Subject: from a concise dictionary of modern place names<br/>
Date: Dec 03, 2003 @ 06:45<br/>
Author: acroorca2002 (&quot;acroorca2002&quot; &lt;orc@...&gt;)<br/>
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<div id="ygrps-yiv-2032498875">littleworth <br/>
a village of south yorkshire <br/>
was the first alphabetically to catch my eye or tickle my fancy<br/>
but even it wasnt what it seemed<br/>
<br/>
it turns out the original name of this village was shittleworth<br/>
recorded in the domesday book of 1086 as scitelesuuorde<br/>
as sitlewrth in the 12th c<br/>
& as schutlesworth in 1210<br/>
<br/>
the present name was first recorded in 1724<br/>
as littleworth yard<br/>
with the change in the first part of the name made some time before <br/>
this<br/>
presumably because of the indelicate associations of the original name<br/>
which in fact means simply<br/>
barred enclosure<br/>
from old english scyttels bar bolt shut etc etc etc<br/>
<br/>
& the entry concludes <br/>
cf middlestown & netherton & overton<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
so <br/>
middlestown<br/>
village of west yorkshire<br/>
<br/>
original name of the village<br/>
in use in some form down to the 19th c<br/>
was middle shitlington<br/>
<br/>
this was changed however for reasons of propriety<br/>
with the present name first recorded in 1556 as midlestowne<br/>
etc<br/>
<br/>
the old name simply meant scyttels farm<br/>
that is<br/>
it was derived from the name of a person<br/>
whose name also was just this same word for bar bolt shut etc<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
& netherton<br/>
another village of west yorkshire<br/>
<br/>
name down to early 19th c was one form or another of nether <br/>
shitlington<br/>
<br/>
gradually changed <br/>
presumably for reasons of delicacy<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
& finally overton<br/>
yet another village of west yorkshire<br/>
<br/>
name was recorded as both overton & over shitlington<br/>
down to the 19th c<br/>
the latter name referring to a farm owner here<br/>
but also abandoned thru reasons of propriety<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
& my conclusion for this ensemble is <br/>
it seems likely to have been the same farmer who caused middlestown <br/>
netherton & overton<br/>
tho littleworth was too old & far away to have been his doing</div>