Amounderness
Encyclopedia
Amounderness was a hundred of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
in North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
. Formerly, the name had been used for territories now in Lancashire and north of the River Ribble
River Ribble
The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in northern England. The river's drainage basin also includes parts of Greater Manchester around Wigan.-Geography:...
that had been included in Domesday Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
Etymology and history
There are two suggested etymologies for Amounderness. The traditional 19th century reading was that the name derived from ac (oak) and mund (protection), "a ness or promontory sheltered by oaks". This was given currency by Porter.The current view is that the area is named after Agmundr, a Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
warlord who died at the Battle of Tettenhall
Battle of Tettenhall
The Battle of Tettenhall took place, according to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle near Tettenhall, on the 5 August 910. The allied forces of Mercia and Wessex met an army of Northumbrian Vikings in Mercia...
in August 910; Partington's early 20th century description of "Amounder ... the first Viking who settled in the Fylde
The Fylde
The Fylde ; Scandinavian: "field") is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Bowland hills to the east...
country" now being considered more fanciful than historically accurate.
In The Place-names of Lancashire, Ekwall supports an early 10th century coinage citing A[g]hemundesnes and the late 11th century Agmundrenesse. The etymology of Agmundr is Old West Scandinavian
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
agi- ("awe, terror") or possibly the German *ag- ("point, weapon point"), with -mundr, from Old West Scandinavian *-munduR ("protection"). The name appears in Old Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
as Aghmund and in Old West Norse as Ogmundr. While the formal title of the warrior was almost certainly Agmundrholdr, his familiar or lall-name would have been Mundi.
Victorian commentators, such as Porter, often cited a 7th century grant made at Ripon
Ripon
Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...
by Ecgfrith of Northumbria
Ecgfrith of Northumbria
King Ecgfrith was the King of Northumbria from 670 until his death. He ruled over Northumbria when it was at the height of its power, but his reign ended with a disastrous defeat in which he lost his life.-Early life:...
and Æthelwine as proof that Amounderness existed before the 10th century. In fact, the grant itself has not survived, its only source being an early 8th century hagiography
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
of the Northumbrian bishop Wilfrid - Vita Sancti Wilfrithi
Vita Sancti Wilfrithi
The Vita Sancti Wilfrithi or Life of St Wilfrid is an early 8th-century hagiographic text recounting the life of the Northumbrian bishop, Wilfrid. Although a hagiography, it has few miracles, while its main concerns are with the politics of the Northumbrian church and the history of the...
- by Stephen of Ripon (also known was Eddius Stephanus). There is no reference to Amounderness in this text, merely to lands "iuxta Rippel" (next to the Ribble
River Ribble
The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in northern England. The river's drainage basin also includes parts of Greater Manchester around Wigan.-Geography:...
). The historical misattribution may be due to the 16th-century antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
John Leland who cites Hasmundesham (possibly Amounderness) in his Collectanea, originally published in 1632, but does so without proper supporting evidence.
Amounderness was granted to Wulfstan I, Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
in June 934 by Æthelstan
Athelstan of England
Athelstan , called the Glorious, was the King of England from 924 or 925 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder, grandson of Alfred the Great and nephew of Æthelflæd of Mercia...
, King of England. A spoil of battle, the area had been annexed in 926. According to the grant, the extent of Amounderness was much greater than its present-day counterpart being the land "from the sea along the Cocker to the source of that river, from that source straight to another spring which is called in Saxon, Dunshop, thus down the riverlet to the Hodder
River Hodder
The River Hodder is a river in Lancashire, England. The river is a County Biological Heritage Site.It rises on White Hill and flows for approximately 23 miles to the River Ribble, of which it is the largest tributary...
, in the same direction to the Ribble
River Ribble
The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in northern England. The river's drainage basin also includes parts of Greater Manchester around Wigan.-Geography:...
and thus along that river through the middle of the channel to the sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
".
Ekwall corroborates this talking of the eastern boundary of Amounderness as "being formed by the fells on the Yorkshire border". This places the boundary within the modern-day Forest of Bowland
Forest of Bowland
The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells, is an area of barren gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England. A small part lies in North Yorkshire, and much of the area was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire...
where Dunsop Bridge
Dunsop Bridge
Dunsop Bridge is a village within the Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England, situated north-west of Clitheroe, south-east of Lancaster and east of Skipton. It is in the civil parish of Bowland Forest High....
sits close to the eastern mouth of the Trough of Bowland that straddles the traditional Lancashire-Yorkshire border. After the Norman conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
, this eastern portion of Amounderness became part of the Lordship of Bowland
Lordship of Bowland
The Lordship of Bowland, an ancient English title connected with the Forest of Bowland in the northwest of England, was once thought lost and was only recently rediscovered. It disappeared from sight in 1885 when the estates of the Towneleys, one of Lancashire’s great aristocratic families, were...
.
In the 10th century, Amounderness would have been strategically important in terms of the Dublin-York axis. Its strategic importance is mirrored on the east coast by Holderness
Holderness
Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common with the Netherlands than other parts of Yorkshire...
in the East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
.
By the 12th century, Amounderness and Bowland had become two distinct and separate Lordships, each centred on its own seigneurial, later royal forest
Royal forest
A royal forest is an area of land with different meanings in England, Wales and Scotland; the term forest does not mean forest as it is understood today, as an area of densely wooded land...
.
Geography
The hundred of Amounderness corresponds to today's administrative districts of Fylde, WyreWyre
Wyre is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde.The district is named after the River Wyre, which runs through the district...
, Preston
City of Preston, Lancashire
The City of Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district in Lancashire, England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign...
and part of Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe. Other places include Whalley, Longridge and Ribchester. The area is so called due to the River Ribble which flows in its final stages...
(north of the River Ribble and within the historic boundaries of Lancashire
History of Lancashire
The History of Lancashire begins with its establishment as a county of England in 1182, making it one of the youngest of the historic counties of England.-Early history:In the Domesday Book, some of its lands had been treated as part of Yorkshire...
). It included Bispham
Bispham, Blackpool
Bispham is a village roughly one-and-a-half miles north of Blackpool town centre on the Fylde coast in the county of Lancashire, England.-Geography and administration:...
, Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
, Broughton-in-Amounderness, Chipping
Chipping, Lancashire
Chipping is a village and civil parish of the borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, within the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,046....
, Cockerham
Cockerham
Cockerham is a small village and civil parish within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. It is south of Lancaster and north-northwest of Preston...
, Garstang
Garstang
Garstang is a town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is ten miles north-northwest of the city of Preston and eleven miles south of Lancaster, and had a total resident population of 4,074 in 2001....
, Kirkham
Kirkham, Lancashire
Kirkham, or as it once was known, Kirkam-in-Amounderness is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England, midway between Blackpool and Preston and adjacent to the smaller town of Wesham. It owes its existence to Carr Hill upon which it was built and which was the location...
, Knott End-on-Sea
Knott End-on-Sea
Knott End-on-Sea is a village in Lancashire, England, situated on the southern side of Morecambe Bay, across the Wyre estuary from Fleetwood. Although there is no through road , the village is in fact the main commercial centre for the Over Wyre area...
, Mitton, Pilling
Pilling
Pilling is a village and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is north-northeast of Poulton-le-Fylde, south-southwest of Lancaster and northwest of Preston, in a part of the Fylde known as Over Wyre....
, Preesall
Preesall
Preesall is a town and civil parish in Lancashire, England. The parish covers the eastern bank of the estuary of the River Wyre, including Knott End-on-Sea, Pilling Lane and the village of Preesall itself...
, Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation in the area from 12,000 years ago and several archaeological finds from Roman...
, Preston, and Ribchester
Ribchester
Ribchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston.The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze Age beginnings...
.
The name is preserved in the present-day Amounderness Way, which is part of the A585 road
A585 road
The A585 is a primary road in England which runs from Kirkham to Fleetwood in Lancashire.The road runs a total distance of just under , on a mixture of rural and urban residential/commercial streets...
that runs between Mains Lane in Thornton
Thornton, Lancashire
Thornton is a village on the Fylde, in Lancashire, England, about four miles north of Blackpool and two miles south of Fleetwood. It is in the Borough of Wyre...
and Dock Street in Fleetwood
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era...
.
Amounderness in popular culture
In his 1858 novel Mervyn Clitheroe, William Harrison AinsworthWilliam Harrison Ainsworth
William Harrison Ainsworth was an English historical novelist born in Manchester. He trained as a lawyer, but the legal profession held no attraction for him. While completing his legal studies in London he met the publisher John Ebers, at that time manager of the King's Theatre, Haymarket...
portrays the minor character of the Earl of Amounderness whose "sylvan domains ... at Dunton Park ... boasted much noble timber". Ainsworth's protagonist Mervyn Clitheroe shoots a buck "in the domains of Lord Amounderness."
Amounderness registration district
Amounderness was also the name of a registration district for births, deaths and marriages from 1 April 1935 to 31 March 1974. It covered an area surrounding (but excluding) Preston that was much smaller than the hundred, including areas south of the Ribble that were outside the hundred. It comprised the civil parishes of BartonBarton, Preston
Barton is a linear village and civil parish in the City of Preston, Lancashire, England. The parish had a population of 1,096 according to the 2001 census.-Geography:The village is about north of Preston. The parish is bound by the A6 road to the west...
, Broughton, Cuerdale
Cuerdale
Cuerdale is a civil parish in the South Ribble district of Lancashire, England. It includes Cuerdale Hall and has no substantive settlements. It originated as a township in the parish of Blackburn, becoming a separate civil parish in 1866...
, Farington
Farington
Farington is a small village and civil parish in the South Ribble local government district of Lancashire, England.-Geography:Situated to the immediate north of Leyland, Farington consists of villages, farms and mossland, modern residential development and an industrial area around the Leyland...
, Fulwood
Fulwood, Lancashire
Fulwood is an unparished area of the City of Preston, Lancashire, England, about north of the city centre. It had a population of 33,171 in 2001.- Economy and society :Fulwood remains a distinctive division of Preston...
, Goosnargh
Goosnargh
Goosnargh is a village and civil parish on the north side of Preston, Lancashire, England. The village lies between Broughton and Longridge, and mostly lies in the civil parish of Whittingham, although the ancient centre lies in the civil parish of Goosnargh...
, Grimsargh
Grimsargh
Grimsargh is a village and civil parish in the City of Preston, Lancashire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 2,164. The parish is part of the electoral ward of Preston Rural East.-Geography:...
, Haighton
Haighton
Haighton is a civil parish in the City of Preston, Lancashire, England. It is a rural area north east of the urban city of Preston, beyond Fulwood and Brookfield.-Geography:Haighton also contains the hamlets of Haighton Green and Haighton Top...
, Hutton
Hutton, Lancashire
Hutton is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England. It is located south west of Preston, in the South Ribble borough and parliamentary constituency.-History:...
, Lea
Lea, Lancashire
Lea and Cottam are villages in the City of Preston, Lancashire, England. Together they form the civil parish of Lea, which has a population of 5,962.-Geography:...
, Little Hoole
Little Hoole
Little Hoole is a civil parish in Lancashire, England, It contains the village of Walmer Bridge, and the remaining part is predominantly a farming community. Other nearby villages include Much Hoole and Longton. The parish had a population of 1,815 people in 2001.-Geography:Little Hoole is near an...
, Longton
Longton, Lancashire
-External links:**...
, Much Hoole
Much Hoole
Much Hoole is a village and civil parish in the borough of South Ribble, Lancashire, England. The parish of Much Hoole had a population of 1,851 at the time of the 2001 census.-History:...
, Penwortham
Penwortham
-Landmarks:Penwortham Priory was built for the Rawsthorne family and redesigned by the Cumbrian architect George Webster. The priory was demolished due to the rapid expansion of the area and the need for new housing...
, Salmesbury, Walton-le-Dale
Walton-le-Dale
Walton-le-Dale is a village in the Borough of South Ribble, in Lancashire, England. It lies on south bank of the River Ribble, and the south-side of the city of Preston, adjacent to Bamber Bridge.-Toponymy:...
, Whittingham
Whittingham, Lancashire
Whittingham is a civil parish in the City of Preston, Lancashire, England. The parish measures east-to-west, from the outskirts of Longridge to the outskirts of Broughton, but only 1 mile north-to-south. Its population was 2,189 in 2001...
and Woodplumpton
Woodplumpton
Woodplumpton is a village and civil parish in the City of Preston, Lancashire, England, located north of Preston.-Geography:It is part of the Fylde, a flat area of land between the Forest of Bowland and the Lancashire coast.-Community:...
(all of which were transferred to Preston and South Ribble registration district in 1974), and Alston, Dilworth, Dutton
Dutton, Lancashire
Dutton is a civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley in the English county of Lancashire, its principal settlement being the hamlet of Lower Dutton.The parish is northeast of Ribchester.- External links :*...
, Hothersall
Hothersall
Hothersall is a civil parish in the Ribble Valley district, in Lancashire, England. The parish, which is on the north bank of the River Ribble, is rural and contains no major villages, and in the 2001 census had a population of 136...
and Ribchester
Ribchester
Ribchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston.The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze Age beginnings...
(which were transferred to Ribble Valley registration district).
