Q: I've often wondered what Byshottle means in Brandon and Byshottles. I've always thought it referred to small communities around Brandon. Am I right? - Mrs M.Dixon, Willington.

A: I am not certain what the name means. Brandon itself is thought to derive from Broom-Don meaning Broom Hill - a hill covered in gorse. Nearby Brancepeth is thought to mean the hill track to Brandon.

Both names are however disputed and in legend they are often associated with a wild boar or Brawn which is said to have roamed the neighbourhood. Brancepeth is said to mean the path or track of the wild brawn and Brandon was reputedly the Brawn's Den.

There is site in the neighbourhood of Brandon and Brancepeth called Brawn's Den where the site of an Iron Age settlement of mixed Roman-Native origin has been found. It is now a farm and probably took its name from Brandon, probably influenced by the legend.

The whole area has an interesting history as a Roman road runs right through Brancepeth on its way towards Durham City - where its course cannot be traced. This road is an offshoot of Dere Street and may actually be the Peth. Brawn's Den lies in a section of lane between the two roads. Brandon and Byshottles is the name given to the whole parish and the name often arouses great interest although there is, as far as I am aware, no certain definition of its meaning.

It is an especially interesting name because, assuming that the word By in Byshottles means near, we still do not know what the Shottles were or where they are located. Perhaps they were Roman remains of some kind.

We should also consider that the By in Byshottles could be the Danish word for farm or village. I have found no defintion of Shottles but there is a place called Shottle in Derbyshire. It means shoot-slope - a slope that shoots up and down. A similar word often occurred in Old German names. The word Shot on its own can often mean Slope or but just as often refers to a Scot. It can actually mean a Northern Irish-man as the Scots originated from there at around the same time as many place names were being formed.

However, there does not appear to be any ancient Irish or Scottish connection in the area. A notable exception is however, the historic parish church of Brancepeth which is dedicated to the Irish Saint called Brandon. However this church may have been anciently named after the nearby place - Brandon - although this is a very unusual way to dedicate of the church. A more unusual suggestion for the name Byshottles is it that it means town latrines or town lock up. This is suggested in Ian Robinson's Place Names of Durham but there is no explanation of how this might derive.

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