Today’s history lesson!!

What’s in a name? Dapps Hill

“Dapps” is an unusual name, with no common meaning, but No 6 on Dapps Lane is a property today called “The Dappifer’s House” and it seems very likely that Dapps is a contraction of Dappifer’s.

…a dappifer was “the servant who brings the meat to the table at a meal.” It was also the official title of the steward in a medieval English nobleman’s household, and thirdly, the most senior of the five great officers of state in the medieval French royal court.

In medieval times, from 1170 onwards, Keynsham was centred on a single institution: Keynsham Abbey… The Abbot was a powerful man both within and without the abbey precincts… and visited Paris at intervals. It is therefore quite possible, due to the status of the Abbot and his links with France, that one of his senior staff had the title Dappifer and his own house to go with it...

So, on the basis of probability, not evidence, it seems likely that the Dappifer’s House… is a replacement building that took both its site and its title from an older one that was part of the abbey establishment.” www.keynshamvoice.co.uk

What a stunning day! My favourite kind of day: cold and crisp, when the sun is warm on your face, yet you can see your breath. So after a visit to the library, I decided to go for a walk to track down The Dappifer’s House which I’d read about recently in the local paper. I’ve walked past this house many times, without ever realising what an interesting story lay behind it. Unfortunately the house was surrounded by parked cars and vans so I had to resort to a view that I’ve shared with you several times before. You can see part of The Dappifer’s House in the background, immediately to the right of the rather inconveniently placed telegraph pole.

Back home, I spent what was left of the day working in the garden, making the most of that glorious weather, taking down the hanging baskets, tidying up the flowerbeds and more leaf raking! I think I may ache tomorrow!!