Margaret Gelling
Encyclopedia
Margaret Joy Gelling, OBE
(née Midgley, 29 November 1924 – 24 April 2009) was an English
toponymist
, Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford
, and member of the Society of Antiquaries of London
and the British Academy
.
Gelling was President of the English Place-Name Society
. She was the author, co-author or editor of numerous books, several which have become standard works in the field of toponymy and which include the English Place-Name Society
surveys of Berkshire
, Oxfordshire
and Shropshire
, and a lecturer on place names at the universities of Birmingham
(Edgbaston
), annually at Oxford
, and periodically at various international meetings.
She was a sometime member of an expedition to Peru
devoted to investigating the history of potato
use including freeze-drying at altitude. Consequently, she became experienced at cooking over a fire of dried llama
dung in a cave.
Her published works include Signposts to the Past (1978) and, with Ann Cole, The Landscape of Place-names (2000), based on her earlier work, Place-names in the Landscape (1984). The Landscape of Place-Names is a reference to settlement names of the type which define a settlement by reference to a landscape feature, as found in Britain south of the Forth
–Clyde
line.
Gelling established the relationship between Anglo-Saxon
names and the landscape; for example the Anglo-Saxons had about forty words that can describe hills, but these are mostly regarded as synonyms in modern English
. In those times, the distinction between a knoll
and a creech
could be a very important navigational direction.
archaeologist, Peter Stanley Gelling (1925–84). They had no children, but raised her nephew Adrian Midgley from the age of six.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(née Midgley, 29 November 1924 – 24 April 2009) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
toponymist
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
, Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.The college was founded in 1893 as a hall for women, and remained an all-women's college until 2006....
, and member of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
and the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
.
Gelling was President of the English Place-Name Society
English Place-Name Society
The English Place-Name Society is a learned society concerned with toponomastics and the toponymy of England, in other words, the study of place-names ....
. She was the author, co-author or editor of numerous books, several which have become standard works in the field of toponymy and which include the English Place-Name Society
English Place-Name Society
The English Place-Name Society is a learned society concerned with toponomastics and the toponymy of England, in other words, the study of place-names ....
surveys of Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
and Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, and a lecturer on place names at the universities of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
(Edgbaston
Edgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
), annually at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, and periodically at various international meetings.
She was a sometime member of an expedition to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
devoted to investigating the history of potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
use including freeze-drying at altitude. Consequently, she became experienced at cooking over a fire of dried llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
dung in a cave.
Her published works include Signposts to the Past (1978) and, with Ann Cole, The Landscape of Place-names (2000), based on her earlier work, Place-names in the Landscape (1984). The Landscape of Place-Names is a reference to settlement names of the type which define a settlement by reference to a landscape feature, as found in Britain south of the Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
–Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...
line.
Gelling established the relationship between Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
names and the landscape; for example the Anglo-Saxons had about forty words that can describe hills, but these are mostly regarded as synonyms in modern English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. In those times, the distinction between a knoll
Hillock
A hillock or knoll is a small hill, usually separated from a larger group of hills such as a range. Hillocks are similar in their distribution and size to small mesas or buttes. The term is largely a British one...
and a creech
Creech
Creech is an Anglo-Saxon word for a hill of a particular abrupt pointed sort. The one outside Taunton with the Creech House Hotel at the base of it is a good example of the type.Creech may refer to:* Creech Air Force Base* Creech Grange...
could be a very important navigational direction.
Family
Gelling was married to the University of BirminghamUniversity of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
archaeologist, Peter Stanley Gelling (1925–84). They had no children, but raised her nephew Adrian Midgley from the age of six.