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Torpenhow Hill

thread1010-481878

Torpenhow Hill

Torpenhow Hill

(OP)
Somebody posted this on Facebook and I have just fact checked it.

Quote (Jessica Goeller)


Torpenhow Hill, England

When the Saxons arrived and asked the Welsh the name of that hill, the Welsh said “pen” which means "hill" in Welsh. So the Saxons used their word for hill, “tor,” and called it Torpen (hill hill).

Then the Norse arrived and the same process added the their world for hill “Haugr”. So now it was Torpen Haugr (Hill Hill Hill).

Later, the English called it Torpenhow Hill (Hill Hill Hill Hill)

Language is awesome.

--
JHG

Replies continue below

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RE: Torpenhow Hill

What is the source of your fact check?

A few minutes of Google finds a bunch of debunks, but no affirmation of the actualness.

RE: Torpenhow Hill

(OP)
MintJulep,

I must admit, I did not check carefully. It has a Wikipedia page that questions its validity. I understand that Avon is based on a Celtic word for river, so there is redundancy going on in Great Britain.

--
JHG

RE: Torpenhow Hill

That's a shame. It's the sort of thing you want to be true.

Torpenhow is definitely a place

...just seems to be missing its hill. The nearby spot height at 205m is a place called Brown Moor.

A.

RE: Torpenhow Hill

(OP)
IRstuff,

I live in southern Ontario, Canada. There is a Hamilton Mountain in my vicinity, and people go skiing at Blue Mountain up in Collingwood. When we mention these things, people from Alberta and British Columbia stare at us and they remark that they could have sworn we said "mountain".

My concept of what a hill is might not be your concept of what a hill is, although I don't think Wales is very flat.

--
JHG

RE: Torpenhow Hill

It was a movie, 'The Englishman who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain' and it took place in Wales. It's actually a pretty decent film, albeit typical British humor, but the actors do a good job and it's well worth the watch:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Englishman_who_W...

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RE: Torpenhow Hill

Quote (drawoh)

I live in southern Ontario, Canada. There is a Hamilton Mountain in my vicinity, and people go skiing at Blue Mountain up in Collingwood. When we mention these things, people from Alberta and British Columbia stare at us and they remark that they could have sworn we said "mountain".

I grew up on said mountain. It just demonstrates once again that Hamiltonians are far more inclusive than Albertans.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."

RE: Torpenhow Hill

Later, the English called it Torpenhow Hill (Hill Hill Hill Hill)

It's one of those things that if it's not true it should be.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."

RE: Torpenhow Hill

There are many place names in the UK that are tautological. Torpenhow Hill is just one of them. The River Avon (there are at least 2 Avons in England and Wales) is, strictly the River River as drawoh mentioned.

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