ey just meant island. In fact it became ey-land. (Someone added the S later because they confused it with isle, which is a French word.) So Thorney Island was Thorn island island land. Chelsea might be chalk island and Battersea might be Baldric's island. If Baldric can have an island, maybe Thor had one as well, though "thorns" does seem a more likely derivation.
Thanks Matt! I am delighted that you have because I love the Londonist - it’s going to be my first paid subscription. I just need to get out those first posts now - all a bit new for me.
Thank you! And welcome to Substack. I've been on here almost a year now, and it's been nothing but a positive experience. I hope you find the same, and look forward to reading your first posts.
Fascinating, Matt. It reminded me of this excerpt about Dartmoor from The Hound of the Baskervilles, which is a little further afield from London, but seems to hold similar prehistoric treasures:
The whole steep slope was covered with gray circular rings of stone, a score of them at least.
“What are they? Sheep-pens?”
“No, they are the homes of our worthy ancestors. Prehistoric man lived thickly on the moor, and as no one in particular has lived there since, we find all his little arrangements exactly as he left them. These are his wigwams with the roofs off. You can even see his hearth and his couch if you have the curiosity to go inside.”
“But it is quite a town. When was it inhabited?”
“Neolithic man—no date.”
“What did he do?”
“He grazed his cattle on these slopes, and he learned to dig for tin when the bronze sword began to supersede the stone axe. Look at the great trench in the opposite hill. That is his mark. Yes, you will find some very singular points about the moor, Dr. Watson.”
I was also reminded of the historic fiction novel London, by Edward Rutherford (https://amzn.to/49we9M7). It follows generations of families from the Roman times, opening with a chapter on the geological formation of the region.
The Thames was once a tributary of the Rhine when the land bridge existed so it isn't surprsing there were Celtic / Gaul similarities. Collapsed/submerged around 6500 BC. Dogger Island remained till 5000 BC. Hence the German Hairy snail colony on Isleworth Eyot. An isolated leftover. There are others I believe.
I do find the land bridge thing fascinating. I took my family up to North Norfolk last year under the guise of a holiday, but really so I could visit Happisburgh, where the Thames once flowed on a different alignment. https://londonist.com/london/history/happisburgh-norfolk-thames
I'm not sure the land bridge had much bearing on the spread of Celtic culture, though. The Celts only settled in Britain a few hundred years before the Romans... five or six thousand years after the land bridge had gone.
ey just meant island. In fact it became ey-land. (Someone added the S later because they confused it with isle, which is a French word.) So Thorney Island was Thorn island island land. Chelsea might be chalk island and Battersea might be Baldric's island. If Baldric can have an island, maybe Thor had one as well, though "thorns" does seem a more likely derivation.
Haha, good addition. I never considered that tautology before. The ancient equivalent of Battersea Power Station station.
Thanks Matt! I am delighted that you have because I love the Londonist - it’s going to be my first paid subscription. I just need to get out those first posts now - all a bit new for me.
Thank you! And welcome to Substack. I've been on here almost a year now, and it's been nothing but a positive experience. I hope you find the same, and look forward to reading your first posts.
Fascinating, Matt. It reminded me of this excerpt about Dartmoor from The Hound of the Baskervilles, which is a little further afield from London, but seems to hold similar prehistoric treasures:
The whole steep slope was covered with gray circular rings of stone, a score of them at least.
“What are they? Sheep-pens?”
“No, they are the homes of our worthy ancestors. Prehistoric man lived thickly on the moor, and as no one in particular has lived there since, we find all his little arrangements exactly as he left them. These are his wigwams with the roofs off. You can even see his hearth and his couch if you have the curiosity to go inside.”
“But it is quite a town. When was it inhabited?”
“Neolithic man—no date.”
“What did he do?”
“He grazed his cattle on these slopes, and he learned to dig for tin when the bronze sword began to supersede the stone axe. Look at the great trench in the opposite hill. That is his mark. Yes, you will find some very singular points about the moor, Dr. Watson.”
I was also reminded of the historic fiction novel London, by Edward Rutherford (https://amzn.to/49we9M7). It follows generations of families from the Roman times, opening with a chapter on the geological formation of the region.
Brilliant quote, Scott. Holmes would have made an exceptional archaeologist.
The Thames was once a tributary of the Rhine when the land bridge existed so it isn't surprsing there were Celtic / Gaul similarities. Collapsed/submerged around 6500 BC. Dogger Island remained till 5000 BC. Hence the German Hairy snail colony on Isleworth Eyot. An isolated leftover. There are others I believe.
I do find the land bridge thing fascinating. I took my family up to North Norfolk last year under the guise of a holiday, but really so I could visit Happisburgh, where the Thames once flowed on a different alignment. https://londonist.com/london/history/happisburgh-norfolk-thames
I'm not sure the land bridge had much bearing on the spread of Celtic culture, though. The Celts only settled in Britain a few hundred years before the Romans... five or six thousand years after the land bridge had gone.
I didn’t know about the Uphall Camp - it sounds very different to the ones in Epping Forest.
Yes. I had a look around once but there’s nothing much to see. Like the sound of your new Substack - I’ve subscribed!