|
⬆︎ Use pull down menus above to navigate the site.
|
|
Introduction
This page will cover speculations about the derivation of the name. It must be remembered that they are speculations only, and that you may choose the one you like, dismiss them all, or invent your own.
The Origin of the Name Gildersome
Several theories have been put forward to explain the derivation of Gildersome's name, some have more validity than others, we shall get to those later. Since place names evolve over time, today's pronunciation may differ radically from its 11th century counterpart, so much so that a Saxon or Dane of the 11th century, somehow propelled into today's world, might not recognise the name of his own village. For example, in Yorkshire, a field that was once called Gildhus is now called Goose Hole. Because of the close similarities between Saxon, Old Norse and Old Danish, not to mention how local and regional dialects blended and evolved, the origin of the name may remain a mystery forever.
The following is a list of the name Gildersome entered into contemporary official documents made from the 12th to the 15th centuries. It's interesting that the name Gildhus remains fairly constant from the 12th century through to the 14th century. and only after that does the name settle down to the more familiar Gildersom(e) or Gyldersom(e). Even as recently as the 19th century, manorial deeds of the Lord and Lady Cardigan contain the spellings Guildersham or Gildersham together with the modern spelling Gildersome which might suggest a guild origin for the name.
This page will cover speculations about the derivation of the name. It must be remembered that they are speculations only, and that you may choose the one you like, dismiss them all, or invent your own.
The Origin of the Name Gildersome
Several theories have been put forward to explain the derivation of Gildersome's name, some have more validity than others, we shall get to those later. Since place names evolve over time, today's pronunciation may differ radically from its 11th century counterpart, so much so that a Saxon or Dane of the 11th century, somehow propelled into today's world, might not recognise the name of his own village. For example, in Yorkshire, a field that was once called Gildhus is now called Goose Hole. Because of the close similarities between Saxon, Old Norse and Old Danish, not to mention how local and regional dialects blended and evolved, the origin of the name may remain a mystery forever.
The following is a list of the name Gildersome entered into contemporary official documents made from the 12th to the 15th centuries. It's interesting that the name Gildhus remains fairly constant from the 12th century through to the 14th century. and only after that does the name settle down to the more familiar Gildersom(e) or Gyldersom(e). Even as recently as the 19th century, manorial deeds of the Lord and Lady Cardigan contain the spellings Guildersham or Gildersham together with the modern spelling Gildersome which might suggest a guild origin for the name.
|
Gildhus 1176
Gildehusum 1181 Gildhus circa 1200 Gildhus 1226 Gildhus circa 1250 Gilhusum 1249 Gyldhusum 1280 Gildehus 1280 |
Gildusme 1297
Gyldusum 1304 Gildesom 1315 Gyldosum 1323 Gildus 1360 Gildersome 1374 Gyldesone 1402 Gildeosome 1409 and 1459 |
Dutch Origin?
The most notable, though completely fanciful, theory regarding the genesis of the name came from Norrisson Scatcherd, Esq. in his "History of Morley" (1830), he proposed that Gildersome was a corruption of Guelderzoom in recognition of Dutch immigrants of 1571 who found asylum in the area after their flight from persecution. Morley historian William Smith perpetuated this myth as did my own relation, William Radford Bilbrough ("History of the Baptist Church of Gildersome"). The theory had its effect and for almost 200 years it became the accepted explanation, it even appeared in Wikipedia for quite a while. It's oblivious from the 1176 record containing Gildhus, that Gildersome's name existed long before any Dutch weavers found their way to Yorkshire.
The Home of Gildas?
Another flight of fancy is the favorite theory of Philip Henry Booth in his History of Gildersome (1912). It puts forward the possibility that the ancient wood we now call Gildersome may have been traditionally called the Wood of Gilder, or something similar. This was based upon a 13th century reference to the "assart of Gildus". The following is his somewhat lenghty conjecture:
"In the Coucher Book of Nostell Priory, according to Sheard, the boundaries of the parishes of “Batelay” and Leeds are described as 'a certain river descending between the wood of Farnley and the assart of Gildersome as far as the hospital of Beeston.' The hospital of Beeston was founded in 1322, and as the word “assart” means land cleared of wood, we may take it that in the 14th century there was land cultivated in Gildersome. Sheard’s rendering of the entry is a little different from Scatcherd’s.
The record of 1298 gives a clue as to the derivation of the placename Gildersome, which, in my opinion, ought to be accepted. The word Gildusme is readily divisible into Gildus haem or the home of Gildus, as is also Gyldhusum, in the 1304 record. I find that Gildus, or Gildas, is the name borne by
1. An apostle of Christianity in North Britain who died in the year 432, who was also known by the names Gildas Minor, Ninian or Ninias (Saint).
2. Gildas, born 516, died 570, British historian, an ecclesiastic, probably a monk, whose life was saddened by the triumph of the Saxons. Alcumn, writing at the end of the 9th century, spells his name Gildus, and terms him the wisest of the Britons.
At Drighlington there were three tribes of Britons; (and) very probably a place of worship at Morley, and in the wanderings of Gildus he possibly acted as a missionary in the district, making himself a near lodging in a place which ever after was known by his name. Gildersome therefore dates from the 5th or 6th century, and not from the 16th, as generally accepted; Gildus founding the place; either one of the two mentioned above, or a chief bearing the same name. At the time of the Conquest there can have been few houses, or much cultivated land, as it finds no place in Domesday Book. To show, however, that the district was inhabited in British or pre-historic times, I would point out that a pair of ancient mill stones, found within half a mile of the boundary of Gildersome, is exhibited in the museum of the Philosophical Hall, Leeds. The spelling Gueldersome, or Geldersome, is never found in ancient records, but always a word beginning with Gild or Gyld, and the word Gildersham (i.e., Gilders or Gildus home) appears on an old tombstone at Batley. No names which suggest a foreign origin are to be found in the earliest records. “The wood of Gilders,” mentioned by Scatcherd, it is clear, is same as the wood of Gildus. Two pages in Domesday Book relating to Morley Wapentake, are left blank; this suggests that the enquiries respecting the wapentake were incomplete, and it is quite clear that the information as to the northern part of the kingdom is not so complete as that in the south."
Valley House?
Armitage Goodall, in his 1914 'Place Names of South-West Yorkshire', after listing the different early spellings of the name Gildersome, concluded that its derivation was Old Norse, meaning the house in the valley or ravine, He wrote: " gill, or valley,' (and) from hũs, a house. The history of the word shows two other interesting points, the intrusion of d as a supporting consonant, and the development of -er from the indefinite vowel of the second syllable." Goodall also names Gilroyd and Gilthwaite, in Yorkshire, as further examples of the use of gil. Gildersome is bounded by four "valleys". The Street, from Adwalton to Bruntcliffe, sits at the convergence of three of those valleys, Howden Clough, Andrew Beck and Dean Beck. There, the Street becomes a bridge that takes you across low lying and difficult to navigate terrain. It is possible, that a house along that "bridge" or just off the edge, could have been called Gilhus (Valley House) during the Danelaw and then when Saxon rule returned, it evolved into Gildhus (Guild House). I personally find this theory to be quite plausible.
Guild House?
Another valid theory postulates that Gildersome's name originates from variations of "Guild House". In the 'Dictionary of British Place Names' this was said about 1181 Gildehusum's meaning: "Place at the Guild-houses, Old Scand. gildi-hus in a dative plural form)". Also, the 'Freemason's Guide and Compendium' pg. 58 says this: "In the West Riding of Yorkshire is an ancient town Gildersome, whose name in 1181 was Gildehusum, meaning 'at the guild house,' and by 1226 Gildhus, the house or hall in which the guild met." The first seven names in the list above, are consistent in their use of a form of Gildhus. This covers a time span of 100 years or so. After that, Gildhus changes with every entry. This suggests to me that, for a time, a guild house may have played a central roll in Gildersome's early days and that after its dissolution, the name drifted away from its original meaning. In Saxon England and in the Danelaw, guilds (whether religious, mercantile, or judicial) were common. The name Gildhus appears in other areas, for instance, there was a Gildhus in Spofforth, one at Harrogate and one at Corbridge in Northumberland, to name a few. The name has also been associated with "money-house" when alluding to toll collection.
Finally, as my cousin and contributor, Brian Appleyard puts it:
"It is possible that the name we now know as Gildersome may have been derived from many sources and handed down by word of mouth and/or sonic tones (not written at that time) from the days when Vikings certainly lived in the vicinity (naming towns in the area with Nordic intonations...Thorpe, Batley, Morley, Selby etc) until one scribe decided to write and record it as ‘Gildhusme’ or another variation around or prior to 1181. We now think of the ‘name’ having as prefix Gild, Geld or Guild with an added ‘husme’ or similar but one then may ask what other sound is there which is similar to Gild and I hold the opinion that it may have been ‘Keld’ which is Nordic for Spring or Well. If one then adds ‘husme’ it may become the house near or with a Well or Spring of which there clearly were plenty around that area and ’hus’ is Nordic for house."
Go to the next page: Gildersome at the time of the Norman Conquest
The most notable, though completely fanciful, theory regarding the genesis of the name came from Norrisson Scatcherd, Esq. in his "History of Morley" (1830), he proposed that Gildersome was a corruption of Guelderzoom in recognition of Dutch immigrants of 1571 who found asylum in the area after their flight from persecution. Morley historian William Smith perpetuated this myth as did my own relation, William Radford Bilbrough ("History of the Baptist Church of Gildersome"). The theory had its effect and for almost 200 years it became the accepted explanation, it even appeared in Wikipedia for quite a while. It's oblivious from the 1176 record containing Gildhus, that Gildersome's name existed long before any Dutch weavers found their way to Yorkshire.
The Home of Gildas?
Another flight of fancy is the favorite theory of Philip Henry Booth in his History of Gildersome (1912). It puts forward the possibility that the ancient wood we now call Gildersome may have been traditionally called the Wood of Gilder, or something similar. This was based upon a 13th century reference to the "assart of Gildus". The following is his somewhat lenghty conjecture:
"In the Coucher Book of Nostell Priory, according to Sheard, the boundaries of the parishes of “Batelay” and Leeds are described as 'a certain river descending between the wood of Farnley and the assart of Gildersome as far as the hospital of Beeston.' The hospital of Beeston was founded in 1322, and as the word “assart” means land cleared of wood, we may take it that in the 14th century there was land cultivated in Gildersome. Sheard’s rendering of the entry is a little different from Scatcherd’s.
The record of 1298 gives a clue as to the derivation of the placename Gildersome, which, in my opinion, ought to be accepted. The word Gildusme is readily divisible into Gildus haem or the home of Gildus, as is also Gyldhusum, in the 1304 record. I find that Gildus, or Gildas, is the name borne by
1. An apostle of Christianity in North Britain who died in the year 432, who was also known by the names Gildas Minor, Ninian or Ninias (Saint).
2. Gildas, born 516, died 570, British historian, an ecclesiastic, probably a monk, whose life was saddened by the triumph of the Saxons. Alcumn, writing at the end of the 9th century, spells his name Gildus, and terms him the wisest of the Britons.
At Drighlington there were three tribes of Britons; (and) very probably a place of worship at Morley, and in the wanderings of Gildus he possibly acted as a missionary in the district, making himself a near lodging in a place which ever after was known by his name. Gildersome therefore dates from the 5th or 6th century, and not from the 16th, as generally accepted; Gildus founding the place; either one of the two mentioned above, or a chief bearing the same name. At the time of the Conquest there can have been few houses, or much cultivated land, as it finds no place in Domesday Book. To show, however, that the district was inhabited in British or pre-historic times, I would point out that a pair of ancient mill stones, found within half a mile of the boundary of Gildersome, is exhibited in the museum of the Philosophical Hall, Leeds. The spelling Gueldersome, or Geldersome, is never found in ancient records, but always a word beginning with Gild or Gyld, and the word Gildersham (i.e., Gilders or Gildus home) appears on an old tombstone at Batley. No names which suggest a foreign origin are to be found in the earliest records. “The wood of Gilders,” mentioned by Scatcherd, it is clear, is same as the wood of Gildus. Two pages in Domesday Book relating to Morley Wapentake, are left blank; this suggests that the enquiries respecting the wapentake were incomplete, and it is quite clear that the information as to the northern part of the kingdom is not so complete as that in the south."
Valley House?
Armitage Goodall, in his 1914 'Place Names of South-West Yorkshire', after listing the different early spellings of the name Gildersome, concluded that its derivation was Old Norse, meaning the house in the valley or ravine, He wrote: " gill, or valley,' (and) from hũs, a house. The history of the word shows two other interesting points, the intrusion of d as a supporting consonant, and the development of -er from the indefinite vowel of the second syllable." Goodall also names Gilroyd and Gilthwaite, in Yorkshire, as further examples of the use of gil. Gildersome is bounded by four "valleys". The Street, from Adwalton to Bruntcliffe, sits at the convergence of three of those valleys, Howden Clough, Andrew Beck and Dean Beck. There, the Street becomes a bridge that takes you across low lying and difficult to navigate terrain. It is possible, that a house along that "bridge" or just off the edge, could have been called Gilhus (Valley House) during the Danelaw and then when Saxon rule returned, it evolved into Gildhus (Guild House). I personally find this theory to be quite plausible.
Guild House?
Another valid theory postulates that Gildersome's name originates from variations of "Guild House". In the 'Dictionary of British Place Names' this was said about 1181 Gildehusum's meaning: "Place at the Guild-houses, Old Scand. gildi-hus in a dative plural form)". Also, the 'Freemason's Guide and Compendium' pg. 58 says this: "In the West Riding of Yorkshire is an ancient town Gildersome, whose name in 1181 was Gildehusum, meaning 'at the guild house,' and by 1226 Gildhus, the house or hall in which the guild met." The first seven names in the list above, are consistent in their use of a form of Gildhus. This covers a time span of 100 years or so. After that, Gildhus changes with every entry. This suggests to me that, for a time, a guild house may have played a central roll in Gildersome's early days and that after its dissolution, the name drifted away from its original meaning. In Saxon England and in the Danelaw, guilds (whether religious, mercantile, or judicial) were common. The name Gildhus appears in other areas, for instance, there was a Gildhus in Spofforth, one at Harrogate and one at Corbridge in Northumberland, to name a few. The name has also been associated with "money-house" when alluding to toll collection.
Finally, as my cousin and contributor, Brian Appleyard puts it:
"It is possible that the name we now know as Gildersome may have been derived from many sources and handed down by word of mouth and/or sonic tones (not written at that time) from the days when Vikings certainly lived in the vicinity (naming towns in the area with Nordic intonations...Thorpe, Batley, Morley, Selby etc) until one scribe decided to write and record it as ‘Gildhusme’ or another variation around or prior to 1181. We now think of the ‘name’ having as prefix Gild, Geld or Guild with an added ‘husme’ or similar but one then may ask what other sound is there which is similar to Gild and I hold the opinion that it may have been ‘Keld’ which is Nordic for Spring or Well. If one then adds ‘husme’ it may become the house near or with a Well or Spring of which there clearly were plenty around that area and ’hus’ is Nordic for house."
Go to the next page: Gildersome at the time of the Norman Conquest
