Place Name

Puriton, Somerset, England

Where the Locals were once prickly and Puriton was named in the Domesday Book!

Introduction:

Now then, Puriton. Jus sayin it makes folk purse their lips like they’s tryin to swallow a mouthful o lumpy porridge. Sounds like a place where sheep gather fer prayer meetins, bleatin hymns an judgin folk’s boots.

Could’ve come from Old English meanin pure, could’ve come from someone clearin their throat too hard, could’ve been a scribe wi cold fingers scribblin summat daft in t’Domesday Book.

It’s a name what makes ‘ee wonder if the founders were feelin holy, hungover, or halfway through a sneeze. Whatever way, it’s stuck tighter than mud on a wellie.

Toponymy:

Let’s break down this name:

Pur – maybe pure, maybe a throat noise, maybe someone tryin to say summat clever an failin. Could’ve meant clean land, could’ve meant folk were overly pious, could’ve meant sheep were unusually well‑behaved.

iton – old suffix meanin farm, settlement, place where folk lived, worked, an occasionally argued over sheep.

Put together, they makes a name that makes visitors pause, grin, an maybe cough involuntarily.

Historical Context:

Earliest mention o Puriton be right there in t’Domesday Book o 1086, scribbled by some Norman chap who probably didn’t know what he were writin. Could’ve been a refuge fer travellers, could’ve been a quiet hamlet fer folk avoidin Bridgwater’s bustle, could’ve been a place where sheep outnumbered humans ten to one.

Whatever way it happened, Puriton’s kept its daft charm, an travellers arrive ready to wonder if anyone down ‘ere ever used logic at all.

Points of Interest:

If you’m in tha area, be sure to check out:

• The Church of St Michael – medieval beauty wi a steeple pointin at t’sky like it’s complainin

• Puriton Park – green patch perfect fer picnics, dog walks, an wonderin why it’s called Puriton

• Bridgwater and Taunton Canal – ducks, reflections, an water calm enough fer thinkin deep thoughts

• Nearby Bridgwater – Carnival, history, an floats fancier than yer auntie’s Christmas decor

• The Crown Inn – hearty grub, good ale, an locals who’ll tell ‘ee theories about t’name if you buys ‘em a pint

Notable Figures:

Famous folk tied to Puriton or Somerset include:

• John Locke – philosopher who thought deep thoughts an liked liberty

• Thomas Hardy – novelist an poet who loved rural life an gloomy skies

• Jesse Boot – chemist chap wi ties to Somerset an a knack fer business

• William Blake – poet who’d’ve written summat mystical about Puriton’s oddness

• Sir John Popham – legal mind who’d’ve had opinions about daft place names

Conclusion:

So next time you’m wanderin round Puriton, take a moment to enjoy tha daftness o it, tha cheer in its name, an tha way it makes ‘ee grin like you’ve heard a naughty joke. Somerset names don’t always follow sense, but they always leave a mark.

For more on t’wonderfully bizarre world o odd place names, wander over to www.strangeplacenames.com where every glen, brae, bog and burn seems determined to outdo the last in sheer daftness.

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