BLAGDON
This is a copy of an article published in
The Peak Advertiser, the Peak District's local free newspaper,
on 9th August 2004,
reproduced by kind permission of the author, the late Desmond Holden.
The “What's in a Name” series was a regular
feature in the Advertiser over the period 1993‑2004,
taking a refreshing look at the derivation of some typically
Derbyshire surnames.
Articles are confined to the origins and meanings of surnames,
and do not indicate any particular interest on Desmond's part in
the genealogy, descent, or family history of individuals bearing
the surnames featured.
Editor's Note: Articles are provided for general interest and
background only. They are not intended to provide an exhaustive treatise
for any individual family history - investigations of which may yield
quite different results. Or, in Desmond's own words:
“In the end it must remain with individual bearers of the names to
draw upon family traditions and to seek out such documentary
evidence as is available to decide the matter for themselves.”
WHAT'S IN A NAME …
Are you called BLAGDON??
(Variations: Blagden, Blackden)
This surname, principally found spelled as "Blagdon" (the
variations are not significant), is derived from a place name
which is shared by several locations. Hazarding a guess,
Blagdon in Northumberland is very likely to be the source of
the corresponding surname in this region (there are 7 listed
in the local directory) but there are also about half a dozen
sites elsewhere - mostly in the South-West. With the
exception of Blagdon in Somerset, the remaining locations are
really too small and remote and it is suggested that while a
surname might have been adopted by some of the inhabitants,
once they had moved beyond the immediate vicinity, the name
would have been meaningless among their new neighbours and
they would have adopted a more meaningful alternative.
The name, however spelled, is made up of two Old English
words: blaec (black) and denu (valley). The latter is one of
the commonest elements in English place names and needs no
further exposition. The prefix "Blaec" or "Black" is somewhat
perplexing. It is first recorded in 890 AD yet it does not
seem to have any discernible relationship with other European
languages. Those derived from Latin have words based on
"niger" such as the French "noire". Nordic languages have
"swartz" (German) and "sort" (Norwegian).
A study of the document of 890 and later examples indicates
that it could be interpreted not as an absence of colour but
simply shadiness. Its use in place names can usually be
verified from examination of the attendant circumstances. In
a case such as "Blackwood" it could only have related to
dark, shady conditions beneath dense foliage and not absolute
blackness. In the case of Blackburn in Lancashire it could
only have referred to the brown water of the stream involved
(River Blakwater) as it permeated the peaty soils of the
Pennine Uplands.
In the south of England the most probable site from which the
surname has been derived is Blagdon in Somerset. It is quite
distinctive, on the A368 highway, about 10 miles east of
Weston-Super-Mare. The "valley" implied in the name (-don) is
that of the River Yeo which is now forming "Blagdon Lake" - a
reservoir for Bristol. Neighbouring features bear names such
as Blackmoor, Black Rock, Blackford Moor, which are
significant in this case. The first recorded name is in this
vicinity: Roger de Blakeden (Worcester, 1275). Other
instances are all emanating from places nearby.
Families associated with the North of England can almost
certainly relate their name to a site in Northumberland. It
is principally park-land and is dominated by Bladgon Hall
(Viscount Ridley). The valley appears to be traversed by a
tributary of the River Blyth. The presence of a noble
household and estate raises the distinct possibility that
many of the bearers of the name today had ancestors who were
in the employ of the Ridley Estate and adopted the name as
their identity. To take the name of one's employer or his
dwelling was a practice widely followed in the past and
examples can be cited from even during the 1920s.
A location over the border in Cheshire (Buxton: 25 miles) is
a possible source but its case is not argued with confidence.
It is Blackden. It is close to the Macclesfield Road (A535)
and about 4½ miles west of Middlewitch. It is possible
that workers could have emigrated to Manchester and then
across our border, but all suggestions are speculative. It
has a special interest in that it is close to the site of the
Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope.
The name does not feature strongly in the Standard National
Biographies. First there is Sir Charles Blagden (1748-1820)
who was of Scots family. He was a distinguished medical and
physical scientist whose experiments to find absolute zero
were innovative and still noted. As a point of interest, and
no more, he has a tenuous connection with the Cavendish
family. The second is Francis Blagdon (1778-1819) who was a
Journalist and prolific miscellaneous writer. He was highly
regarded in his day, but his reputation died with him.
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© Desmond Holden
From "The Peak Advertiser", 9th August 2004.
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