Re: Un-Lake Windermere


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Posted by Robert Dilley on January 15, 1999 at 17:20:56:

In Reply to: Re: Un-Lake Windermere posted by David S on January 13, 1999 at 08:14:36:

David S (Jan 13) may have hit on the right story for the naming of Windermere (Town). Thomas Moule's 1830 map of Westmoreland [sic] marks Bowness (Rio) but no other settlement in the area. The First Edition of the OS (Kendal sheet -- 1864-5) shows Bowness as a sizeable community. A mile or so up the road is a scatter of houses and a hotel, with individual names such as Ellerthwaite, Elleray, Alicehow and a very prominent "Windermere Raily Station". I haven't come across the story David recollects, but it is quite plausible that the rail company wanted an attractive name for its terminus (I remember that Penrith station was -- and maybe still is -- prominently labelled "Change for Ullswater").
The idea (peter edwards, Jan 11) that it is strange for a community to be named for a lake does not stand much scrutiny. In the Lake District there are settlements of Buttermere, Loweswater, Grasmere and Elterwater. The USA is full of "Lake" places: Lake Arthur, LA; Clearlake, CA; Sebago Lake, ME to name a few of dozens. For that matter, I live in Thunder Bay, Ontario, named for a lake feature (cf Green Bay, WI -- or, for that matter, Torbay in Devon). Adding an urban generic to a lake name is not all that unusual, either. The example that springs to mind is Salt Lake City. Also Lake Havasu City, AZ.
Adam Quinan's suggestion that putting the generic "Lake" before the specific is a relict of French terminology makes it a bit difficult to explain (among others) L Powell, L Mead and L Tahoe in the western USA; L Eyre, L Torrens and L Frome in Australia; L Te Anau, L Pukaki and L Taupo in New Zealand; L Rudolf, L Victoria, L Chad and L Kariba in Africa. Maybe the French got around more than we thought. (Incidentally, the French also called Lake Superior "Lac Tracy". Thunder Bay's promotional motto is "Superior by Nature": "Tracy by Nature" just wouldn't have the same effect).
Maybe AR was wise, in just referring to "The Lake".


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