5 Unusual Yorkshire Place Names

Some say we talk daft, we say they do. We’re proud of being from Yorkshire, proud of our landscapes and proud of our dialect – that said, we have sometimes given some weird and wonderful names to where we live. Here’s 5 of the best…

1. Kirkby Overblow

All Saints Church is an important part of the village name. Picture credit: Gordon Hatton wikipedia creative commons.
All Saints Church is an important part of the village name. Picture credit: Gordon Hatton wikipedia creative commons.

The village of Kirkby Overblow between Harrogate and Leeds is perhaps one of the more unusual names.

“Overblow” is merely a corruption of the word “Oreblow”, which is a reference to the iron smelting works which was once here.

The pre-fix “Kirkby” means “church village”, so put together:

Kirkby Overblow = The Church Village of the Ore Blowers

And a lovely bit of Yorkshire it is too.

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2. Thornton Le Beans

The village street of Thornton le Beans.
A village street in Thornton le Beans. Picture credit Gordon Hatton wikipedia creative commons

This village located at the top of North Yorkshire, near Northallerton means simply:

“A farm with thorn bushes that grows beans”

That is all, but is still a great name to look out for on a signpost as it rolls beautifully off the tongue… and it still gets pretty windy up on t’moors!

3. Crackpot

A lovely view over Crackpot Dale Picture credit:
A lovely view over Crackpot Dale Picture credit: Chris Downer

High up in the Yorkshire Dales lies the village of “Crackpot”.

It is made up of a combination between the old English “kraka”, which means “crow” and an ancient Viking word, “pot”, which means a cavity or hole in the rock.

Crackpot = Crow Hole

It’s still a barmy Yorkshire name though!

4. Jump

An unusual place name in Yorkshire, Jump.
An unusual place name in Yorkshire, Jump. (www.theguardian.com)(

The village of “Jump”, is situated a few miles South East of Barnsley.

According to local legend the village acquired its name because of a stream which ran through its centre.

Local miners had to “jump” across the stream in order to gain access and cross from one side of the village to the other.

The first unusually named place that springs to mind- Wetwang.. Picture Credit Dave Axe (IFY community)
The first unusually named place that springs to mind- Wetwang.. Picture Credit Dave Axe (IFY community & summonedbyfells flickr

5. And finally…Wetwang

The East Yorkshire village of Wetwang has often been the butt of many jokes, but actually its origins appear to be somewhat mundane.

The most common theory is that it derived from the old Viking word, “Vaetvangrr”, which simply means:

“field for the summons of trial or action”

The late great Richard Whitely famously became the Mayor of Wetwang in 1998, an honour that has been held by weatherman, Paul Hudson since 2005.

You can find 5 more unusual Yorkshire Place Names in our other article.