Malbis Greek Orthodox Church in Alabama


The Roots of North East England

Bede, the famous Anglo-Saxon scholar was born at Sunderland near the mouth of the River Wear and lived most of his life at Jarrow on the River Tyne. Bede would be familiar with many words still used in the dialect of North East England today. And yet he lived 60 years before the first Viking raids and 130 years before the Viking conquest of Northern England...

Place names



Acaster Malbis (Yorkshire)
Acaster means the site of a Roman fort which was later aquired by and Anglo-Saxon called Aca. After the Norman conquest the manor was owned by the Malbis family.


Aldbrough St John (Yorkshire)

Place names containing the elements borough, brough or burgh, more often than not refer to ancient fortified settlements or manors and should not be interpreted in the modern sense of the word borough. The North Yorkshire villages of Aldbrough St John near Darlington and Aldborough near Boroughbridge both have the same meaning despite their slightly different spellings. Both names are Anglo-Saxon and mean 'old burgh' - an old fortified site. In pre-Saxon times both places were tribal strongholds associated with the Brigantes. The Brigantes were Welsh-speaking ancient Britons who occupied most of Yorkshire and South Durham. The Brigantes were the largest single tribe in Roman Britain. When the Romans first arrived in northern Britain, the fort of Stanwick near Albrough St John was the most important stronghold of the Brigantes. It was the Brigantian Queen, Cartimandua who handed over the British rebel Caractacus to the Romans in the year 51 AD. This infuriated her husband Venutius who captured the stronghold and rebelled against the Romans. The Romans forced the Brigantes to abandon the fort in 73 AD. As the Romans gradually took control of northern Britain, the Brigantes were surpressed and a Roman town called Isurium was built at the Brigantian tribal capital of Aldborough near Boroughbridge.

Balder, River (County Durham)

This may be a Viking river name and may relate to the Norse God Balder, who was the god of light.


Bamburgh (Northumberland)

The village of Bamburgh with its famous castle on the north Northumberland coast was the capital of the Kingdom of Northumbria, an Anglo-Saxon province that stretched from the River Humber to the Firth of Forth. Like the City of York, which was also a one-time capital of Northumbria, Bamburgh claims to be one of the longest continuously inhabited places in the British Isles. In pre-Saxon times Bamburgh was a Celtic stonghold and was known by its Celtic name Din Guayrdi. Supporters of the legend of King Arthur have associated this early name with Joyous Guard, the castle of Sir Lancelot, who was one of Arthur's Celtic Knights of the Round Table. There is no evidence for this, but Arthur is said to have fought the invading Anglo-Saxons in the north of England. History records that in 547 AD, an Anglo-Saxon King called Ida the Flamebearer captured Din Guayrdi from the Celts and made the fortified site the capital of a Kingdom called Bernicia. Later this site was acquired by Aethelfrith, King of Northumbria who named the fort or burgh after his wife Bebba. Over the years the name Bebba's Burgh has been corrupted to Bamburgh.


Baldersby (Yorkshire)

The place belonging to a Viking settler called Balder.


Beckwithshaw (Yorkshire)

This name derives from the Viking words Beck and Vith meaning stream and wood. The last element 'shaw' is an anglo-Saxon word for a wood.


Crackpot (Yorkshire)

Crackpot can be found in Swaledale and has two parts to its name, both of which occur in a number of other Northern place names. In 1298 the place was called Crakepot and its name derives from the Old English ‘Kraka’, a crow and the Viking word ‘Pot’. A ‘pot’ was usually a cavity or deep hole often in the bed of a river, but in Crackpot's case refers to a rift in the limestone. Pot also occurs in the place name Potto near Hutton Rudby, Sand Pot near Northallerton and in Pot Hall and the Pot Beck near Masham. The word is still used in Swedish dialects today. Crake meaning crow occurs in many place names throughout the North, although Crayke near Easingwold derives from the old Celtic word ‘Kraik’ meaning ‘rock’. This also occurs in the form Craig. Sometimes places containing the word Crake result from a person’s name. Crakehill, near Dishforth for example means the hill belonging to a Viking called Craca. Crakethorn near Pickering means the thorn bushes frequented by crows and this may also be the meaning of Crathorne near Yarm. Crows were also abundant further north and were found at Crawcrook - the crook of land inhabited by crows. Craster on the Northumberland coast was originally called Crawcestere and refers to an abandoned fort inhabited by crows.