Warwickshire woman and her cat tour the country to find our rudest place names - including some in our own county

A Warwickshire woman will be talking about her UK tour - along with her cat - to find our rudest place names, including some in our own county.

Person Irresponsible, who described herself as England’s most invisible middle-aged female adventurer, will be appearing at Hatton Park Village Hall on January 24, talking about how England ended up with so many rude or utterly hilarious place names.

Based on the Book “Everywhere I NEVER Wanted To Go”, this Warwickshire-based woman who, along with her cat, spent a year living in a van visiting England’s most bizarrely-named, and occasionally down-right offensive, settlements.

“I’ve a lot of knowledge of how the English language is put together, but when you combine it with even the briefest understanding of the bygone eras, you can see how we’ve ended up with so many accidentally smutty settlements!” the author explains.

Of course, modern day English is nothing like that of our ancestors and the average English person has a strong preference for euphemism rather than direct biological terms, so any exploration of our national maps can end up an absolute treat for anyone with a passing interest in history and culture.

For the most part, she thought Warwickshire was a very violent-sounding place, having such joys as “Rowington”, “Shotteswell” and “Arrow” to terrify her with, as well as, of course “WARwick”. Nonetheless, Warwickshire certainly didn’t disappoint in making the author laugh with it having “Willey” and “No Man’s Heath”. It was in Warwick that she discovered why so many medieval towns have a Butts Lane or similar, and also why the Victorians removed all references to “Shame Streets”.

Willey is a great example of how history shapes language, having once been better known as “Wibtoft”. Ironically, it most likely means “The Homestead of the Wife” or “The Farm of the Women”, although others claim it hails from pre-Roman times and means “Holy Place”. You can make your own minds up.

If you want to learn more, then do book a ticket via Eventbrite (search for Person Irresponsible) for Hatton Park on January 24 or Alcester on January 31. The talk is called “The Story of England’s Rudest Place Names”.