Beckindale Bugle - Emmerdale Farm In The 1980s: Primrose Dingle

Monday 5 April 2010

Primrose Dingle - Related To The Dingle Family?

In the 1980s, long before the Dingle family, Henry Wilks sometimes sought a little peace and quiet at Primrose Dingle.

Peter asks:

I remember Mr Wilks defending a local beauty spot called "Primrose Dingle" in the 1980s - NY Estates were dumping builders' rubbish there. Was the "Dingle" name anything to do with the Dingle family?

No, Peter. "Primrose Dingle" was Mr Wilks' own name for this beauty spot in the 1980s which passed into common usage in Beckindale - and the Dingle family hadn't been invented then!

So, what is a "dingle" and where does the surname come from?

This unusual surname is of early medieval English origin, and is either a topographical name for a dweller by or in the dingle, or a locational name from a place called Dingle in Lancashire, both deriving from the Middle English "dingle" meaning a dingle, a deep dell or hollow. The placename is recorded as "Dingyll" in the Assize Rolls of 1246. There is a district of Liverpool called Dingle also. The surname dates back to the mid 13th Century (see below) and early recordings include William Dingel (1273) in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire, Hugh de la Dingle (1275) in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire, and John ate Dyngle (1299) in the Studies on Middle English Local Surnames, from Worcestershire.

Read it all here - http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=Dingle

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: So the Dingles probably came from Lancashire? I think they were actually found under a rock in Mr Wilks's primrose dingle!; 8.4.10

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INTRODUCTION

The inspiration for this blog came from a stack of old newspapers and magazines found in my loft. The publications were dated from 1978-1991 and the 1980s editions contained quite a few articles about the English television soap opera Emmerdale Farm.

So, I decided to share them with Emmerdale historians.

Here at The Beckindale Bugle you will find newspaper and magazine articles about cast members and characters, plus storylines and screen captures from 1980s Emmerdale Farm episodes.

What's contained here should give an insight into the way things were down Beckindale way in the 1980s.

The decade which began with the strapped-for-cash Merrick family trudging into the village, and ended with that charmingly upmarket family the Tates moving into Home Farm...

The decade when Seth Armstrong became a full-time regular character.

The decade when Al Dixon arrived at The Woolpack and had his glorious reign as silent Walter.

The decade when the wonderful Amos Brearly went pottier than ever, and Mr Wilks was a good friend to all.

The decade when the much-loved Sam Pearson, after a very active final few years, died, Jack Sugden returned with a different face, and Dolly Skilbeck also underwent a transformation.

The decade when Alan Turner and Mrs Bates made their first appearances, along with Alan's son, Terence, and Mrs B's children, Kathy and Nick.

The decade when we first met Archie Brooks, Kate Hughes and her children, Mark and Rachel, Jack's romantic interest, Sarah Connolly, and a schemer called Eric Pollard...

I hope that this blog will encourage interest in 1980s Emmerdale Farm, and assist in encouraging YTV to bring out further seasons as official DVD releases.