Wearside place names and where they originated from

A Sunderland Echo look at the origins of Shiney Row, Witherwack, Penshaw, Hetton and more.

Transcript

00:00Have you ever wondered, where did my village or town get its name from?

00:06We have some of the answers for you, in a look at locations from Sunderland and Durham.

00:13Cleden comes from Cliffordon, the hill with the slope. Durham used to be Dunholm or Hill

00:19Island. And Hetton comes from Hephardoon, meaning Bramble Hill.

00:27Penshaw originates from the Cumbrian word pen, meaning hill or ridge, and the Saxon

00:32word shaw, for a wood or thicket.

00:36Shiny Row is thought to originate from the Old English term Sien Roo, which means a beautiful

00:43row of trees.

00:45And Silksworth originates from a man called Sigillac, who owned an enclosure.

00:53We hope you enjoyed our Sunderland Echo archive trip back in time.