MerseyRail's "Rakes"

[crispy1978]

We travelled on the Wirral Line section of the Merseyrail.

We travelled through Bromborough Rake and Eastham Rake which were just split by Bromborough.

To hear of a place suffixed with Rake is not something I've heard of before, so I was wondering if it was local dialect? Does anyone know the history of the word/naming of the station? Obviously I do know its slang derivative, and assume this doesn't apply here.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It seems, from a quick Google, to be a Viking word meaning road/lane:

https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/-sczsteve/VIKING_WIRRAL.pdf

Makes sense that Bromborough Road (effectively) is just up the road from Bromborough!

 

[swt_passenger]

This came up before, and after a short diversion (via Googling) into the Viking road/lane meaning, Paul Sidorczuk also came up with a geological meaning, explained in this post:

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showpost.php?p=777342&postcount=62

 

[crispy1978]

Thanks both. I did google it using the railway to try and stop gardening references coming up, but couldn't find anything of relevance.

Good to know anyway.

 

[snowball]

In the Oxford English Dictionary (which you can read online if you're a member of almost any UK public library) there are eight separate entries for "rake" as a noun (and four as a verb). The third entry is for senses of "rake" derived from Old English "racu", especially in NW England and Scotland. One of the meanings under this entry is "the bed or channel of a river or stream". Another is "a way, a path, especially a steep narrow path up a hillside, ravine etc." Another is "a rut or groove". I suspect these are the senses we should be looking at.

There was formerly a proposal for a Metrolink stop between Rochdale Railway Station and Rochdale Town Centre. Its name was going to be Wet Rake.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I've always thought of a Rake as being similar to a Chine on the Isle of Wight, ie a steep ravine cut by a stream.
In eastern Cheshire and the southern Pennines it would be a Clough (as in Boggart Hole Clough).
In Wales it would be a Nant.
Rake is also a term for a slope or gradient.

 

[crispy1978]

Interesting info - thanks for that.

I wonder what the Yorkshire equivalent of a rake would be then?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Interesting info - thanks for that.
I wonder what the Yorkshire equivalent of a rake would be then?

It's Ghyll in the Lakes (as in Dungeon Ghyll) and there's a Lord's Rake on Scafell.

 

[reb0118]

I wonder what the Yorkshire equivalent of a rake would be then?

Possibly Clough? Which as we move north turns to Cleugh (Northumberland) then Cleuch (Scottish Borders).

 

[Bletchleyite]

Thanks both. I did google it using the railway to try and stop gardening references coming up, but couldn't find anything of relevance.

Good to know anyway.

"Wirral rake" worked for me.

 

[Chris M]

In the westcountry these are "combe" (or "coomb" or "coombe") (all pronounced "coom"), which is obviously etymologically the same word as the Welsh "cwm" (also pronounced "coom") - although these also refer to larger valleys as well.