| Our talk in March was given by SWAAG member Will Swales, who discussed the origin of the place-name Muker. Menhaker or Meuhaker is first mentioned in 1274 and is generally accepted to derive from the Old Norse mjór-akr meaning ‘a narrow newly-cultivated field’. As places were often originally described with reference to a person’s name or a geographical feature, Will thought it strange that that Muker wasn’t described in relation to the most prominent feature in the area - Kisdon Hill. He then explored other possible interpretations of the name Muker, together with a consideration of the name Kisdon and the hill’s physical appearance. Will pointed out that Kisdon is the name given to several other geographical features on the opposite side of the valley at High Kisdon, Kisdon Scar, Low Kisdon and Kisdon Bottom. He suggested that as these are all located at some height above the river Swale the name might refer to a feature of, or in, the valley below. |