Placenames
Placenames – Kilpedder
Placenames – Jink’s Hill/Rathdown Road
Rathdown Road is know by older people in Greystones as Jink’s Hill.
It is a steep hill and can appeared jinxed (unlucky) on icy mornings
when cars skid, slip and slide.
However the road gets its name because there was a family called Jenkinson
(nicknamed Jinks) who lived in a cottage on the hill.
A list of local street names and how they got their names from Greystones Tidy Towns
Placenames – Charlesland
Charlesland gets its name from the old English words ‘churl’s acre’.
Here a churl means a member of a kind of farmer,
either a labourer or an owner of a small farm,
especially in the Middle Ages.
In 2003 parts of a musical instrument were found at Charlesland.
Placenames – Delgany (This post includes link to a walking trail)
Tim Praschberger via Compfight
Deilgne, the Irish name for Delgany may have come from;
(a) dealg: a thorn (so Delgany might have been a thorny place).
(b) It may have been the name of a person
(b) or dearg: the colour red
The soil around the whole village is of a reddish colour.
This is particularly noticeable after rain.
Delgany village has a great website.
You can see it HERE
It includes a walking trail which you can see
if you click THIS LINK
Placenames – Victoria Road
CharmaineZoe’s Marvelous Melange via Compfight
In the second half of the 19th century Church Road, Trafalgar Road and Victoria Road were built. Victoria Road was called after the Queen Victoria. You can read more about her HERE Queen Victoria made four official visits to Ireland: 1849, 1853, 1861 and 1900. The railway station in Greystones opened on 30 October 1855. Many houses were built in Greystones after that time.
Placenames – Blacklion
Blacklyon (1760) was an inn.
It was said that there was also an inn
in Bray called the White Lyon.
There is great information here about the inn at Blacklion
on the ever informative Greystones Guide.
Click HERE to see what well known landmark
is now where the inn used be.
Please note: Please supervise children online.
Placenames in Greystones named after Colonel Frederick Burnaby, his wife Elizabeth Hawkins Whitshed and members of her family.
The marriage of Colonel Frederick Burnaby and Elizabeth Hawkins Whitshed explains the names of a lot of places in Greystones. Click HERE to read more about Colonel Burnaby and HERE to read more about Elizabeth.
There are many place called after Colonel Burnaby even though he only paid a short visit here. He died in 1885. Elizabeth was a landowner in Greystones. She owned the land on which the Burnaby Estate is built. She called the estate after Colonel Burnaby. It was built in the early 1900s.
There is the Burnaby Estate, Burnaby Park and The Burnaby Pub also in the town
Burnaby Avenue
Burnaby Court
Burnaby Heights
Burnaby Lawn
Burnaby Manor
Burnaby Mews
Burnaby Mill
Burnaby Park
Burnaby Way
and Burnaby Wood
In the Burnaby Estate there is
St. Vincent’s Road (called after Elizabeth’s father). Here it is in 1985:
Hawkins Lane
Whitshed Road (Hawkins and Whitshed were Elizabeth’s family names).
Portland Road ( The Duke of Portland was Elizabeth’s cousin). This is Portland Road in 1985:
Somerby Road after the town in Leicestershire where the family had connections,
Erskine Avenue after another family member
and Burnaby Road.
Here are some photos of Burnaby Park around 1985
Placenames – Chill Mhantáin/Wicklow
Piyushgiri Revagar via Compfight
Chill Mhantáin means the church or cell of Mantáin.
Mantáin was thought to be a toothless man
who turned to Christianity shortly
after St. Patrick arrived in Ireland.
You can read more about Mantáin HERE
The name Wicklow is from Viking-lo,
which means a low-lying swamp or meadow near water.
Castle Villas/Castlefield Terrace
This is an easy one.
Castle Villas and Castlefield Terrace
are so named because there are
the ruins of a castle
in the back garden of No.6 Castle Villas.
You can see photos of the castle
and learn more about it
on Greystones Guide .
Please monitor your children online.
Placenames – Kimberley Road
Our school backs onto Kimberley Road.
Kimberley Road was named after a British victory.
The town of Kimberley in South Africa
was besieged by the Boers.
The siege began on 14th October 1899
and was ended on 15th February 1900.
Click HERE to read more about the Siege of Kimberley.
People in Greystones used call Kimberley Road,
the Green Lane and the White Road,
because of the surface of the road over time.
Thanks to Gary Acheson and members of Historical Greystones Facebook page for this information.
Placenames – Our school is on Trafalgar Road
This is Trafalgar Road in Greystones.
Our school is located on Trafalgar Road.
C Watts via Compfight
Trafalgar Road got its name in 1855 to commemorate
the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.
This was a victory at sea for the British navy
led by Admiral Horatio Nelson.
The French navy were defeated.
Nelson lost his life at this battle.
Click HERE to learn more about
the Battle of Trafalgar and the
tactics and strategies that were
used.
We got this information from Gary Acheson on the Historical Greystones Facebook page.
Placenames – Kinlen Road
Placenames – Greystones – How Greystones got its name
Photo by Leon
English speaking sailors sailing on
the Irish Sea used to call the area
south of Rathdown, ‘the grey stones’
because of the most noticeable of landmarks;
the grey rocks at St. David’s School.
This is how Greystones got its name.
William Murphy via Compfight
Don’t make this mistake !
Lots of people think that Greystones got its name from the small grey stones that you can see on South Beach. If you made this mistake, don’t worry. We did too.
:: Sr. K :: via Compfight
In fact Greystones was first named by sailors passing by in their boats in the 18th Century. They saw the grey stone of the rocky headland, where St. David’s Secondary School is now and used call the place ‘The Grey Stones’. Greystones would have been the only bit of real shelter for boats along the East Coast from Wicklow to Bray.
Looking North from South Beach towards Bray you can see the small rocky headland here.
Looking South towards the house called Carrig Eden you can see the grey rocks in this photo.
Here is a photograph of what the grey rocks or as the sailors called them ‘grey stones’ look like close up.
Placenames – Rathdown
What is a rath?
A rath was a castle made out of wood;
daub and wattle;
thin branches and mud.
At first the castle at Rathdown was made like this.
Other places where there were wattle and daub castles
are Rathdrum and Rathnew.
Placenames – Wicklow
Links for Teachers – The Placenames of County Wicklow
Rona Kelly via Compfight
Click HERE to see ‘The Placenames of Co. Wicklow’
– From A to W – by Diarmuid O Keeffe.
This information on local placenames
was put together as part of student work experience
in the Heritage Office of Wicklow County Council
using “The Placenames of County Wicklow” by Liam Price.
Placenames – Dun
Dun means a fortified castle made out of stone.
For example there was a castle in
Dun Laoghaire,
Dundalk
and Dundrum