Britain has a long history of “accidentally” hilarious place names.
Now, the truth is, most of these names were perfectly innocent in Old English or Old Norse, but a thousand years or more of language evolution has turned them into absolute comedy gold.
Here are some of the most famous (and ridiculous) examples:
1. The “Rude” Classics
- Shitterton, Dorset: Residents were so tired of their road sign being stolen by tourists that they eventually replaced it with a 1.5-ton stone block that’s impossible to lift.
- Twatt, Orkney (and Shetland): There are actually two of these. The name comes from the Old Norse word þveit, meaning “small parcel of land.”
- Bell End, Worcestershire: A frequent winner of “rudest street name” polls. Locals famously fought a petition to keep the name when some tried to change it.
- Penistone, South Yorkshire: Pronounced PEN-is-tun. It’s a lovely market town, though the name still raises eyebrows on road signs.
- Wetwang, East Yorkshire: A Viking name meaning “Field of Summons” (a place for legal trials). It’s famous for having the late TV presenters Richard Whiteley and Paul Merton as “Honorary Mayors.”
2. The “Bottoms” and “Hills”
In British geography, a “bottom” is simply a valley or low-lying area. This has led to:
- Scratchy Bottom, Dorset: Located near the famous Durdle Door.
- Happy Bottom, Dorset: A much more positive alternative to its scratchy neighbor.
- Pratt’s Bottom, Kent: A small village near Orpington.
- Brown Willy, Cornwall: The highest point in Cornwall. The name is a corruption of the Cornish Bronn Wennili, meaning “Hill of Swallows.”
3. Just Plain Weird
- Dull, Perthshire: This Scottish village is officially twinned with Boring, Oregon, and Bland, Australia. They call themselves the “Trinity of Tedium.”
- Pity Me, County Durham: No one is 100% sure where this came from, but theories range from a local “Petty Mere” (small lake) to a monk’s lament.
- Westward Ho!, Devon: This is the only place in the UK that officially contains an exclamation mark in its name. It was named after a popular Victorian novel.
- Ugley, Essex: Home to the “Ugley Women’s Institute”—which, despite the name, is a perfectly pleasant group of people in a very pretty village.
