could learn from today, but that’s a whole other posting.

Crook is the Closest Market Town to where I live, and its also the main hub for transport for and to other towns including Durham City. Last weekend when going into Durham, I noticed that on one of the buildings there were a number of birds that were going back and forth with nesting material. Today, I was able to take a closer look, and the building has been constructed with nesting spaces just under the eaves of this modern bank building. I have heard of this happening, and it doesn’t require any greater expense or effort but ensures that birds don’t loose nesting spots as we make buildings more energy efficient. It probably the first time I have felt good about a bank for the last few years.

The picture was taken last week when I was in Durham.