How Trees Gave Places Their Names

Trees have been universally important to humanity throughout history - not only as the source of fruits and nuts, but also wood for tools, weapons and buildings, and fuel for transport.

So integral were trees to early Medieval society that their names were used for places throughout England - such as Acton (oak settlement) or Ashby (ash farm).

In this edition of Gone Medieval, Dr. Cat Jarman talks to Jessica Treacher whose PhD research has been looking at the environmental and cultural role of trees and what we can learn from place-names about people’s relationship with nature in the Middle Ages.

The Senior Producer on this episode was Elena Guthrie. It was edited by Thomas Ntinas and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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