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in modern
English. The name alludes to the stream that bisects the hamlet, which appears to have been called the Shiter or Shitter, or "brook used as a privy". The place-name therefore means something along the lines of "farmstead on the stream used as an open sewer". It has been recorded in a number
613:
Every two or three years somebody comes along and nicks our sign because, clearly, Shitterton is amusing. We think it was kids who would like to have it stuck on the wall in a den somewhere. I don't think it was malicious, they just did it for fun, but it was exasperating for us. We would get a nice
622:
to place at the entrance to
Shitterton, carved with the hamlet's name. More than half of the 50 households contributed £20 each and a further £70 was contributed by Purbeck district council. A truck and crane were hired by volunteers to put the stone in place, at a total cost of £680. Ian Ventham
585:. The native Shittertonians are, however, proud of their hamlet's name. Ian Ventham, the chairman of the parish council, said: "It is a perfect rural hamlet with thatched cottages and idyllic Dorset countryside. Those of us who live here are not the least bit embarrassed by it."
448:. The hamlet has about 50 households. Because it was protected by the Bere River from the fires that have ravaged Bere Regis over the years (most notably in 1788), Shitterton retains an extensive selection of older, predominantly
886:
392:
buildings dating back to the 18th century and earlier. Its name dates back at least the eleventh century and means "farmstead on the stream used as an open sewer". Shitterton has frequently been noted on lists of
609:(formerly Fucking), Upper Austria), requiring costly replacements to be acquired each time, to the increasing reluctance of the local council. As Ian Ventham, chairman of Bere Regis Parish Council, put it:
277:
845:
269:
533:. The name did not stick, though it lingers on in a few house and road names such as Sitterton Close and Sitterton House. It is not the only place-name in Britain that starts with
777:
133:
564:(also called River Trent). Piddle is another name for urine. Shitterton is located very close to a village known as Piddletown until recently, when it was renamed Puddletown.
878:
823:
253:
456:
describes the hamlet as "the best part" of Bere Regis, with its buildings forming " own little street" leading up to the 18th-century thatched
Shitterton Farm.
246:
88:
744:
913:
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The Place-names of Dorset: The Isle of
Purbeck. The Hundreds of Rowbarrow, Hasler, Winfrith, Culliford Tree, Bere Regis, Barrow, Puddletown, St George
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Welcome to
Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places
81:
623:
explained: "We thought, 'Let's put in a tonne and a half of stone and see them try and take that away in the back of a
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123:
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In 2012, Shitterton was voted "Britain's worst place-name" in a survey carried out by genealogy website
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879:"Scratchy Bottom beats Brokenwind, but Shitterton takes the prize... for unfortunate place names"
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in
Aberdeenshire. It was also awarded ninth place on the list of place-names in
538:
493:
849:
593:
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529:(1687). During the 19th century, Victorians attempted to rename the hamlet as
437:
418:
381:
105:
328:
315:
553:
respectively – but it appears to be the only one to actually be named after
193:
972:
618:
In 2010, the inhabitants banded together to purchase a 1.5-tonne block of
38:
Shitterton sign, carved from
Purbeck stone, and designed to be theft-proof
687:
Bradt Slow Dorset: Local, Characterful Guides to
Britain's Special Places
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426:
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new shiny sign from the council and five minutes later, it was gone.
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The unusual name of the hamlet dates back at least 1,000 years to
463:
441:
408:
372:
846:"Shitterton takes first place as Britain's worst place name"
967:
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The stream which passes near the village flows into the
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Shitterton is at the western edge of the village of
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583:
Rude
Britain: The 100 Rudest Place Names in Britain
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388:, England. It includes a collection of historic
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968:Bere Regis & Shitterton community website
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8:
601:The hamlet's name has resulted in its sign
908:
906:
904:
803:. English Place-Name Society. p. 276.
680:
678:
513:of variants over the centuries, including
23:
914:"Sign of the Times: Shitterton Hits Back"
770:"Shitterton: They swear it's lovely here"
413:Traditional thatched cottages, Shitterton
16:Hamlet near Bere Regis in Dorset, England
916:. Sky News. 23 July 2010. Archived from
816:"Scatological village sign set in stone"
710:Pevsner, Nikolaus; Newman, John (1972).
635:
267:
223:
191:
167:
79:
30:
940:"Village 'amusing' name set in stone"
873:
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826:from the original on 2 September 2024
714:. Yale University Press. p. 81.
597:An earlier sign, before it was stolen
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7:
429:, England, near the junction of the
889:from the original on 20 August 2012
689:. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 83.
56:
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780:from the original on 4 March 2016
747:from the original on 26 July 2010
500:, meaning dung. This word became
397:, due to having the vulgar term "
852:. 15 August 2012. Archived from
712:The Buildings of England: Dorset
350:
55:
48:
32:
814:Adams, Stephen (23 July 2010).
737:"Shitterton: what's in a name?"
735:Adams, Stephen (23 July 2010).
476:times. It was recorded in the
1:
799:Mills, Anthony David (1977).
649:. Adams Media. pp. xii.
973:Shit- place-names in England
468:Thatched cottage and postbox
278:Mid Dorset & North Poole
605:(a fate similar to that of
496:name derived from the word
82:OS grid reference
21:Human settlement in England
1012:
286:
264:
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643:Parker, Quentin (2010).
883:London Evening Standard
776:. London. 21 May 2008.
685:Richards, Alex (2012).
603:repeatedly being stolen
545:also exist, located in
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577:, also in Dorset, and
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204:Postcode district
116:Unitary authority
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247:Dorset and Wiltshire
184:Sovereign state
820:The Daily Telegraph
741:The Daily Telegraph
395:unusual place names
325: /
885:. 15 August 2012.
663:on 3 February 2017
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329:50.7547°N 2.2279°W
270:UK Parliament
216:Dialling code
989:Hamlets in Dorset
944:Belfast Telegraph
856:on 17 August 2012
589:Disappearing sign
543:Shitlington Crags
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948:. Retrieved
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922:. Retrieved
918:the original
891:. Retrieved
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858:. Retrieved
854:the original
840:
828:. Retrieved
819:
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782:. Retrieved
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749:. Retrieved
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665:. Retrieved
661:the original
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570:Find My Past
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562:River Piddle
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515:Schitereston
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425:district of
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98:Civil parish
18:
625:Ford Fiesta
539:Shittlehope
525:(1456) and
494:Old English
480:of 1086 as
474:Anglo-Saxon
438:trunk roads
332: /
983:Categories
850:MSN Travel
631:References
579:Brokenwind
573:, beating
527:Shetterton
446:Dorchester
419:Bere Regis
382:Bere Regis
347:Shitterton
317:50°45′17″N
160:South West
106:Bere Regis
63:Shitterton
27:Shitterton
950:5 January
924:5 January
893:6 January
860:18 August
830:5 January
784:5 January
751:5 January
667:6 October
531:Sitterton
523:Chiterton
519:Shyterton
320:2°13′40″W
254:Ambulance
194:Post town
887:Archived
824:Archived
778:Archived
745:Archived
521:(1332),
517:(1285),
450:thatched
405:Location
390:thatched
89:SY840950
607:Fugging
502:schitte
482:Scatera
421:in the
399:shitter
301:England
198:WAREHAM
176:England
170:Country
718:
693:
653:
555:faeces
486:Scetra
427:Dorset
423:Dorset
386:Dorset
306:Dorset
235:Dorset
230:Police
152:Region
142:Dorset
124:Dorset
71:Dorset
535:Shit-
498:scite
442:Poole
220:01929
952:2013
926:2013
895:2013
862:2012
832:2013
786:2013
753:2013
716:ISBN
691:ISBN
669:2016
651:ISBN
627:'."
549:and
541:and
510:shit
508:and
488:, a
460:Name
444:and
433:and
242:Fire
209:BH20
504:in
484:or
435:A35
431:A31
985::
942:.
903:^
881:.
870:^
848:.
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772:.
761:^
743:.
739:.
677:^
557:.
537:–
384:,
373:ən
296:UK
954:.
928:.
897:.
864:.
834:.
788:.
755:.
724:.
699:.
671:.
376:/
370:t
367:ə
364:t
361:ɪ
358:ʃ
355:ˈ
352:/
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
