Fucking Grove, Bristol

Last updated
[in cornerio cuiusdam] 'clausi vocati Fockynggroue': [in the corner of a certain] field called Fucking Grove Fockynggroue.jpg
[in cornerio cuiusdam] 'clausi vocati Fockynggroue': [in the corner of a certain] field called Fucking Grove

Fucking Grove (alias Fockynggroue, Fockyngrove, Fokeing Grove, Foking Grove, Fukkyngroue) is the name of a medieval field in Bristol. The name continued to be used up to the early twentieth century, albeit from the seventeenth century it was euphemised to Pucking Grove. The field name is first recorded in 1373 when Bristol received a royal charter that turned Bristol into an independent county. [1] The charter included a formal survey of the county boundary, which corresponded to the existing town lands. [2] This survey was recorded as an appendix to the charter, under the Great Seal of England. It took the form of a perambulation of the seven-mile land boundary, describing the features that marked the way, such as ditches and stone boundary markers. This was necessary to define the limits of the new county and thus, for example, the jurisdiction of the sheriffs of Bristol.

Contents

One of pre-existing boundary stones was described in the perambulation survey as 'a stone fixed in the corner of a certain close (i.e., field) called Fockynggrove' (lapidem fixum in cornerio cuiusdam clausi vocati Fockynggroue). [3] Since this was a legal document, later surveys and perambulations continue to employ the term—albeit in later published descriptions the 'F' was changed to a 'P', presumably because of the embarrassment caused by reproducing a rude word within polite publications.

Origin and meaning

The etymology of the place name 'Fockynggrove' has been explored by the Richard Coates, Professor of Onomastics. [4] He suggests that 'the initial suspicion must be that the name is etymologically 'fucking grove', and the forms from later perambulations tend to support the suspicion'. As a place name it may be compared to places such as 'Love Grove' or 'Love Lane', while being less subtle in referencing the activity of those frequenting it.

Key Head of Bristol, 1728 Key Head of Bristol, 1728.jpg
Key Head of Bristol, 1728
Grope Lane, Bristol, 1542 Grope Lane 1542.jpg
Grope Lane, Bristol, 1542

By modern standards, medieval people were not coy about sex. Bristol, for instance, had both a 'Whores Street' and a 'Grope Cunt Lane', [5] both of which lay in the centre of the city, near the Quay Head. [6] Medieval 'Horstrete' or 'Hoorstrete' was later rendered as 'Horse Street', before being changed to 'Host Street', which it is still known by. The latter appears to be a euphemistic reference to the profession of those who worked on the street. Medieval 'Gropecount Lane', was later contracted to 'Grope Lane', or 'Grape Lane'. In the late seventeenth century it was redesignated 'Hallier's Lane', before finally being renamed 'Nelson Street' in the nineteenth century in honour Admiral Lord Nelson, following his death at the Battle of Trafalgar. [7]

Richard Coates' main interest in 'Fockynggrove' was that it embeds the earliest known use of the verbal noun 'fucking'. Indeed, it is the earliest known use of the use of 'fuck' in any verbal form in English. Earlier usages record 'fuck' used as a noun—as in 'a fuck'.

Location

Map of Fucking Grove presented in 2020 research seminar Fockynggrove map.jpg
Map of Fucking Grove presented in 2020 research seminar

The exact location and boundaries of Fucking Grove were determined by Roger Leech (University of Southampton) in his reconstruction of the topography and built environment of the St Michael's Hill area of Bristol. [8] However, in his publication, which is largely based on later sources, he uses the form 'Pucking Grove' in his maps. The 'P' seems to have replaced the 'F', at least in official documents by 1634. [9] By the that time the field had been divided into two: 'Hither' and 'Inner'. The 1736 survey of the county boundary suggests that Inner Fucking Grove was sometimes also known as Little Pucking (or Fucking) Grove. The 1736 survey also indicates that a contiguous area was also known as 'Honeypan Hill'. [10] It is referred to as 'Honeypen-hill' in an 1842 guidebook, [11] and as 'Honeypen Hill' in nineteenth-century deeds. [12] 'Honey' was a common colloquial term for a lover or sweetheart from the fourteenth-century onwards. [13] Honeypen Hill, however, was on the other side of the county boundary in the parish of Clifton. [14]

In 2020, Evan Jones (University of Bristol) used Leech's work, combined with that of Coates and early maps from 'Know your Place: Bristol', to create a map that situated the grove within the modern city. [15] The grove was then discussed in an online asynchronous seminar within the History Department during the 'Covid Lockdown': 'Fucking Grove: A history that dare not speak its name?' (University of Bristol, October 2020). The title of the seminar related to the seeming reluctance of previous historians to discuss the grove, to place it within the modern city, or to consider what it might reveal about pre-modern sexual practices. [16]

Activity within the Grove

Other than the place-name evidence, nobody has yet noted any evidence about what actually went on in the grove, of how long it was associated with sexual activity, or of the sort of people who engaged in sexual activity there. As a place, it was, however, quite different to Whore's Street and Grope Cunt Lane in the city centre, down by the docks. Both Whore's Street and Gropecunt Lane (a name found in many English medieval towns) reference sex work. By contrast, Fucking Grove was one of the most secluded and probably pleasant parts of the town and county of Bristol. It is about 200 feet above the river and the docks on what early modern pictures suggest to be a green and open or lightly wooded area. Roger Leech's topographical survey suggest that the grove contained no dwelling houses until the late eighteenth century. [17] Today the grove lies within Clifton, an area developed during the Georgian era by wealthy Bristolians who wished to escape the smoke, smells and pollution of the city centre. It is thus possible that Fucking Grove had simply acquired its name and reputation because it was a pleasant place to have sex. Most people lived in crowded houses where several people might share a bedroom, or even a bed. Fucking Grove might thus have offered more privacy than urban people could expect at home. Provided those having sex were married, were discreet and avoided public nudity, the Church had no reason to condemn such activity.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holborn</span> Human settlement in England

Holborn, an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Icknield Street</span> Roman road in England

Icknield Street or Ryknild Street is a Roman road in England, with a route roughly south-west to north-east. It runs from the Fosse Way at Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire to Templeborough in South Yorkshire. It passes through Alcester, Studley, Redditch, Metchley Fort, Birmingham, Sutton Coldfield, Lichfield, Burton upon Trent and Derby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedminster, Bristol</span> District of Bristol, England

Bedminster, colloquially known as Bemmy, is a district of Bristol, England, on the south side of the city. It is also the name of a council ward which includes the central part of the district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gropecunt Lane</span> Street name in England in the Middle Ages

Gropecunt Lane was a street name found in English towns and cities during the Middle Ages, believed to be a reference to the prostitution centred on those areas; it was normal practice for a medieval street name to reflect the street's function or the economic activity taking place within it. Gropecunt, the earliest known use of which is in about 1230, appears to have been derived as a compound of the words grope and cunt. Streets with that name were often in the busiest parts of medieval towns and cities, and at least one appears to have been an important thoroughfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beating the bounds</span> Custom of verifying parish boundaries

Beating the bounds or perambulating the bounds is an ancient custom still observed in parts of England, Wales, and the New England region of the United States, which involves swatting local landmarks with branches to maintain a shared mental map of parish boundaries, usually every seven years.

Montfichet's Tower was a Norman fortress on Ludgate Hill in London, between where St Paul's Cathedral and City Thameslink railway station now stand. First documented in the 1130s, it was probably built in the late 11th century. The defences were strengthened during the revolt of 1173–1174 against Henry II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magpie Lane, Oxford</span> Lane in central Oxford, England

Magpie Lane is a narrow historic lane in central Oxford, England. It leads south from the High Street where it is at its narrowest, now completely pedestrianised as a pavement, and north from the cobbled Merton Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Church, Bristol</span>

Temple Church, also known as Holy Cross Church, is a ruined church in Redcliffe, Bristol, England. It is on the site of a previous, round church of the Knights Templar, which they built on land granted to them in the second quarter of the 12th century by Robert of Gloucester. In 1313 the Knights Hospitaller acquired the church, following the suppression of the Templars. By the early 14th century, the church served as the parish church for the area known as Temple Fee. From around the same time, the rebuilding of the church on a rectangular plan started. This was completed by 1460, with the construction of a leaning west tower. The Hospitallers would lose ownership of the church in 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob's Well, Bristol</span> Historic site in Cliftonwood, Bristol

Jacob's Well in Cliftonwood, Bristol, England, is an early medieval structure incorporated into a 19th-century building on the corner of Jacob's Wells Road and Constitution Hill. It is thought to be a Jewish ritual bath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christmas Steps, Bristol</span> Street in Bristol, England

Christmas Steps is a historic street in the city centre of Bristol, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bewell's Cross</span> Lost medieval stone cross and boundary marker in Bristol

Bewell's Cross was a large medieval stone cross and boundary marker on the northern edge of the County of Bristol. It was also the site of the city gallows from at least the fifteenth century till 1820. The surviving stump of the Cross was dug up in 1829.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Place names considered unusual</span> Unusual names of places

Place names considered unusual can include those which are also offensive words, inadvertently humorous or highly charged words, as well as place names of unorthodox spelling and pronunciation, including especially short or long names. These names often have an unintended effect or double-meaning when read by someone who speaks another language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyndalls Park</span> Human settlement in England

Tyndall's Park is an area of central Bristol, England. It lies north of Park Row and Queen's Road, east of Whiteladies Road and west of St Michael's Hill, between the districts of Clifton, Cotham and Kingsdown. It includes the campus of Bristol Grammar School, and many of the buildings of the University of Bristol.

Bristol City Council, formerly known as The Bristol Corporation, is the local government authority governing the city of Bristol, England. Following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, successive royal charters granted increasing rights of local governance to Bristol. County status was attained in 1373 and city status in the early sixteenth century. Bristol Corporation was established in the nineteenth century and the office of Lord Mayor was created in 1888. Following a brief period as part of the county of Avon in the late twentieth century, Bristol regained its status as a city and county in 1996.

The Bristol Record Society is a text publication society which publishes scholarly editions of historical records and texts relating to the history of the City of Bristol. Founded in 1929, it is one of the oldest such societies devoted to the publication of material relating to an individual town or city. Through its history, it has typically published at least one volume each year, on matters ranging from the civic charters of the medieval city, to the diary of Sarah Fox, an 18th-century Quaker. The core aims of the Society are to encourage the preservation / study of historical documents relating to the history of Bristol and to make available the historical material that can be used to study the city's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avonmouth Light Railway</span> Railway company in Bristol, England

The Avonmouth Light Railway(ALR) was a nominally independent railway company operating a short standard-gauge branch line from a point on what is now the Severn Beach Line near Avonmouth Docks station in Bristol to a Bristol Corporation electricity installation east of the main entrance to Avonmouth Docks. Its promoters had aspirations which were never fulfilled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hughson</span>

David Hughson, which may have been a pen name of Edward Pugh, was a writer on the topography and history of London. He produced a description of the city based on "an actual perambulation" (walk) that was published in six volumes between 1805 and 1809 and contains 150 copper plate engravings principally based on illustrations by Robert Blemmell Schnebbelie and Edward Gyfford. He also produced works on topical matters such as the East India Company, religious subjects, and works of household management targeted at people of the "middling and genteel ranks of life".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forlorn Hope Estate</span> Estate in Bristol with a pesthouse

The Forlorn Hope Estate is an area of Bristol in St Paul's. The 13-acre estate was originally a farm owned by St Nicholas Church vestry from 1693. At that time it consisted of a main dwelling house, stables, associated buildings and gardens of c. 2.5 acres, plus fields of c. 10.5 acres. By 1828 the estate had been divided into a number of smaller properties and gardens. During the 1870s the estate was then thoroughly redeveloped, with a new road layout, as part of the urban development of Bristol. The 'Forlorn Hope Estate' was a separate charity until 2004, the assets now being part of St Nicholas with St Leonard Educational Charity. As such, it still exists as a legal entity, with the proceeds of the estate being employed for religious education in schools and youth organisations within the Bristol.

The Bristol perambulation was a civic ritual, usually performed annually, in Bristol, England, from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Also called 'beating the bounds' it usually involved a party of civic officers walking or riding around the 8 miles (12.9 km) land boundary of the city and county of Bristol. On the way they inspected the 'shirestones' to ensure all were visible and in good order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newgate, Bristol</span>

Newgate in Bristol was one of the four main gates of the medieval town, demolished 1766. The name was also used to refer to the associated 'Newgate Gaol', demolished 1820. Newgate is still used as the name for the road that once ran through the gate.

References

  1. Elizabeth Ralph (1973). Government of Bristol, 1373-1973. Bristol City Council. p. 29.
  2. Norah Dermott Harding (1930), Bristol Charters, 1155-1373 Bristol Record Society, pp. 146-165
  3. Norah Dermott Harding (1930). Bristol Charters, 1155-1373 Bristol Record Society, pp. 156–157
  4. Coates, R. (2007-12-01). "Fockynggroue in Bristol". Notes and Queries. 54 (4): 373–376. doi:10.1093/notesj/gjm189. ISSN   0029-3970.
  5. Frances Neale (2000). William Worcestre: The Topography of Medieval Bristol. Bristol Record Society., pp. 26-27
  6. Richard Coates (2011). Some Local Place-Names in Medieval and Early-Modern Bristol (PDF). Vol. 129. Transactions of the Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society. pp. 162–164.
  7. Veronica Smith (2001). The Street Names of Bristol: their origins and meaning. p. 216.
  8. Roger H. Leech The St Michael's Hill Precinct of the University of Bristol: The Topography of Medieval and Early Modern Bristol: Part 2. 2000. Bristol Record Society. p. 12, 14
  9. Roger H. Leech The St Michael's Hill Precinct of the University of Bristol: The Topography of Medieval and Early Modern Bristol: Part 2. 2000. Bristol Record Society. p. 35
  10. Anon. (1736) Bristol. The City Charters.Containing the Original Institution of Mayors, Sheriffs, Recorders, Town-Clerks and all other Officers whatsoever...To which are added, The Bounds of the City, by Land. Bristol.
  11. Philp & Evans, The New Bristol Guide for 1842 (Bristol, Philp & Evans, 1842), p. 45
  12. Bristol Archives, SMV/6/5/2/8 'Lease of Honeypen Hill Estate, 1866'
  13. Oxford English Dictionary, 'Honey' II.5.b.
  14. 'Deeds relating to the Manor of Clifton, 1687-1843: Bundle 4; Honeypen Hill with typewritten precis of deeds' Bristol Archives, SMV/6/1/14/11
  15. Jones, Evan T. (2020-09-13), English: A map locating 'Fockynggrove' within the modern city. First presented in an online research seminar: 'Fucking Grove: A history that dare not speak its name?' (University of Bristol, History Department, October 2020). , retrieved 2023-07-03
  16. bristolha (2021-08-05). "A SEX TOUR OF MEDIEVAL BRISTOL". Bristol Historical Association. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  17. Roger H. Leech The St Michael's Hill Precinct of the University of Bristol: The Topography of Medieval and Early Modern Bristol: Part 2. 2000. Bristol Record Society. p. 28