The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the Coronavirus crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….
Cully
This dictionary doesn’t often mention where words originate from, but does here and notes “a fog or fool: also a dupe to women: from the Italian word coglione, a blockhead”. It’s probably also wrong insomuch as more recent dictionaries explain that the word comes from the Old English word “cullion”, which is a despicable person. It’s a nice word though….
The word was much more frequent in the seventeenth century and it started to die out some time ago.
Although there was a previous church on this site from the Anglo-Saxon period, the current nave mostly dates to the fifteenth century and until relatively recently, the church would have been thatched. What is noticeable is that the chancel is at an angle to the nave, which the listed building record explains is known as a weeping chancel. The chancel was rebuilt in the 1880s (there’s a plan from 1887 here), using stone from the former chancel, likely on the foundations of the old structure.
Ian Hinton, from the UEA although he doesn’t specifically mention Lamas, wrote a document about weeping chances and there seems to be no single reason as to why they were constructed like that. It doesn’t seem that anyone knows why the chancel here is built like this, although Hinton gives plenty of suggestions as to why churches were once constructed in this manner.
The church tower, which was partly rebuilt in the 1880s.
The lean is also visible from the north side, with one of the doors bricked up. Incidentally, this church is sited in a rather tranquil location and it is also located by the peacefully flowing river.
This is a scratch dial, or a mass dial, and since the one at Ingham Church was explained to me by a guide, I’ve started to notice more of them. They are used as a sundial for canonical hours and there would have been a peg in the hole which would have cast a shadow. Having written that though, this one looks quite new and so is probably from the late nineteenth-century renovation.
I thought that this was quite a graceful tree in the churchyard.
Always sad to see stones broken, but at least they haven’t been turned into paving slabs.
The south porch which was renovated in 1977 for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee which the listed building record notes has a coffin lid step.
Sadly, I suspect that the readable element on this stone won’t last much longer.
St. Michael’s Church is strangely detached from the rest of the village, but on this occasion, it’s unlikely that the settlement has moved much, rather the church is on a slightly elevated hill platform.
The tower, which dates from the early part fourteenth century, is the earliest section of the current church, with the nave being added later on during the fourteenth century and the chancel was constructed in the fifteenth century. There was though likely a Saxon church that existed on the site before work started on the current building.
The porch was added in the fifteenth century, with the more modern set-up unfortunately masking the medieval wooden door.
The south side of the church, with the priest’s door visible between the two windows. The church has received a grant in recent months from the Norfolk Churches Trust which will allow for some repairs to the guttering and also work to remove a flock of pigeons that has been causing issues in the tower.
I’m unsure why the east window has been partly bricked-up, I assume it was for structural reasons.
I’ll return to the church at some point when it’s likely to be open (I’ve been able to do that), with the interior being of note, as there’s a mauled about rood screen which was heavily, and badly, restored at the beginning of the twentieth century which is worth seeing. The pulpit has some medieval carving work to it, there’s fifteenth-century stained glass and the font is of a similar age, all along with numerous memorials of interest.
And following on from my visit to Buxton yesterday (the one in Norfolk, not the one in Derbyshire), this is what The Concise Oxford Dictionary Of English Placenames have to say about the origins of the village name.
Buxton, Norfolk. Buchestuna in Domesday Book, Buxstone in 1254. Bucc’s Tun.
Short and sweet, ‘tun’ is a farm or village, so it’s the settlement of ‘Bucc’. As an aside, Buxton in Derbyshire has a different word origin, theirs relates to a rocking stone. There is also the possibility that there wasn’t a person called Bucc, but instead the village was named after deer (or bucks) which might have been kept there.
Following the walk I went on last night, this is how The Concise Oxford Dictionary Of English Placenames explains the origins of the Norfolk village name of Lamas.
Lamas, Norfolk. Lamers in Domesday Book, Lammesse in 1044, Lammasse in 1186. Old English lam- or lamb-mersc ‘loam marsh’ or ‘marsh where lambs were kept’. The first alternative seems preferable.
So, because the word origins of loam and lamb can’t be separated out, the dictionary suggests the two alternatives and thinks loam marsh is more likely. It does seem like fertile soil today, so the dictionary is probably right, but I much prefer the idea that this village name has been in existence for a century and is named from when lambs were grazed here.
The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the Coronavirus crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….
Cullability
Defined as “a disposition liable to be cheated, an unsuspecting nature, open to imposition”, this word is perhaps of passing interest insomuch as it’s actually the same word as gullible, just an earlier spelling of it. The word ‘gull’ meant to hoodwink someone, or to fool them, so somewhere along the line, the words got muddled up and ‘cullability’ became gullibility. Gullible only evolved as a word from the beginning of the nineteenth century, making it one of the more modern words in the English language (and that isn’t a test of someone’s gullibility to believe that).
Back to The Concise Oxford Dictionary Of English Placenames to look up the origins of the village name Swanton Abbott. There has been some variance on spelling this village name, some spell it as Swanton Abbot, but I’m in favour of the Swanton Abbott spelling as is on the signs.
Swanton Abbott, Norfolk. Swaneton in 1044, Suanetuna in Domesday Book, Abbot Swanton in 1451. Old English for Tun of the (swine) herds. Swanton Abbott belonged to Holme Abbey.
‘Tun’ is a farm or village, so it’s the farm or village of the swine herds, which explains the Swanton bit, and Abbott is solely because of its religious owner.
Just photos from tonight’s walk, an area I knew quite well in parts. We also visited the exterior of three churches, so more on those in later posts. The walk was 12.3 miles, walked in just over 4 hours, and it was nice to finish later into the evening and it was still light. Unfortunately, it goes downhill from here with regards to that for the rest of the year.
Fortunately, despite the sign, we didn’t see any of the adders.
My latest series of posts is asking some more professional walkers who have actually completed the walk about how they have got on. And today’s journalistic triumph of writing is Simon Hodgin, a member from Norfolk & Suffolk who makes walking these things look just a bit too easy. Although, he’s also sponsoring a large shipment of craft beer to me if I can complete the 100 next year, which is a quite marvellous idea.
Simon, inspired by Jane who has helped with his training, seems to positively enjoy the 100s and I think his competitive instinct from being a footballer has helped with this. There’s more about Simon here, which is another page on this web-site about walking the 100, not some Google link to help stalk him.
Q. When was your first 100?
2018. I’m a relative newcomer to the LDWA and 100s
Q. When you finished your first 100, did you think you’d do another?
Yes. I was ‘hooked’!
Q. What would you pick at a checkpoint, two sausage rolls, one chicken bake or one steak bake?
One steak bake
Q. How important are the marshals to you at checkpoints on longer challenge events?
A. Very important. I’ve witnessed them play a key part in encouraging a colleague of mine not to give in during a 100 and help get him back ‘in the zone’ to continue. I have always been impressed with the support of the marshals in every LDWA event I have done over the last five years.
Q. Your dog has become the unofficial Norfolk & Suffolk group mascot for his bravery, single-mindedness and courage. How proud has this made you?
He is also obsessed by food, so with those ‘qualities’ we are thinking of changing his name from Bailey to Julian….
Q. Have you hallucinated towards the end of a walk?
I have, very slightly. I have seen small images in the road looking back at me. The fact that it is expected makes the experience amusing.
Q. You’ve told me that I shouldn’t over-train for the 100. Is this advice because you’re worried that I’ll become such a honed athlete I’ll get a faster time than you? And what is your training schedule for the next 100?
Funnily enough, no. To become a honed athlete you would need to give up Greggs and craft beer, and I don’t see that happening any time soon. Like most LDWA members we walk all year, so we are constantly ‘in training’. You need to rest as well as participate! My ‘focus’ for the 100 starts in early January, with the Stansted Stagger
Q. Other than your current area of Norfolk & Suffolk, where would you most like to walk a 100 event in the UK?
There are many places I would like to experience a 100, but I guess The Peak District is my personal favourite.
Q. Are you more reliant on the route description or the GPX file?
The LDWA route description with GPX as a back-up.
Q. What are your top tips for footcare on the 100?
Footcare is a personal choice. Walking a lot toughens the feet, but for longer events, I use micro tape on my smaller toes and change into fresh, dry socks regularly (every 25 miles on a 100). Above all else, wear comfortable and ‘tried and tested’ walking shoes!
Q. You have a reputation for teamwork and helping others through whilst always remaining positive. How do you maintain this when at 70 miles and feeling tired?
I’ve been lucky to walk with great people on the 100. It’s easy to stay positive when you are also being supported by likeminded people. The 100 isn’t just about fitness and physical stamina, it is also about mental stamina. The more you embrace it, the less pain & tiredness you feel.
Q. Have you been scared of a sheep / cow / snake / pig / seagull or similar on a challenge walk?
No.
Q. To those people who are thinking about taking part in their first challenge event, maybe just 18 miles, what advice would you give them?
Give it a go. Whether it’s for the physical fitness, fresh air, great countryside or even greater company & support, you’ll get something positive from it!
South Walsham only has three listed buildings, although that’s still a fair number, but all three are located in this one churchyard. The first is the Church of St. Lawrence (in the front of the above photo), the second is the collapsed tower of St. Lawrence (just visible in the middle of the above photo) and the other is the larger Church of St. Mary (at the rear of the above photo).
The church was originally built in the fourteenth century, likely on the same site as an earlier religious building. The idea of having two churches next to each other seems slightly illogical today, although if you’ve got two different parishes and one particularly decent piece of land, then it does make some sense to have two different buildings at the same site. And, this worked well enough until the fire that destroyed most of the church in 1827.
The above photo is of the north side of the church, with the central window being bricked up.
The doors to the church give the appearance of having fire damage to their base, which would be a permanent reminder of 1827. The locals didn’t though merge the churches even when faced with the problem that one of them was burnt out, instead rebuilding much of the former chancel and re-opening in 1832. The two churches then continued separately until 1890, when their congregations were merged.
This meant that St. Lawrence’s church was left to become derelict, seemingly forever destined to fall under the shadow of St. Mary’s. But, a recent restoration of the building has returned it to use as an arts centre, with photos on their web-site with the scale of the challenge they had.
The churchyard is well-kept, all very neat.
This is what is left of the tower of St. Lawrence, badly damaged by fire in 1827 and then what remained collapsed in 1971 (George Plunkett’s archive has a photo of the tower in 1937 as it looked before the collapse). Today, the area is used as the Sacristan’s Garden and contains medicinal herbs and plants and reflects what may have been grown in the medieval period.
The Sacristan’s Garden, looking towards the main part of St. Lawrence’s Church.
The flushwork design is still present at the base of the tower.
