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Archiver > ESSEX-UK > 2004-09 > 1094110917


From: "patricia salter" <>
Subject: Re: Re:Nicknames - ' Pole' GOODY (Maypole Pub) & others
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 08:42:17 +0100
References: <44C44479.1869476F.006A19F4@aol.com> <017c01c49059$e393a650$a8790650@packard>


The point about relationships in villages is very true. I have been
researching one of my family lines in Pirton, Hertfordshire and I have found
that practically every person in the village, especially in the 19th
century, was related to each other in one degree or another. There was
only one family that didnt seem to have a connection and that was the
gentry, but even they I think were related way back in time as the same
surname appeared amongst the 'lowly' villagers as well, this probably came
about via primogeniture around the 16th century (I havent gotten that far
back yet).
Patti




----- Original Message -----
From: "colleen morrison" <>
To: <>
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2004 8:28 PM
Subject: Re: Re:Nicknames - ' Pole' GOODY (Maypole Pub) & others


> Good point about bonding, Dave. 19th century rural villages could be
> very tight knit communities because there was so much interdependency and
> so many of those in a village would have been related to almost their
entire
> village in one form or another. Nicknames would have been one way of
> expressing, cementing and testing those bonds. Perhaps mariners needed
even
> tighter knit communities than land lubbers as only another mariner could
> help you if you got into trouble at sea or out on the estuary. So the
> apparent
> higher incidence of nicknames among mariners is one expression of that.
>
> I also have a cousin who has 'become' her nickname. Most people know
> her as simply as Binx and haven't a clue what her Christian name really
is.
>
> Colleen
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <>
>
> > In an email dated 1/9/2004 8:21:18 am GMT Daylight time, "colleen
> > morrison" <> writes:
> >
> >>>The nicknames which seem to have been rife in this part of Essex -
> >>>Maldon, Tiptree, Tollesbury, Blackwater estuary villages - especially
in
> >>>coastal areas among the fishing and boating community, fascinate me.
> >>
> >>Old Pye, Old Stubbins, Shaver Mills, Sooty Mussett, Hobby Keeble, Gunner
> >>Cook, Pinky Hewes, 'Admiral' Wyatt among them.
> >>
> >
> > Hi Colleen
> >
> > ISTRT I have read about the commonness of nicknames in Essex somewhere
> > before. I'm not sure if it was a method of 'bonding' during difficult
> > times, but to use a different name from the given name has always put
both
> > the person called by the nickname and the person calling them by it into
a
> > sort of 'club' - a piece of shared knowledge that puts them outside the
> > boundary of a formal relationship and inside the boundary of friendship.
> > The fishermen in Leigh-on-Sea were nearly all known by their nicknames
> >
> > These nicknames could also seem quite insulting to those on the outside,
> > using descriptions of the person in one form or another. Your 'Pole'
Goody
> > (tall and thin like a bean-pole, with the added 'in-joke' of him running
> > the Maypole Inn) is one example, as well as 'Lofty' meaning someone
tall.
> > Then there are the opposites - 'Lofty' for someone short, 'Bright' for
> > someone who's a bit on the dim side, etc.
> >
> > But 'insults' like these are all part of the British way of life which
is
> > not always understood by those places abroad where it is socially
> > unacceptable to say anything bad about someone to their face. In the UK,
> > once you have got to know someone well enough to feel comfortable
stepping
> > over the boundaries in order to be rude to them and they have insulted
you
> > back then it's a sign you have been accepted.
> >
> > However, it must be obvious that the insult is meant in jest. Get that
> > wrong and they will never speak to you again!
> >
> > It is the same with nicknames - unless your nickname has virtually
become
> > your Christian name (I know someone whose name is Helen but everyone
calls
> > her Hen) it is insulting for a stranger or an official to use it until
you
> > have got to know them better.
> >
> > Dave D
> >
> >
>
>
>


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