Twatt, Orkney

Not to be confused with Twatt, Shetland.

Twatt
Twatt is located in Orkney Islands
Twatt
Twatt
Location within Orkney
OS grid referenceHY270242
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townORKNEY
Postcode districtKW17
Dialling code01856
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
59°05′53″N 3°16′26″W / 59.098°N 3.274°W / 59.098; -3.274

Twatt is a settlement in the parish of Birsay on the Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. It was previously the location of RNAS Twatt (HMS Tern), 1940–1949.[1][2][3] Twatt is situated at the junction of the A986 and the A967.[4][5]

Etymology

Remains at Twatt airfield
Twatt Church

The settlement name originates from the Old Norse þveit, meaning 'small parcel of land'.[citation needed] The Norse word commonly produces in England the place name element Thwaite.[6][7]

The name Twatt is similar to the common English expletive "Twat," (a vulgar word for vulva and also an insulting term meaning a weak or contemptible individual). For this reason, Twatt remains a source of amusement to people from outside the parish. Its name featured at no. 4 of the most vulgar sounding names in Rude Britain, along with its Shetland namesake.

Local services

A post office opened at Twatt on 1 November 1879. It closed on 10 April 2002.[8]

References

  1. ^ "RNAS Twatt airfield, HMS Tern". Control Towers.co.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2007.
  2. ^ "Twatt". Abandoned, Forgotten and Little Known Airfields in Europe. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Twatt Airfield". Canmore. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  4. ^ "A986". Sabre. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  5. ^ "A967". Sabre. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  6. ^ Watts, Victor, ed. (2010). "Glossary". The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names. Cambridge University Press. p. xlviii. ISBN 978-0-521-16855-7.
  7. ^ Smith, A. H. (1962). The Place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Vol. 7. Cambridge University Press. p. 284.
  8. ^ Forster, Ken: "Goodbyes & hellos", Stamp Magazine, September 2002, page 46.
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