en Twatt, Orkney

Twatt
Twatt
	Twatt Location within Orkney
OS grid reference	HY270242
Civil parish	Birsay;
Council area	Orkney Islands;
Lieutenancy area	Orkney Islands;
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ORKNEY
Postcode district	KW17
Dialling code	01856
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Orkney and Shetland;
Scottish Parliament	Orkney;
	List of places UK Scotland 59°05′53″N 3°16′26″W / 59.098°N 3.274°W

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), from 1940–1949.^[1]^[2]^[3] Twatt is situated at the junction of the A986 and the A967.^[4]^[5]

Etymology

The settlement name originates from the Old Norse þveit, meaning 'small parcel of land'.^[6] The Norse word commonly produces in England the place name element Thwaite.^[7]^[8]

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.^[9]

References

^ "RNAS Twatt airfield, HMS Tern". Control Towers.co.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2007.
^ "Twatt". Abandoned, Forgotten and Little Known Airfields in Europe. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
^ "Twatt Airfield". Canmore. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
^ "A986". Sabre. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
^ "A967". Sabre. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
^ "thwaite". Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary. Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam. 1913. OCLC 800618302. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
^ Watts, Victor, ed. (2010). "Glossary". The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names. Cambridge University Press. p. xlviii. ISBN 978-0-521-16855-7.
^ Smith, A. H. (1962). The Place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Vol. 7. Cambridge University Press. p. 284.
^ Forster, Ken: "Goodbyes & hellos", Stamp Magazine, September 2002, page 46.

External links

Buildings at Risk - Control Tower, Twatt Aerodrome

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[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] "thwaite". Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary. Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam. 1913. OCLC 800618302. Retrieved 25 January 2025.

[7] Watts, Victor, ed. (2010). "Glossary". The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names. Cambridge University Press. p. xlviii. ISBN 978-0-521-16855-7.

[smith-8] Smith, A. H. (1962). The Place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Vol. 7. Cambridge University Press. p. 284.

[9] Forster, Ken: "Goodbyes & hellos", Stamp Magazine, September 2002, page 46.

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Twatt, Orkney

Etymology

Local services

References

External links

Portal di Ensiklopedia Dunia