Place Name

Skinners Bottom, Cornwall, England

Where Skinners Bottom is on display here and in Springfield!

Introduction:

Ah now, Skinners Bottom, that be a name to set folk smirkin before they even step out the car. Round yer, the old boys will tell ee all sorts, from tales of a skinner who kept losin his breeches to yarns about a rabbit that gave a man such a fright he near sat down in the very bottom itself.

Truth be told, nobody knaws for certain, and the locals bain’t in no hurry to clear it up neither. They do love watchin visitors try sayin it without crackin a grin.

Toponymy:

Let’s break down this name:

Skinners – Likely tied to the old trade of skinning beasts, back when every village had a man who could turn a hide into somethin useful. Could be a family name too, passed down like a battered pair of boots.

Bottom – A valley, a dip, a low place in the land. Proper innocent in geography, but round yer it still gets a chuckle every time someone new reads the sign.

Together, they make a name that sounds like the start of a joke, and half the time it is.

Historical Context:

The first mention of Skinners Bottom be lost in the mists, same as many a Cornish tale. Some reckon it were named after a skinner who set up shop in the hollow, others say it were a gentle dig at the shape of the land.

And if ee ask an old timer in Redruth, he will swear blind it were named after a man who fell down the slope so often folk said the place were his bottom by rights.

Whatever the truth, the name stuck tighter than clay on a miner’s boots.

Points of Interest:

If you are wanderin about, have a nose at:

• The Old Smithy – A place where ee can almost hear the ring of iron and smell the soot.

• Goss Moor National Nature Reserve – Wild, wide and full of creatures that look like they crawled out of a folktale.

• The Cornish Mines and Engines – A grand reminder of the days when the ground shook with work.

• St Austell – A lively town with the Eden Project sittin proud nearby.

• The Plume of Feathers – A pub where ee can fill yer belly and listen to locals spin tales.

Notable Figures:

Folk tied to Skinners Bottom or Cornwall include:

• Sir John Betjeman – Poet who loved these parts like a man loves a warm pasty.

• King Arthur – Said to have roamed the moors not far from here.

• Richard Trevithick – Cornish engineer with steam in his veins.

• J. K. Rowling – Spent time in Cornwall, pickin up magic from the cliffs.

• Doc Martin (Martin Clunes) – Fictional doctor, real Cornish spirit.

Conclusion:

So next time ee find yourself in Skinners Bottom, take a moment to breathe in the air, look round the valley and enjoy the daftness of a name that refuses to behave itself. It is a place where the land dips low, the stories run deep and the laughter comes easy as tidewater.

And if ee fancy more names that will twist yer tongue and tickle yer ribs, wander over to www.strangeplacenames.com where the UK and Ireland be stuffed full of places just as daft and delightful.

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