I just noticed that there are two villages called Trowbridge and not even too far one from the other, to make it more confusing. I remember I went to see a friend in the T. near Bath over a decade ago:(!!! (time flies), and they were living in what I thought was a charming accomodation. Apparently they were originally accomodation for miners, all in a row, made of stones and communicating one house with the other through a door. It felt like being in a castle!
Its more common than you might realise. Several times I've been momentarily confused when miles from home and I've seen the sign for a local (to me) village name that's just a couple of miles. On a slightly different but related note, trying living in the county of Cleveland, and then using your favourite search engine to find businesses in your home county. Sometimes I think my life would be simpler if I just moved to Ohio.
There are 2 Woolfardisworthy's in Devon. Now whats the chances of that other than it means the same thing?
Well, you see Zig, all the pretty villages in Devon look much the same, and when the sign-post supplier duplicated the order, the County Council thought, ...well, why not? nobody will notice!!...... a-a
What a great name, must be something to do with sheep / wool I guess? No I was wrong, out of curiosity I googled it: “The name of the village is a local curiosity, as its pronunciation (and occasional spelling) differs from what one might expect. On local signs, the village is sometimes marked as Woolsery alongside the original name. This is due to the pronunciation of the village's name being /ˈwʊlzəri/. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names (Eilert Ekwall, 4th ed., 1960), the origin of the name is probably 'Wulfheard's homestead'. The element 'worthy' is from Old English worþig, one of several words used by the Anglo-Saxons to denote a homestead, farmstead or small settlement. Who Wulfheard was, or whether both Devon villages are named for the same man, cannot be known, but the relative proximity of two villages with such an unusual name is intriguing.” Wouldn’t it be funny if they both twinned with each other, the sign would read Woolfardisworthy Twinned with Woolfardisworthy
