A Survey of the place-names of the Isle of Axholme, Lincolnshire

Bullen, Kathryn Faye (2024) A Survey of the place-names of the Isle of Axholme, Lincolnshire. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

The thesis comprises a comprehensive place-name survey of the Isle of Axholme, particularly of its minor names, in the style of the English Place-Name Society survey volumes. It consists of an introductory discussion of Axholme, followed by analysis of the names of major topographical features and river-names of the area, with sections of the eight parishes of Althorpe, Belton, Crowle, Epworth, Haxey, Luddington, Owston and Wroot then arranged alphabetically. This is supplemented by three appendices: an index of field- and minor names pre-1500, personal names pre-1500, and a glossary of elements and their sources for the whole corpus.

The project aims to discover the origin of place-names in the Isle of Axholme and what they can tell us about the historical change to society and culture in north Lincolnshire. It has collected historical forms of place-names from archives in order to build a strong foundation for further investigation. Axholme place-names are discussed as dynamic linguistic artefacts, set against a background of historical, archaeological and topographical evidence.

The study provides valuable material dating back to the medieval period which will enhance the work of local historians and archaeologists working on Axholme history from prehistory to the present day. Substantial alterations to the Axholme landscape, such as those which occurred during drainage and land reclamation in the 1620s, changed it from a predominantly marshy area liable to flooding into productive agricultural land. Consequently, the perceptions preserved in the place-names of Axholme may not map straightforwardly onto the modern landscape, but provide an important historical record which may help to inform our understanding of the impacts of changing environmental conditions.

Item Type: Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors: Carroll, Jayne
Baker, John
Jones, Richard
Keywords: place-names, language, history, landscape, Lincolnshire, Isle of Axholme
Subjects: D History - General and Old World > DA Great Britain
Faculties/Schools: UK Campuses > Faculty of Arts > School of English
Related URLs:
Item ID: 77421
Depositing User: Bullen, Kathryn
Date Deposited: 20 Jul 2024 04:40
Last Modified: 20 Jul 2024 04:40
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/77421

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