In the words of the writers of the 1952 ‘A History of Harnham’:

Placename experts do not find it easy to agree about the origin and the meaning of the name Harnham2 . . . → Read More: Harnham Road, Harnham]]> Harnham Road is, slightly unusually¹, in the centre of Harnham. Harnham is to the south of Salisbury, England.

Meaning of ‘Harnham’

In the words of the writers of the 1952 ‘A History of Harnham’:

Placename experts do not find it easy to agree about the origin and the meaning of the name Harnham²

The word ‘Harnham‘ seems to have two elements – ‘harn‘ and ‘ham‘.

The ‘ham’ in Harnham – a settlement

The second element ‘ham‘ has two or three possible meanings

The first is a homestead or settlement. There doesn’t seem to be any consensus as to how big a ‘ham’ was. It’s fairly clearly the root of the modern word ‘hamlet’, but I’ve seen ‘ham’ in a history-of-words sense described as an enclosure, a homestead, an estate, or a village. In the same way that the distinction between village and town is fairly fluid today, I would guess that people used ‘ham’ to mean slightly different things at different times and in different places.

Tim Lambert on the Localhistories.org website goes with the more expansive meaning. He says that ‘Ham’:

Meant village or estate. Fareham was ferne ham or the village by the ferns.³

Richard Tomkins takes ‘Ham’ to be a smaller unit. In ‘Wiltshire Place Names’, he derives the word ‘Harnham’ as:

Hara’s homestead⁴

Similarly, the website ‘Exploring East London’ says that:

The word Ham is connected with the modern English word home and was used in many place names like Dagenham or Rainham ⁵.

The ‘ham’ in Harnham – a bend in the river

A second meaning of ‘ham’ is a ‘bend’ – in this context a ‘bend in the river’.

The Online Etymology Dictionary connects the modern word ‘ham’ (as in ‘hamstring’ or as in the pig-meat) with ‘bend of the knee’⁶.

Martin Whittock in Wiltshire Place Names says that

The name [Harnham] probably means harahamm (land in bend of a river frequented by hares), the river being the Nadder⁷.

The ‘ham’ in Harnham – water meadows

The third meaning of ‘ham’ has an overlap with the ‘bend in the river’.

I first found it in a discussion of the derivation of the placename ‘Farnham’:

Its Saxon name ‘Fearnhamme’, referred to in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, comes from reference to the plentiful ferns (‘fearn’) and bracken found in the area and ‘hamme’ referring to the water meadows that were at its centre ⁸.

This is interesting in our context – Harnham is famous for its water meadows.

After finding this derivation of ‘hamme’ as ‘water meadows’ in Farnham, I then found a report of a lecture by Martyn Whittock whose ‘Wiltshire Place Names’ I quoted above.

In the 2010 lecture, Mr Whittock is reported as follows:

We were told to be wary of ‘ham’ as in Melksham, Corsham etc as although it can mean settlement it is quite likely to be contracted from ‘hamme’ meaning a water meadow area, as in Chippenham⁹.

I’m not sure whether Mr Whittock would have ruled out this meaning of ‘ham’ for Harnham for some reason.

The ‘harn’ in Harnham – Hares

The Old English word for ‘hare’ was ‘hara‘Online Etymology Dictionary. As in the quote above (“land in bend of a river frequented by hares”¹⁰), this could be part of the meaning of ‘Harnham’.

Richard Tomkins’ derivation is one step removed from the hare itself:

Haran-ham – ‘Hara’s homestead. The personal name derives from the OE word for a hare.¹¹

The ‘harn’ in Harnham – a meeting of the waters

Another possible explanation of ‘Harnham’ is given in the 1954 ‘The History of Harnham’, published by the Womens’s Institute:

Other writers suggest that the Anglo-Saxon name was ‘Haeran-(ham)‘ – a meeting of the waters, in which case the reference would be to the meeting of the Avon and the Nadder.

It is interesting to note that the late Rev. Geoffrey Hill, who was vicar here for many years, always strongly supported the latter interpretation.¹²

Update: Since typing the above I may have found the words of the Reverend Hill himself on this. This is from a document on the origins of the Harn family, by an American writer:

Mr. Geoffory Hitt? as far as we can decipher the name? writes me from Harnham Vicarage, Saulsbury, England, that: “As far as I can see there is no connection between the surname Harn and the village of Harnham. What the meaning of Harn is I do not pretend to know. It may be another form of the common English surname Hearne”, or even of Harn, but it is quite certain that Harnham does not mean the ham or home of people named Harn.
Hoeran, as you will see by looking at an Anglo Saxon dictionary, means an estuary, or the mouth of a river; now from the position of Harnham it is certain that this is the harn or settlement at the mouth of the river. As estuary means an arm or corner of the sea the word harn leads us to the conclusion that in the above two cases[discussing other Harnhams] it means corner? hence Harnhamor corner home, or rather home at the corner. ¹³

Harnham – An Armoury

A final suggestion on the meaning of Harnham comes from my dad. As far as I can see there are no references to it in any published works, either on the internet or in print.

My father says that ‘Harnham’ comes from ‘Armoury’ because Harnham was a centre for the working of metal into weapons of one sort or another¹⁴.

This is close to a suggested derivation for the name of Salisbury itself. The ‘Searo‘ in the Saxon ‘Searoburgh‘ can be translated as ‘art’, ‘skill’ or ‘armour‘.

This could be simply because the derivations of Salisbury and Harnham have been confused or conflated as this has been passed from person to person. On the other hand, it could be that some association of the Salisbury area with ‘armour’ persisted but moved from north of the current city to the south.

The meaning of Harnham – a conclusion

So, ‘Harnham’ could refer to a settlement, a bend in the river, the place where rivers meet, meadows, hares, somebody called ‘Hara’ or, perhaps, an ‘armoury’.

My conclusion on the meaning of ‘Harnham’ is, really, that there is no conclusion. For one thing, I’m not about to disagree with either the writers of published books on Wiltshire Place Names, or with a man of the cloth, or my Dad.

It’s not impossible that ‘Harnham’ ‘stuck’ as a name because it made sense in different ways to different people.

Harnham – cradle of European civilization

Something I found while ‘researching’ the meaning of the word ‘Harnham’ was that it’s the site of a significant archaeological find in the early 2000′s. The site dates back between 250,000 and 300,000 years. The material included flint hand-axes and some evidence of charcoal.

The charcoal is particularly significant. The archaeologist Helena Cave-Penny said

“The presence of charcoal at the site suggests the people there made fires. This would seem natural when it is known that the climate was cold and damp at the time.

It could be the earliest evidence of such fires in Britain – and probably in Europe.” ¹⁵

Footnotes

1. Why is this unusual? Harnham Road is unusual because most roads with place names in them lead in the direction of that place. Salisbury’s London Road is the start of the long journey to London. Milford Street leads to Milford. And the same is true for Netherhampton Road, Odstock Road, Blandford Road and about half a dozen others. Contrariwise, Salisbury has no ‘Salisbury Road’ and Wilton has no Wilton Road.

   Harnham Road is, though, right in the middle of Harnham.

   This could be because Harnham has grown to encompass a road which was once outside the village but leading towards it. I don’t know.

2. The History of Harnham, by the Harnham Women’s Institute, probably published in 1954, by the Tisbury Printing Works Ltd, Rollestone Street, Salisbury
3. The Origins of English Place Names
4. ‘Wiltshire Place Names’, Richard Tomkins, Red Brick Publishing 1983, p57
5. East Ham’s Free Art & History.
6. Online Etymology Dictionary
7. Wiltshire Place-names: Their Origins and Meanings (Amazon Link), Martyn J. Whittock, Countryside Books (23 Oct 1997) ISBN-10: 1853064866 ISBN-13: 978-1853064869
8. River Wey & Navigations : More about Farnham, Surrey
9. This is from a report by a member of the Trowbridge Civic Society, John Austin, on a lecture given by Mr Whittock to the society in 2010Newsletter Page
10. Wiltshire Place-names: Their Origins and Meanings (Amazon Link), Martyn J. Whittock, Countryside Books (23 Oct 1997) ISBN-10: 1853064866 ISBN-13: 978-1853064869
11. ‘Wiltshire Place Names’, Richard Tomkins, Red Brick Publishing 1983, p57
12. The History of Harnham, by the Harnham Women’s Institute, probably published in 1954, by the Tisbury Printing Works Ltd, Rollestone Street, Salisbury, page 2
13. www.harn-ancestry.com/ELLENDHARNMANUSCRIPT.doc
14. My father is a welder, and he used to work at a blacksmiths in Harnham
15. BBC NEWS | England | Wiltshire | New road reveals Stone Age site

‘Harnwood’ is an interesting name. It would seem to be a conflation of ‘Harnham‘ and ‘woods’. I don’t know whether it’s a modern coinage or not.

Harvard Close is part of a small estate called Harvard Heights. The reason for the word ‘Heights’ is fairly clear – it’s at the top of Harnham Hill. The derivation for ‘Harvard’ is more interesting.

As for most of the rest of the Ridings Mead development, the name of the road is formed by attaching the name of a bird (in this case a whole category of birds) to a geographical feature. Unlike many . . . → Read More: Hawks Ridge, Harnham]]> Hawks Ridge is on the Ridings Mead estate in East Harnham, just south of Salisbury.

As for most of the rest of the Ridings Mead development, the name of the road is formed by attaching the name of a bird (in this case a whole category of birds) to a geographical feature. Unlike many other roads in the area, such as Linnetsdene and Ravenscroft, the two words ‘Hawk’ and ‘Ridge’ are not joined together.

Etymology of Hawk

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word ‘hawk’ is derived from the Old English words ‘hafoc‘ and ‘heafuc‘, which in turn ultimately derive from a word meaning ‘to sieze’¹.

Interestingly, there seems to be no connection with the word ‘hawk’ meaning to sell or peddle. ‘Hawk’ in that sense comes from the German ‘hoken‘ meaning to ‘to peddle, carry on the back, squat’²

What is a hawk?

There are loosely three definitions of what a hawk is.

- The strictest includes just five genera covering sparrowhawks, goshawks and others. They are mainly woodland birds.

- The less strict definitions adds non-woodland birds – eagles, vultures, buzzards, kites and harriers.

- The loosest definition is any bird of prey³.

Hawks have very good eyesight. The number of photoreceptors per square mm is five times that found in humans, and they have a second set of eye muscles which aren’t found in any other animal ⁴.

The Hawk Conservancy

One of favourite days out near to Salisbury is the Hawk Conservancy, which is close to Andover. To use a phrase of Bill Bryson’s, you should drop what you’re doing and go there immediately.

Their website is here:

• Welcome to the Hawk Conservancy Trust

Image is an Amazon link

Footnotes

1. Online Etymology Dictionary
2. Online Etymology Dictionary – hawk
3. Hawks: Species information and Photos
4. Hawks and Eagles (Accipitridae) | the Internet Bird Collection

Other local examples are Owlswood, Ravenscroft and Swallowmead.

There . . . → Read More: Heronswood, Harnham]]> Heronswood is on the Ridings Mead estate in Harnham, to the south of Salisbury. In common with other roads on the estate, the name is a ‘portmanteau’ word. It’s constructed by joining the name of a bird to the name of a geographical feature.

Other local examples are Owlswood, Ravenscroft and Swallowmead.

The Heron

There are 64 members of ‘the heron family’. These egrets and bitterns. There are herons on every continent apart from the Antartic¹.

Henry the Heron – Image from Amazon

Etymology of ‘heron’

The word ‘heron’ seems to come from the noise it makes. The Online Etymology Dictionary says it’s:

from O.Fr. hairon….perhaps imitative of its cry ²

An alternative name is ‘shitepoke’³ (sometimes ‘shikepoke’). The Oxford Dictionaries’ website says this is ‘because of the bird’s habit of defecating when disturbed’. It could also perhaps be that it pokes about in the mud.

Footnotes

1. Heron – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2. Online Etymology Dictionary
3. definition of shitepoke from Oxford Dictionaries Online

It’s part of a group of roads which with the exception of Wiltshire Road, follow the coast line of south-eastern England – Norfolk Road, Suffolk Road, Essex Road, Kent Road and Sussex Road.

Kingfishers have always seemed to me to be a magical bird – they seem to belong to another country, fitting in better with birds of . . . → Read More: Kingfisher Close, Salisbury]]> Kingfisher Close is on the Ridings Mead estate in east Harnham. Most of the roads in Ridings Mead are named after birds, and Kingfisher Close follows that theme.

The bird

Kingfishers have always seemed to me to be a magical bird – they seem to belong to another country, fitting in better with birds of paradise and peacocks rather then ducks and geese. You don’t see them very often, and when you do you don’t see them for long. The kingfisher always seems to be on the wing – I’ve never seen one perched.

I was surprised to see that RSPB website¹ says that they are ‘widespread, especially in central and southern England’. I would have thought they were more rare.

I’ve seen kingfishers around Salisbury just three times. Twice on the Avon, near to the coach station, and once close to Homington.

The etymology of the word ‘Kingfisher’

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary the name ‘kingfisher’ is:

mid-15c., originally king’s fisher, for obscure reasons; see king + fisher. ²

My guess would be that the Kingfisher is named after the King because of the opulence of it’s colouring. In other respects such as it’s darting movements and the fact that is builds it’s home out of the mud of the riverbank, the Kingfisher seems less than regal.

The Kingfisher’s name has been appropriated by a couple of companies internationally – Kingfisher lager, and their associated motor-racing team, and the Kingfisher Group, who own B & Q and Screwfix. I’m sure they are both interesting companies but I can’t quite see that this magical, rare, flighty bird is an entirely appropriate association for a DIY chain on the one hand and for a drink as prosaic as lager on the other. I’d be interested to know why they chose the name.

The Fisher King and the Kingfish

The Fisher King is a character from some versions of the Arthurian legends. He is the keeper of the Holy Grail, but is so badly injured that he can do nothing much beyond fishing, hence his title.

Terry Gilliam made a film called ‘The Fisher King’ in 1991, starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges. Robin Williams character is obsessed by the Arthurian ‘Fisher King’

‘The Kingfish’ was the nickname of a New Orleans politician, Huey P Long. Long was a fascinating character – he was perhaps the most left-wing of American politicians to ever achieve political power. His slogans included ‘Share Our Wealth’ and ‘Every Man a King’. He was assassinated in July 1935, seemingly, like other radical American politicians, by a lone gunman.

Huey P Long’s nickname has nothing to do with kingfisher birds, as it happens. A long running comedy radio show called ‘Amos and Andy’ had the duo belonging to an organization called the ‘Mystic Knights of the Sea’ (perhaps a forerunner of the Simpsons’ ‘Stone Cutters’?). The leader of the Mystic Knights was called the Kingfish.

Noah and the Kingfisher

There are two legends in western culture about the kingfisher.

The first relates to Noah and the Ark. The story goes that the kingfisher was originally a dull grey in colour. The kingfishers were so frustrated by their confinement on the ark, that when Noah released them they flew high up into the sky. They flew so high that their backs assumed the colour of the sky, and their breasts were singed by the sun.

Alcyone and the Kingfisher

The second great legend goes back to ancient Greece. The story starts with two young lovers, Alcyone and Ceyx. Alcyone was semi-divine, being the daughter of Aeolus, god of the winds. Ceyx was mortal, but king of Thessaly. They somehow displeased the Gods. One of their misdimenours was to use Zeus and Hera as pet names for each other.

The Greek Gods caused Ceyx to be drowned at sea. The distraught Alcyone threw herself into the sea too.

Taking pity on the couple, the gods brought the pair back to life, as kingfishers.

The Greeks believed that Alcyone, the kingfisher, built a floating nest at sea, around the time of the winter solstice. Alcyone’s father, Aeolus made the winds drop for a fortnight at this time of year, to protect his daughters eggs. These days of calm became known as the ‘halcyon days’. ³

The story is recorded by Ovid:

The Gods their shapes to winter-birds translate,
But both obnoxious to their former fate.
Their conjugal affection still is ty’d,
And still the mournful race is multiply’d:
They bill, they tread; Alcyone compress’d,
Sev’n days sits brooding on her floating nest:
A wintry queen: her sire at length is kind,
Calms ev’ry storm, and hushes ev’ry wind;
Prepares his empire for his daughter’s ease,
And for his hatching nephews smooths the seas. ⁴

The Halcyon Days of Winter

This is some way off-topic, but I was surprised to discover that the Halcyon Days are in mid-winter. I googled “halcyon days of summer” and got 328,000 hits. If you google “halcyon days of winter” you get only 10,100, at the time of writing.

I don’t know why the halcyon days have moved in popular usage from summer to winter, but my feeling is that they have.

Perhaps Shakespeare is partly responsible. In Henry VI he has one of the characters say:

Assign’d am I to be the English scourge.
This night the siege assuredly I ‘ll raise:
Expect Saint Martin’s summer, halcyon days,
Since I have entered into these wars.⁵

Saint Martin’s day is November 11th, so Shakespeare has moved the halcyon days forward 6 weeks from the winter solstice on the 21st December.

Walt Whitman perhaps has the halcyon earlier still, in early autumn, when ‘the apple at last hangs really finished and indolent-ripe on the tree’:

Halcyon Days

Not from successful love alone,
Nor wealth, nor honor’d middle age, nor victories of politics or war;
But as life wanes, and all the turbulent passions calm,
As gorgeous, vapory, silent hues cover the evening sky,
As softness, fulness, rest, suffuse the frame, like freshier, balmier air,
As the days take on a mellower light, and the apple at last hangs
really finish’d and indolent-ripe on the tree,
Then for the teeming quietest, happiest days of all!
The brooding and blissful halcyon days!⁶

I’ve not found anyone of a similar stature using ‘halcyon days’ to refer to summer time. It seems now to be used though to either to refer to days of summer – for example yourdictionary.com has an example usage as:

the brilliant colors of summer warmth – the halcyon days. ⁷

…or to refer to days of the past. The Macmillan dictionary has

‘a period of time in the past that was happy and peaceful’.⁸

Footnotes

1. The RSPB: Kingfisher
2. Online Etymology Dictionary
3. The Myth of Halcyon – The Halcyon Days
4. The Internet Classics Archive | Metamorphoses by Ovid
5. Act 2 scene 2 Henry VI part 1
6. Halcyon Days – Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
7. Yourdictionary.com
8. Macmillan Dictionary

A lime kiln is an . . . → Read More: Lime Kiln Way, Salisbury]]> Lime Kiln Way is at the Britford end of Harnham – close to the Ridings Mead estate, but I think perhaps part of a later development.


Lime Kiln Way is close to the Ridings Mead estate in Harnham. I think it’s part of a later development than Ridings Mead itself.

A lime kiln is an oven for converting chalk or limestone into lime. Lime is used in construction (historically it’s been a key component of cement), and many other industries¹.

The 1915 Kelly’s Directory has an entry for ‘The Harnham Lime Works’ ².

Lime Kiln Way is therefore probably named in reference to the Harnham Lime Works.

Image from Amazon

Footnotes

1. British Lime Association – The Trade Association for the UK Lime Industry
2. Kelly’s Directory, 1915, page 203 – the Directory is browsable on-line at the Historical Directories website

The roads on the estate are mainly named after birds. Typically with the name of the bird being joined to a word which is typically part of a road name. So other roads on the estate are . . . → Read More: Linnetsdene, Salisbury]]> Linnetsdene is to the south of Salisbury, on what I think is called the Ridings Mead estate.

The roads on the estate are mainly named after birds. Typically with the name of the bird being joined to a word which is typically part of a road name. So other roads on the estate are Ravenscroft and Swallowmead.

Image from Amazon

Etymology of the Linnet

Both the English and the Latin names for the Linnet are derived from its favourite foods.

The word ‘linnet’ has the same root as linen ¹ because linen flax seed is often part of the birds diet.

The second part of the Latin name ‘Carduelis cannabina is derived from the linnet’s fondness for hemp seeds².

The Linnet on the Curragh of Kildare

The linnet is mentioned in one of my favourite folk songs, the Curragh of Kildare. It’s known as an Irish folk song, but may have been written by Robbie Burns³. The Curragh of Kildare is the location both of an Irish Army camp and of the Irish Derby. The song is sung before the running of the Derby.

It’s been recorded by many artists, including Finbar and Eddie Furey, the Johnstons and Christy Moore. The Pogues used a speeded up version of the melody for their single ‘White City’.

Chorus:
And it’s straight I will repair
To the Curragh of Kildare
For it’s there I’ll find tidings of my dear

Ah the winter it is past and the summer’s come at last
And the birds they are singing in the trees
Their little hearts are glad, ah but mine is very sad
Since my true love is far away from me

The rose upon the briar and the waters running deep
Bring joy to the linnet and the bee
Their little hearts are blest, ah but mine can know no rest
Since my true love is far away from me

For those who are in love and cannot be denied
I pity the pains that you do endure
For experience lets me know that your hearts are full of woe
A woe that no mortal can cure

A livery I’ll wear, ah and I’ll tie back my hair
And in velvet so green I will appear
And it’s straight I will repair to the Curragh of Kildare
For it’s there I’ll find tidings of my dear

At the time of writing the Johnstons version of the song is on Youtube here:

The Johnstons – Curragh of Kildare

Green Linnet Records

Green Linnet is a folk music label, specializing in Celtic music. It was founded 30 years ago, and has published music by dozens of musicians. ⁴.

Image from Amazon

The ‘Green Linnet’ in the Irish folk tradition was a euphemism for Napoleon Bonaparte, who was seen as an ally against the English ⁵

A flighty bird

According to the RSPB, the linnet is a member of the finch family. They used to be kept as caged birds, because they both sing and look quite pretty.

In researching the linnet, I found that the RSPB website says that the linnet ‘can be flighty‘⁶. I’m sure this has some technical meaning which I’m unaware of but to a layman like me being ‘flighty’ seems part of the avian condition.

Wordsworth’s Green Linnet

William Wordsworth published his poem ‘The Green Linnet’ in 1803.

The Green Linnet

BENEATH these fruit-tree boughs that shed
Their snow-white blossoms on my head,
With brightest sunshine round me spread
Of Spring’s unclouded weather,

In this sequester’d nook how sweet
To sit upon my orchard-seat,
And flowers and birds once more to greet,
My last year’s friends together!

One have I mark’d, the happiest guest
In all this covert of the blest:—
Hail to thee, far above the rest
In joy of voice and pinion!

Thou, Linnet! in thy green array
Presiding spirit here to-day
Dost lead the revels of the May;
And this is thy dominion.

While birds, and butterflies, and flowers,
Make all one band of paramours,
Thou, ranging up and down the bowers,
Art sole in thy employment;

A life, a presence like the air,
Scattering thy gladness without care,
Too blest with any one to pair,
Thyself thy own enjoyment.

Amid yon tuft of hazel trees
That twinkle to the gusty breeze,
Behold him perch’d in ecstasies
Yet seeming still to hover;—

There! where the flutter of his wings
Upon his back and body flings
Shadows and sunny glimmerings,
That cover him all over.

My dazzled sight he oft deceives—
A brother of the dancing leaves;
Then flits, and from the cottage-eaves
Pours forth his song in gushes;

As if by that exulting strain
He mock’d and treated with disdain
The voiceless form he chose to feign,
While fluttering in the bushes.
⁷

Footnotes

1. Online Etymology Dictionary
2. BBC – Wildlife Finder – Linnet (video, facts and news)
3. The Curragh Of Kildare
4. Green Linnet
5. Green Linnet Records – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and also The Green Linnet
6. The RSPB: Linnet
7. 242. Green Linnet. W. Wordsworth. The Golden Treasury

This is my first attempt at creating a map annotated with what I think are the derivations of the road names.

It’s for a fairly small area of East Harnham. It would be great to create one . . . → Read More: Annotated map of East Harnham]]> I visited the Ordnance Survey for a talk on their Open Space mapping tool last week.

This is my first attempt at creating a map annotated with what I think are the derivations of the road names.

It’s for a fairly small area of East Harnham. It would be great to create one for the whole of Salisbury – but that may take some time!

If you click on the blue dots, then you should get a short explanation of the road’s name.

Instructions for adding OpenSpace maps to WordPress are here if you’re interested. The OpenSpace product is really good – you can do much more with it than I have – but it needs a couple of tweaks to get it to ‘play nicely’ with WordPress.

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