Many thanks, Richard. Two comments spring to mind: that the form of at least Icelton is ancient, and may pre-date the soap industry in Bristol, and that the apparently more recent names may be too late for a word that seems to have died out around 1500 except in the senses 'spark, smut' (OED - Keith, thanks for putting us onto this). An interesting issue.
Richard C
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From: The English Place-Name List [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Richard Jones [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 10 February 2011 14:10
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [EPNL] New element? Or have I missed something?
If I may cast myself as a that historian of fertilizer.
The use of ashes as a potent soil restorative has a long and illustrious history, certainly back to the Roman agronomists and with references to straw burning by the likes of Xenophon probably further back still. What has taken my eye, of course, is both the geographical specificity of these name-forms and their relatively late dates of attestation, which has got me thinking about what was happening in the vicinity of the Severn during the early modern period.
Agricultural reformers of the late eighteenth century, like Arthur Young, were particularly keen on the use of soap ash as a fertilizer. Since Bristol was an important centre for soap production, and thus presumably was producing considerable quantities of soap ash as a by-product of the industrial process, I would have thought that farmers in the vicinity of Bristol would have been using the stuff. And perhaps it was being transported by boat down the Severn. If it was, we might expect West Country field-names to reflect its application since the use of ash (or at least dunghills comprised of ash) more generally is attested in a number of field-names elsewhere in the country.
Not very helpful, I know, but thoughts.
Richard
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