Welcome to Dorset Allsorts

We'll be posting a variety of facts and photos of whatever takes our fancy as we wander around Dorset. They may be of churches, buildings, visitor attractions or natural scenes – in fact there will be all sorts! We hope they will give you a glimpse of some of the sights this beautiful county has to offer.



Wednesday 23 June 2010

Shitterton

Ok folks, for everone who enjoyed the Scratchy Bottom post, here is another to amuse and delight.  This heavyweight sign in Purbeck stone is a recent instalment that has replaced the usual metal signs which were regularly stolen for some strange reason!  The name is probably derived from a river called Shiter, "a brook used as a privy", but we can assure you the brook is crystal clear these days! 



Shitterton itself is charming; a tiny hamlet filled with lovely thatched cottages. One house is even appropriately named Pooh Corner! The place is sometimes referred to as Sitterton, so as not to offend those of a more delicate disposition...

5 comments:

  1. It's so hard to invent English place names that are wilder than the existing ones!

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  2. Hi Fairyhedgehog, thanks for visiting again. You are right about place names, your Pratt's Bottom is a cracker! We have a River Piddle around herelots of places have 'Piddle' in them which is great fun!

    Nick and Karen

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  3. Piddle is a good one! I've tried writing a story set in the English countryside and nothing I made up sounded as daft as real place names.

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  4. Don't be afraid of using real place names if you want. Look at Dan Brown, or Colin Dexter, or Ian Rankin. They have all used real places to great effect, (and possibly sold lots of books to the locals and boosted tourism in the area!)

    If you do want to make up a place name, I'd keep it fairly simple - Weatherfield, Warmington- on Sea, St Marymead are all quite innocuous and don't unduly dominate the story for example.

    Nick & Karen

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  5. Warmington-on-Sea was a great one!

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