Southport’s (and Formby's) Viking Pagan inheritance

The first real evidence of an early settlement in the Southport region is apparently found in the Domesday Book, (completed in 1086 by order of King William the Conqueror) in which the area is termed "Otergimele".

The name is derived from "Oddrgrimir" meaning "the son of Grimm" and is also said to be linked to the Old Norse word "melr" meaning sandbank.

The name Grimm is highly significant as Grimm (or Grim, Grímnir or Grimr) is another name for the great Norse Father god, Odin. The name means Masked or Hooded One, as the god was often portrayed in myth and legend wearing a hood.

In the old Norse Tradition, 'Grim' (Mask) and 'Grimnir' (Masked One) are names accepted by Odin (Anglo-Saxons called him 'Woden') when traveling disguised amongst ordinary mortals. The god also gives his name to towns such as Grimsby.

The Domesday Book states that there were 50 huts in Otergimele, housing a population of 200. The population was scattered thinly across the region and it was at the northeast end of Otergimele (present day Crossens), where blown sand gave way to sandy deposits from the River Ribble’s estuary.

A small community of people occurred at this place. The area provided productive agricultural land and the river itself held stocks of various species of fish.

Francis A. Bailey states that the inhabitants are of “true Viking  descent” in the book…
'The Origin and Growth of Southport'.

 Human activity in the region was recorded from the Middle Stone Age and long before any Norse inroads. This was well before any church-planting Christian missionaries arrived here from the east.  Mesolithic hunter gatherers were fascinated by the plentiful red deer and elk population, as well as the availability of fish, shellfish and usable woodland resources. 

A few miles south of Southport we find Formby. This town was also Viking in origin. 

Formby also gets its name for the god Odin. Formby was previously called Fomisby, (Forni’s village). Moreover, 'Fornebei' is recorded in the Doomsday book.

Viking raiders failed to defeat the native Anglo-Saxons on the coast of Formby. Consequently, they sailed inland up the River Alt, and attacked from the rear.

Naturally, evangelicals have sought to play down the Pagan influence, via quaintly explaining that Forni was simply a man’s (or just a family) name yet the name Forni actually means ‘Ancient One’ and is just another one of Odin’s numerous titles.

Evangelists holding sectarian agendas, relating to mission of the populace, went to quite a lot of trouble to deprive us of our ancient native Pagan legacy.  Through spin, censorship and guile they have sought to rewrite history to suit their one-sided, fundamentalist religious ethos - however this ruse has failed.

Manmade temples of brick, concrete and glass, dedicated to the latest eastern version of the so-called One God may come and go. However, the wild and windswept landscape reminds us of the true spiritual synchronicity of our cosmos of which we are all a vital part. 

The vast influence of our Pagan ancestors and their deities on ancient place names in the UK is considerable.  See also... 

Heathen and mythological elements in English place-names

http://germanic.eu/Heathen-and-mythological-elements-in-English-place-names.htm 

https://patregan.jimdo.com/