Historian Arthur R. Nicholls takes another look at the derivation of street names in Kendal.

THE English language contains many words derived from early times.

The Vikings gave us words like thwaite, meaning a clearing as in Branthwaite Brow, and gate which means road as in Highgate, the main road through the town.

It was originally named Soutergate, the road from the south. Stricklandgate was the road to the stirkland, where stirks or cattle were reared.

When we come to Stramongate we have a dilemma. There is no proof to show what the name signifies.

It was once called Straman's gate, the street of straw men or dealers. Another suggestion is that it comes from Stream Mound street, an embankment defending the lower part from flooding.

A record in 1714 gives it as Lierlian street. Yet another suggestion is that it was St. Ruman's or St Roman's road, whoever he might have been.

The name Kirkland obviously shows that it was church land. Windermere Road is clearly the road to Windermere.

Some roads were given local names. Kirkbarrow Lane was known as t'Crack on account of the very narrow entrance from Kirkland; an ancient way from the Holy (Anchorite) Well to the parish church.

Caroline Street was part of the housing known as The Blue Buildings. In the early 1800s, the radical Whig (Blue) party had houses built which were only sold to blue supporters to increase the party's votes.

The street was named after the radical Queen Caroline, wife of King George IV. The upper part of the present Caroline Street was called Malt Kiln Hill and was known as Mawky Hill.

Dalton Drive bears the name of John Dalton, a world-famous scientist who is scarcely remembered today by Kendalians.

He was another man who came from humble circumstances rising to become known as the father of modern science. He was the son of a poor Quaker weaver and, as a lad showed a dogged, determined nature.

His brother Jonathan was a teacher in the Friends School in Kendal and persuaded John to join him there. He was never keen on teaching and spent every spare moment studying, formulating the basis of the atomic theory.

He was colour-blind, seeing bright colours as drab Quaker grey. He studied the condition, now called Daltonism, to find ways of treating it.

He was an inveterate weather observer and made some 200,000 observations. He considered Kendal too wet for comfort and moved to Manchester, where he became Professor at New College.

He went on to make many more important discoveries in physics and died as humble in nature as he began.

Some streets have names that do little to celebrate those they are named after. Wildman Street is said to have been named after a house builder of that name.

Some streets are named after a particular feature. Thorny Hills, designed by Webster, was so named because of the presence of thorn bushes there.

What was on the mind of the person who gave Sunnyside its name?