Scottish Toponymy in Transition: Progressing County Surveys of the Place-Names of Scotland
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: Celtic and Gaelic
Abstract
Scotland's place-names are among the richest resources for its linguistic and cultural past, yet they remain largely without detailed and systematic survey. The landmark five-volume Place-Names of Fife, by Simon Taylor with Gilbert Márkus (2006-11) brings new momentum to the survey of Scotland's place-names, which the present project aims to perpetuate. Moreover, it provides new paradigms and methodologies for the investigation and presentation of place-names. Moving from Fife to other counties, this project tests these methods, and provides a template for a full-scale, long-term county survey of Scotland.
The project will complete and publish two full county surveys within the funded period, Kinross-shire (KNR) and Clackmannanshire (CLA). Both these counties are manageable, the pre-1975 counties having 5 parishes each (c.200 names per county). Each has had a substantial amount of research on its place-names already, chiefly by members of the project team. Investigating these two counties is not simply a matter of survey. Although both neighbour Fife to the west, each contains particular toponymic registers that do not precisely correspond with Fife. In investigating these counties, key questions must be posed, regarding the nature of toponymic localism, the border(s) of 'Pictish' and 'British', and the varied levels and chronology of Gaelicisation experienced in each region. As illustration, a notable series of place-names containing the habitative element gart 'enclosed field; clearing' exists in CLA, but these names stop more or less abruptly at the border of Fife. Conversely, although Fife contains an abundance of place-names employing the important element pett 'portion of an estate', these are not to be found in the historical core of KNR and only three minor names of this sort survive in CLA. These examples suggest that different factors are at play in the toponymy of central Scotland as one heads west from Fife, and this project will address these differences.
The production of these two county surveys will be conducted alongside work on other counties, in distinct regions: Menteith in historical Perthshire, Cunninghame in Ayrshire and Berwickshire in the Borders. The project team brings key expertise to each of these, making them natural areas to progress to. Menteith in particular is well advanced, allowing preparation of 1 volume of a projected 2. Although the outputs from these areas will not include full survey publication, work will be informed and advanced significantly by progressing in tandem with the completion of two new counties. This process will allow methodological issues to be addressed so as to ensure applicability across a greater range of linguistic, political, and data-source contexts. Key research questions within this methodological portion of the project relate to historical and linguistic approaches in both analysis and presentation; and the effect of varied sources and date-horizons on the presentation of survey data.
The project also aims to provide a new paradigm of public engagement with place-names. A series of exchanges in talks and library exhibitions, organised in collaboration with local history societies and local councils, will enhance the researchers' understanding of and access to place-names, and enrich the public's awareness of and relation to their local environment and its linguistic landscape.
By the project-end, survey of Scotland's rich and complex place-name legacy will have been significantly advanced. Two full counties will have been surveyed, and three new counties set on the road to completion, the templates and infrastructure for further surveys will have been developed, key issues of methodology and approach established, and new insights into the complexities of the toponyms gained. It will have cemented and built on the insights gained over the past two decades in Scottish onomastics, and consolidated the research base of place-name studies in Scotland.
The project will complete and publish two full county surveys within the funded period, Kinross-shire (KNR) and Clackmannanshire (CLA). Both these counties are manageable, the pre-1975 counties having 5 parishes each (c.200 names per county). Each has had a substantial amount of research on its place-names already, chiefly by members of the project team. Investigating these two counties is not simply a matter of survey. Although both neighbour Fife to the west, each contains particular toponymic registers that do not precisely correspond with Fife. In investigating these counties, key questions must be posed, regarding the nature of toponymic localism, the border(s) of 'Pictish' and 'British', and the varied levels and chronology of Gaelicisation experienced in each region. As illustration, a notable series of place-names containing the habitative element gart 'enclosed field; clearing' exists in CLA, but these names stop more or less abruptly at the border of Fife. Conversely, although Fife contains an abundance of place-names employing the important element pett 'portion of an estate', these are not to be found in the historical core of KNR and only three minor names of this sort survive in CLA. These examples suggest that different factors are at play in the toponymy of central Scotland as one heads west from Fife, and this project will address these differences.
The production of these two county surveys will be conducted alongside work on other counties, in distinct regions: Menteith in historical Perthshire, Cunninghame in Ayrshire and Berwickshire in the Borders. The project team brings key expertise to each of these, making them natural areas to progress to. Menteith in particular is well advanced, allowing preparation of 1 volume of a projected 2. Although the outputs from these areas will not include full survey publication, work will be informed and advanced significantly by progressing in tandem with the completion of two new counties. This process will allow methodological issues to be addressed so as to ensure applicability across a greater range of linguistic, political, and data-source contexts. Key research questions within this methodological portion of the project relate to historical and linguistic approaches in both analysis and presentation; and the effect of varied sources and date-horizons on the presentation of survey data.
The project also aims to provide a new paradigm of public engagement with place-names. A series of exchanges in talks and library exhibitions, organised in collaboration with local history societies and local councils, will enhance the researchers' understanding of and access to place-names, and enrich the public's awareness of and relation to their local environment and its linguistic landscape.
By the project-end, survey of Scotland's rich and complex place-name legacy will have been significantly advanced. Two full counties will have been surveyed, and three new counties set on the road to completion, the templates and infrastructure for further surveys will have been developed, key issues of methodology and approach established, and new insights into the complexities of the toponyms gained. It will have cemented and built on the insights gained over the past two decades in Scottish onomastics, and consolidated the research base of place-name studies in Scotland.
Planned Impact
Research of the sort proposed by the project may have impact at local and national level (its international dimension is primarily academic), and the project intends to engage in interactions beyond academia with a variety of sectors to ensure that the benefits are optimally available.
Our primary interface is with the local community, although the effects of this will feed in and through a variety of other sectors: local councils, NGOs, museums, schools, etc. Our work through the Knowledge Exchange Liaison Group will in itself create a network of relationships among academic researchers, local history societies, local councils, cultural institutions such as libraries, museums and community campuses, and schools. Exhibitions, workshops and talks will feature strongly. This will provide important benefits both for these institutions (through highlighting important aspects of the heritage of the localities) and for the research itself, through engaging new individuals and groups in the collection and research process. Community identity will be enhanced through this, and libraries and museums will have the benefit of new exhibitions tied into important aspects of local identity. It is clear that people find place-names a key matrix through which to explore their connection to local heritage. A witness to this is the thriving Scottish Place-Name Society, with 350+ members and turnouts of 100 at twice-yearly conferences. Both the CoI and the Chief Researcher are officers in the SPNS, and its networks will help ensure maximum national interaction.
Our work will also feed in to wider initiatives outwith the direct scope of this project. Bòrd na Gàidhlig, the body tasked with the maintenance and revitalisation of Scottish Gaelic, has a keen interest in solid data on place-names, feeding through the Aimnean-Àite na h-Alba partnership which they fund (AÀA's remit is to provide historically-based agreed modern Gaelic forms of Scottish place-names); and also in the employment of Gaelic place-name research to show the pervasive legacy of Gaelic in non-highland parts of Scotland. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, in partnership with National Archives of Scotland, has been pioneering an important new web-service 'Scotland's Places' (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk), and we are in discussion with them regarding the longer-term upgrading of the Scottish Place-Name Database and integration into this new service. Our work on this current project will be designed in such a way as to be easily transferable into a new system when it is up and running, making for the widest possible access to scholarly data. We are aware that this means full online accessibility of our data must await developments outside this project, but we are committed to a single, national online database solution for Scotland's place-names, rather than the creation of multiple (and potentially incompatible) small-scale project-based ones. We see this longer-term vision as a strength.
We also envisage a longer-term engagement with bringing place-names into local communities. Members of the team are currently exploring knowledge transfer activities in relation to PNFife with Fife Council, and these will likely include guided walks based on place-name data (progressing to published guides) and study resources for primary and secondary schools. Márkus is already involved in creating walks of this sort for independent events in Falkland, Fife. We would hope to feed experiences from these activities into further developing the research from the proposed project, in particular in Kinross-shire, Clackmannanshire and the other surveyed areas. It is clear that one fruitful area of engagement will be primary and secondary education, and we will seek to develop the requisite links in our areas, and appropriate resources, so that we can engage w
Our primary interface is with the local community, although the effects of this will feed in and through a variety of other sectors: local councils, NGOs, museums, schools, etc. Our work through the Knowledge Exchange Liaison Group will in itself create a network of relationships among academic researchers, local history societies, local councils, cultural institutions such as libraries, museums and community campuses, and schools. Exhibitions, workshops and talks will feature strongly. This will provide important benefits both for these institutions (through highlighting important aspects of the heritage of the localities) and for the research itself, through engaging new individuals and groups in the collection and research process. Community identity will be enhanced through this, and libraries and museums will have the benefit of new exhibitions tied into important aspects of local identity. It is clear that people find place-names a key matrix through which to explore their connection to local heritage. A witness to this is the thriving Scottish Place-Name Society, with 350+ members and turnouts of 100 at twice-yearly conferences. Both the CoI and the Chief Researcher are officers in the SPNS, and its networks will help ensure maximum national interaction.
Our work will also feed in to wider initiatives outwith the direct scope of this project. Bòrd na Gàidhlig, the body tasked with the maintenance and revitalisation of Scottish Gaelic, has a keen interest in solid data on place-names, feeding through the Aimnean-Àite na h-Alba partnership which they fund (AÀA's remit is to provide historically-based agreed modern Gaelic forms of Scottish place-names); and also in the employment of Gaelic place-name research to show the pervasive legacy of Gaelic in non-highland parts of Scotland. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, in partnership with National Archives of Scotland, has been pioneering an important new web-service 'Scotland's Places' (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk), and we are in discussion with them regarding the longer-term upgrading of the Scottish Place-Name Database and integration into this new service. Our work on this current project will be designed in such a way as to be easily transferable into a new system when it is up and running, making for the widest possible access to scholarly data. We are aware that this means full online accessibility of our data must await developments outside this project, but we are committed to a single, national online database solution for Scotland's place-names, rather than the creation of multiple (and potentially incompatible) small-scale project-based ones. We see this longer-term vision as a strength.
We also envisage a longer-term engagement with bringing place-names into local communities. Members of the team are currently exploring knowledge transfer activities in relation to PNFife with Fife Council, and these will likely include guided walks based on place-name data (progressing to published guides) and study resources for primary and secondary schools. Márkus is already involved in creating walks of this sort for independent events in Falkland, Fife. We would hope to feed experiences from these activities into further developing the research from the proposed project, in particular in Kinross-shire, Clackmannanshire and the other surveyed areas. It is clear that one fruitful area of engagement will be primary and secondary education, and we will seek to develop the requisite links in our areas, and appropriate resources, so that we can engage w
Publications
Williamson, E.
(2015)
"hence the name": Berwickshire parishes along the Anglo-Scottish Border as described in the Ordnance Survey Name Books
in Journal of Scottish Name Studies
Williamson E
(2014)
"hence the name": Berwickshire parishes along the Anglo-Scottish Border as described in the Ordnance Survey Name Books
in Scottish Place-Name News
Clancy T O
(2011)
At St Meddan's Convenience: Names of Troon and Environs
in Scottish Place-Name News
Dunlop Leonie Mhari
(2016)
Breaking old and new ground : a comparative study of coastal and inland naming in Berwickshire
Taylor, Simon
(2016)
Charting a course through the Scottish Namescape
Poller T
(2019)
Interdisciplinary approaches to a connected landscape
in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Taylor S
(2013)
Place-Name Walk from Dollar to Harvieston
Taylor S
(2013)
Place-Name Walk in Portmoak, Kinross-shire
Taylor S
(2012)
Place-Name walk Tillicoultry to Alva
McNiven, P.
(2014)
Place-Names and the Medieval Church in Menteith
in Journal of Scottish name Studies
McNiven P
(2012)
Place-names and the medieval church in Menteith' (Part 1)
in History Scotland
McNiven P
(2013)
Place-names of Menteith' (Part 2)
in History Scotland
Hough C
(2012)
Scottish Toponymy in Transition: progressing county surveys of the place-names of Scotland
in Scottish Place-Name News
McNiven P
(2013)
Spittal place-names in Menteith and Strathendrick: evidence of crusading endowments?
in The Innes Review
Hough C
(2014)
The green belt and beyond: metaphor in the landscape
in Scottish Place-Name News
McNiven, P.
(2014)
The Lake of Menteith: Why a Lake among Lochs?
in Journal of Scottish Name Studies
Taylor S
(2020)
The Place-names of Clackmannanshire
Taylor S
(2017)
The Place-names of Kinross-shire
Taylor, S
(2017)
The Place-Names of Kinross-shire
Hough, C A
(2015)
The Scottish Maidenwells
in Nomina: Journal of the Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland
Description | This project has fulfilled its main aim of bringing forward place-name survey, in particular county survey of Scotland, in an attempt to bed in the long-term survey work kicked off by our previous project. It has done this both through revisiting and revising where appropriate some of the protocols used previously, and primarily through producing new place-name surveys (3 separate volumes of over 500 pages each), the first of which has now appeared in print (Place-Names of Kinross-shire, 2017) We also began work on two very different areas, in Ayrshire and Berwickshire, and the contrasts of the underlying source material, and the name stock in each area are very striking, signalling in some cases rather different approaches needing to be taken in future surveys. Further work on surveying Berwickshire has now begun under the auspices of a Leverhulme Trust-funded project 'Recovering the Earliest English Language in Scotland' (REELS), with much of the same research team. One key development has been the use as a source of the mid-19th century Ordnance Survey Name Books, which were being digitised concurrently with the project, and partly spurred on by it, by the National Records of Scotland. Our work has been one of the first detailed explorations across a major area of the nature of this source, and the first attempt to fully exploit them in a systematic way. |
Exploitation Route | At the most simple level of the research, we have shown how to do county surveys, and many more are needed before Scotland has even close to the near full coverage that England has. But we have also inflected the place-name survey, and produced something that is also partly a work of much needed detailed local history. There is a great deal of research that can be built on here by both historians and linguistics (of Gaelic as well as of Old English and Scots). Local communities will be able to incorporate a great deal of local linguistic and historical material from the survey volumes into their heritage material. Indeed, some of this has already taken place in exhibitions, talks, and heritage walks. We have started to work with schools to enable teachers to use the linguistic and historical resources that are embedded in place-names. There is more work that could be done here. A pressing need is the development of an online resource which would enable wider dissemination of the resources than has been practical to date. There is currently some action on this front. |
Sectors | Education,Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Description | Our work has played a part in the ongoing development of a number of Heritage Lottery-funded HLPs in working with local communities and local landscapes. We have pioneered place-name walks which others are taking forward. EducationScotland has, with our help, designed learning resources for schools P1-S6, based around place-names. Various of the members of our Knowledge Exchange Liaison Group, who work in local museums, libraries, and council positions e.g. as council archaeologists, have employed our work in creating new resources, displays, and walks. There remain some ongoing partnerships in this respect. A key development, since 2018, has been taking our experience of work with landscape partnerships in this project, and using it to forge new parntnerships. This has involved the PI and CoIs working through the University of Glasgow with various partners, but also the researchers as independent individuals (e.g. McNiven). |
First Year Of Impact | 2012 |
Sector | Education,Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural,Policy & public services |
Description | Place-Name Resources for EducationScotland within Curriculum for Excellence |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
URL | http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/studyingscotland/resourcesforlearning/learning/Contextsforstudy/... |
Description | Iona's Namescape: Place-Names and their Dynamics in Iona and its Environs |
Amount | £749,785 (GBP) |
Funding ID | AH/T007044/1 |
Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2020 |
End | 09/2024 |
Description | Leverhulme Research Grants |
Amount | £274,523 (GBP) |
Funding ID | RPG-2015-424 |
Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2016 |
End | 12/2019 |
Description | Place-Names of the Coalfield Communities |
Amount | £39,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | East Ayrshire Coalfield Environment Initiative |
Department | Coalfield Communities Landscape Partnership |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2020 |
End | 08/2021 |
Description | Living Lomonds Landscape Partnership |
Organisation | Living Lomonds Landscape Partnership |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Place-name expertise and place-name walks for exploring landscape of the Lomond Hills in Fife and Kinross, largely through agency and expertise of Dr Simon Taylor. THis is based on research from both AHRC funded projects on the place-names of Fife and of Kinross-shire. The LLLP is a Heritage Lottery funded Heritage Landscape Partnership. |
Collaborator Contribution | Hosting and collaborating on KE events. |
Impact | Place-name walk from Falkland to Strathmiglo. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Place-Names of the Galloway Glens |
Organisation | Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | A team descended from the team which carried out Scottish Toponymy in Transition will be engaged with the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership to deliver a survey of 6 parishes in upper Kirkcudbrightshire, over the course of 2018-19. |
Collaborator Contribution | GGLP is the sponsoring organisation, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and they will also be engaged with the dissemination activities. |
Impact | The project is just starting. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | 3 papers by team-members to Scottish Gaelic Studies conference, Glasgow. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | A variety of useful discussions and types of feedback. Bringing session papers together with another project stimulated useful interaction. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | A variety of papers by Taylor, McNiven, Williamson to local history and heritage groups around Menteith, Stirling, Clackmannashire. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talks led to both discussion and exchange of information about local place-names and history. Prompted awareness of work in many local communities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013 |
Description | Big Tent Festival, Falkland |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Disseminated information about place-name work. Main impact was participating in event with wider interest in environment. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
URL | http://www.bigtentfestival.co.uk/green-festival.html |
Description | Coldingham Place-Name Walk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | A dozen delegates from the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists were led on a place-name walk in the vicinity of Coldingham, Berwickshire, by Dr Peter McNiven, researcher on Scottish Toponymy in Transition, and Leonie Dunlop, PhD student on the same project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.isas2015.com/tours-and-excursions/ |
Description | College of Arts Industry Day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Promote the project and name-studies in general within context of partnerships with non-HEI bodies. Informal links made with various non-HEI bodies. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Conference paper at Trends in Toponymy, Heidelberg by Leonie Dunlop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Paper provoked useful discussion. Collaboration between two cognate doctoral students on paper. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Dollar Museum Exhibition |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Exhibition was accompanied by talk. Both stimulated interest in local place-names and work of project. Exchange of information about local place-names. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Exhibition at Kinross Show |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Exhibition sparked queries and exchanges with local community, especially farming community. Greater awareness of research work on local names. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Exhibition at National Records of Scotland From Ae to Zetland: Scotland in the Ordnance Survey Name Books |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Joined with NRS for exhibition related to Scotland's "Year of Natural Scotland"; collaboration was very fruitful. A variety of linkages made around work with newly digitised OS Name Books. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/news/ordnance-survey-name-books-online |
Description | Great British Story, Riverside Museum Glasgow |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk / activity / fun panel event stimulated ideas and interest in place-names Public interest in place-names--and enjoyment! |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/galleries/p00v1z9j |
Description | Kinross Museum Seminar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Engaged with local people about place-names, including informants with local pronunciations and also locations of names. Gathered useful local contacts for lost names and pronunciations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Launch talk for Place-Names of Kinross-shire |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | A launch of the new survey volume, The Place-Names of Kinross-shire, at the University of Glasgow, under the auspices of the Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies. Although on university premises, the talk drew members of the general public as well. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Launch talk for Place-Names of Kinross-shire |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | This talk at Kinross Museum by two of the authors (Simon Taylor and Eila Williamson) launched the volume in the locale about which the book was written, leading to fruitful exchanges among the authors and the general public locally. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Paper by Leonie Dunlop (doctoral student) to Teachers of Old English in Britain and Ireland conference, Belfast. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Academic discussion. Improved work of doctoral student through feedback and engagement. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Paper by Taylor to Association for Scottish Literary Studies schools conference. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked much discussion and had a very good reception. The talk led directly to development of schools resources for Education Scotland, and recruiting of teachers to take part in developing of curriculum resources. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Paper to Scottish Place-Names Society conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Initial talk at outset of project, sparked great interest in future of the project. Particular interest from people in Ayrshire in that component of project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Papers by Williamson and McNiven to Scottish Place-Name Society conference, Stirling |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Useful discussions. It became clear the extent to which OS Name Books are topic for future detailed research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Papers delivered at Society for Name-Studies in Britain and Ireland conference, Athenry, Galway, Ireland March 2012. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Useful academic feedback on methods and on matters of detail. Improvements to quality of the research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Place-Name Walk at Gartmorn Dam |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interest in local landscape and place-names. Collaboration with local KE Liaison Group member. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Place-Name Walk for Ochils Festival: Dollar-Harvieston |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Excellent walk and exchange of information regarding local landscape and place-names. Sparked keen interest in forthcoming work of the project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://onomastics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Place-name-walk-guide-Dollar-to-Harviestoun-June-... |
Description | Place-Name Walk for Ochils Festival: Tillicoultry to Alva 2012 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Walk stimulated interest in place-name and exchange of information about local landscape and place-names. Discovered site of a previously 'lost' place-name. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
URL | http://onomastics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Place-name-walk-guide-CLA-2012.pdf |
Description | Place-Name Walk for Ochils Festival: Tillicoultry to Alva 2014 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interesting exchange of information about local landscape and place-names. Public showed real interest in forthcoming research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://onomastics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Place-name-walk-guide-CLA-2012.pdf |
Description | Place-Name Walk in Kinross-shire for Perth & Kinross Archaeology Month |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Sparked interest in local place-names and exchange of information regarding them. Useful collaborative work with local KE Liaison Group member. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://onomastics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Portmoak-Place-name-walk-guide-FINAL-for-website.... |
Description | Place-Name event at National Records of Scotland |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Provoked thinking about how place-names work, and sense of enjoyment in public. Useful collaboration with National Records of Scotland. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Place-Name walk in Leslie, Fife |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 20 people attended a place-name walk, led by Dr Simon Taylor, under the auspices of the Living Lomonds Landscape Partnership, based on research done under two AHRC place-name projects. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://onomastics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Leslie-Place-Name-Walk-autumn-2015.pdf |
Description | Portmoak Exhibition for Portmoak Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Exhibition of material relating to Kinross-shire place-names. Sparked interest in work of project in Kinross-shire. Very useful collaborative work with local member of our Knowledge Exchange Liaison Group. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Serf, Sauchie, Silver--A Circular Place-Name Walk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A walk through the place-name landscape of Clackmannanshire, one of the original project's study areas, was conducted as part of Doors Open Day for Clackmannanshire in September 2018. It involved conducting people through the landscape, and discussing what place-names can tell you about the languages, history, and culture of the region in the past. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/places/clackmannanshire/serf-sauchie-silver-a-circular-place-name-wa... |
Description | Talk at South Ayrshire History Fair, Troon |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk prompted reflections on various place-names in Ayrshire, feeding into research. Discussion with potential research volunteers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Talk by Peter McNiven to Clackmannanshire Breathe Easy group (part of British Lung Foundation) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk gave rise to ideas about making greater use of outdoors / new reasons to do so. Ideas for local walks etc. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Talk by Simon Taylor on Place-Names of Clackmannashire to Clackmannanshire Field Studies Society in Alloa, Dec 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A talk given to the Clacknannanshire Field STudies Society in Alloa, in order to "live-launch" The Place-Names of Clackmannanshire (2020), one of the key outputs of this project, which came out during lockdown, and was previously only launched online. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Talk by Simon Taylor to Kinross-shire Historical Society |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions, discussion, and offers of new information. Contacts made for investigating problematic place-names. Awareness of work of project was raised. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Talk on the Survey of Scottish Place-Names |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | A talk explaining the origin and launching of the Survey of Scottish Place-Names, delivered to the joint meeting of the Scottish Place-Name Society and the Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland. Both of these societies are a mix of academics and members of the interested general public. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://spns.org.uk/day-conference-4-november-2017-glasgow |
Description | Talk to Clackmannanshire Field Studies Society, Alloa |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Excellent exchange of information, both from our research and also from local knowledge to feed into it. A problematic place-name was solved by information sparked from the talk. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |