dravy

[claybury]

ON A FAMILY GENEALOGY TRACE, THE PLACE OF ABODE WAS GIVEN AS " DRAVY", ie. DRAVY TO MARINE PARADE". DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT DRAVY MEANS. ANY HELP MUCH APPRECIATED , THANKS.

[Buenchico]

A bit of guesswork!

The word 'drive' has undergone various transformations across the years. For example, my dictionary lists 'drave' as an archaic form of the verb 'drive'. It's possible that 'dravy' might be a local dialect word for a unnamed drive(way) leading to a named road. So perhaps the house was located on a cart track off Marine Parade?

Chris

[dothawkes31]

what is the source of the search? is it a census place or a place of residence on a civil registartion entry? Was this a transcription and therefore a possible transcription error?

[jno]

could just be an unusual house name, perhaps.

[dothawkes31]

In the 1881 census it is in Northam in Devon Distict 8 and if you read the enumerators toute at the start of the District it says: 'All the houses in Bude St Market St the Drangs leading to the Quay and Marine Parade'

See this quote from The Charles Kingsley Book 'Little White Fishing Village':
Along the quaint, narrow streets and drangs of Appledore there are many fishermen’s cottages, some of which date back to the Elizabethan era.

Here's a modern map of the area which shows that Northam merges with Appledore. I can only assume it means the same that we up here in lancashire called back alleys or ginels.
http://maps.google.co...num=1&ved=0CBYQ8gEwAA

[dothawkes31]

so it is mistranscribed by ancestry.co.uk as Dravy but reads perfectly clearly as Drangs. See my article on the home page or under the article tab in thei topic.

[The Builder]

I lived in Bude St. for a while Dot. We had "drangways" but I don't remember draves or draveys

[dothawkes31]

no it's a transcription error yet again by the multi million pound business that is ancestry.co.uk, if I was given a free minute of research resource for every error I have reported to them via their report system I would never need to pay a subscription again!

[jno]

yup, sounds like a misreading, doesn't it. Even in my elegant handwriting it's easy enough to muddle g and y; likewise n and v.

[dothawkes31]

unfortunately as it is the 1881 return it is not possible to amend the transcription like it is other years as far as i can gather, but when i've more time I'll check again, I'm off to Cumbria for a few days.

[jno]

what, are you introducing shoes to the northwest?

[ABerrant]

'Drang' is also local dialect for 'passage' or 'narrow alley' in the area below the Landsker Line of South Pembrokeshire, aka "Little England beyond Wales". Much of this Landsker dialect originated in South West England.

http://www.pcnpa.org....e/default.asp?SID=458

[craft1948]

In York we call them ginnels.....

[RATTER15]

Hey Dot, you putting us on the map here!! I live in Northam and yes appledore is just down the road :-)

[claybury]

THANKS FOR ALL HELP ON INFO REGARDS, " DRAVY " ENQUIRY.