North, South, East, West, Home's Best! Quiz

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1. This major city is in Hampshire, and has been a major sea port for many centuries - in fact, the RMS Titanic sailed from there on its maiden voyage. Its football team are nicknamed the Saints. With which direction does the name of this city begin?

Answer: South

It's South for Southampton, on the confluence of the Rivers Test and Itchen. The city dates back to Roman times, followed by the founding of a settlement called Hamwic by the Anglo-Saxons in the 6th or 7th Century. By the 13th Century it had become a major port, exporting wool and cloth and importing wine.

By the late 19th Century the port had become the main departure point for liners crossing the Atlantic, including the ill-fated Titanic. I remember as a child in the early 1960s going to Southampton Water to see the big ocean liners come and go: the Queen Mary, the Queen Elizabeth, the Normandie and many others - truly impressive!

2. This market town is in North Yorkshire. The earliest settlement on the site was a Roman military station from which an Anglo-Saxon town developed. In 1138 it was the location of a major battle between the English and the Scots known as the Battle of the Standard. The town is a major communication centre, just a few miles from the A1(M) and with the main London to Edinburgh railway line passing through it. With which direction does the name of this town begin?

Answer: North

It's North for Northallerton, a major market town in the Vale of York. Saint Paulinus built a wooden church there early in the 7th Century; this was replaced with a stone building in 865. There are legendary connections with King Alfred the Great from about that time. Northallerton School was founded in 1322 near the church.

In terms of communications, it lies on the main Roman route from London to Scotland and thus became a major stopping point for the coach services in the 17th and 18th centuries.

3. This world-famous city originally developed on Thorney Island, where the River Tyburn flowed into the River Thames. An important Abbey was built there in the early 11th Century. It was granted city status in 1540 and it's now the home of many important British institutions - so much so, in fact, that the name of the city is often used as a synonym for central government in the UK. With which direction does the name of this town begin?

Answer: West

It's West for Westminster, the core part of central London. It's home to Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the main Civil Service departmental offices in Whitehall and Number 10 Downing Street. Note that it's not to be confused with the City of London; this derives from the original Roman settlement and comprises what's commonly referred to as the "Square Mile", the historic and central business areas around St Paul's Cathedral and the Bank of England.

4. This seaside resort town is in Somerset, on the south bank of the Bristol Channel. Originally a small village, the building of a large passenger station on the local railway in 1866 followed by the construction of two pleasure piers led to its rapid development as a holiday town. With which direction does the name of this town begin?

Answer: West

It's West for Weston-super-Mare - or Weston-super-Mud, as my parents termed it! The beach is lovely and sandy, but as soon as the tide starts going out then acres of thick mud flats are revealed! In 1942 the "Dambusters" bomber squadron tested Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb and other explosive devices there.

However like many other British seaside holiday resorts it has suffered since the 1970s and for a time it had more than its fair share of social problems; efforts are still going on to bring the town round. Among its many and varied attractions is the Helicopter Museum on the site of the old Westland Helicopter factory.

5. This seaside resort in Essex has the longest pleasure pier in the world! The town was granted city status after an horrific incident in October 2021. With which direction does the name of this city begin?

Answer: South

It's South for Southend-on-Sea, which was granted city status as a memorial to Sir David Amess MP who was murdered there on 15th October, 2021. The city grew up as a tourist resort in the mid-19th Century, and for many years it was a popular destination for day-trippers from the East End of London.

The city's football club, Southend United, has recently fallen upon hard times, but many supporters still remember the night of 7th November 2006 when they beat Manchester United (including Rooney, Ronaldo et al) in a League Cup tie.

6. This East Sussex town is a seaside resort immediately adjacent to the cliffs at Beachy Head. It was developed from four separate hamlets by the Duke of Devonshire from 1859 onwards. With which direction does the name of this town begin?

Answer: East

It's East for Eastbourne, a resort town blessed with some fine Victorian architecture. However there are Roman remains underneath the town centre, and an Anglo-Saxon document dated to 963 AD refers to a landing jetty and stream at "Burne". In the town's Victorian heyday 900 years later Lewis Carroll, Claude Debussy, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels all holidayed there.

7. This East Midlands conurbation near the M1 motorway is one of the largest towns in the country and dates back to the Middle Ages. After much of the town was burnt down in 1675 it was rebuilt, and its location on the Grand Union Canal gave rise to its main manufacturing industry; the nickname of the town's football team is evidence of this industry. With which direction does the name of this town begin?

Answer: North

It's North for Northampton, a town founded in the shadow of its Norman castle; a number of assemblies of Parliament took place there in the 12th, 13th and 14th Centuries. It's world-famous for its leather and shoe industry, notably the Doc Martens brand and the "Kinky Boots" company W J Brooks. This association led to the adoption of the nickname "The Cobblers" by Northampton Town FC.

8. This town is a seaside resort on the Lancashire coast, which boasts the second longest pleasure pier in the British Isles. The town was founded in 1792 but rapidly became popular with tourists from the industrial North-West. The local coastline is known for its sand dunes, and the suburb of Birkdale has a number of sporting associations - one of them being with a famous horse. With which direction does the name of this town begin?

Answer: South

It's South for Southport, one of the first seaside resorts to be developed - in as early as 1820 it had over 20,000 visitors a year. The town is famous for its Victorian architecture and town planning, and is viewed as being more genteel than its near-neighbour, Blackpool.

As well as housing the famous Royal Birkdale golf course, the suburb of Birkdale was also home to the three-times Grand National winner Red Rum; it's said that galloping on Southport's long sandy beaches helped improve the horse's stamina and strength.

9. This town near Birmingham sits on the junction of the M6 and the M5 and is part of the "Black Country", the area of England in which coal and iron ore were mined and which was known for its metalwork and heavy engineering factories. The town's football team has two nicknames, one related to a bird and the other to a pair of shorts. With which direction does the name of this town begin?

Answer: West

It's West for West Bromwich, first recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as "Bromwic" or "Broom Village". Little happened there for many hundreds of years until coal was discovered in the area at the start of the the Industrial Revolution, after which industry developed rapidly in the town. West Bromwich Albion FC have a song thrush on their club badge, leading to the nickname "The Throstles", but the team is also referred to as "The Baggies" - possibly because of the players' baggy shorts.

10. This town sits in the middle of the Cheshire plain and has been known since Roman times for its salt production; this feature is actually noted in the name of the town. The town sits on the junction of the River Weaver and the Trent & Mersey Canal, and a Boat Lift was built in 1875 to connect the two. With which direction does the name of this town begin?

Answer: North

It's North for Northwich. The "wich" section of the name derives from the Norse word "wic" meaning bay, associated with the traditional method of obtaining salt by the evaporation of sea water. Thus in Cheshire there are a number of towns associated with salt production, including Nantwich and Northwich.

The Romans exploited the salt deposits, which were rediscovered in the mid-17th Century. However extensive mining has led to problems with subsidence. The Anderton Boat Lift has been fully restored and is a miracle of Victorian canal engineering.

Source: Author Southendboy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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The names of a number of English towns begin with one of the four cardinal directions: North, South, East and West. Given a description of a town and its location, try to work out its name and then say with which of the four direction it begins.

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