Ees (plural of ''ee'') is an archaic English term for a piece of land liable to
flood
A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
, or
water meadow
A water-meadow (also water meadow or watermeadow) is an area of grassland subject to controlled irrigation to increase agricultural productivity. Water-meadows were mainly used in Europe from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Working water ...
. It is derived from the
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
''¯eg'' (or ''¯ieg'') meaning "'island', also used of a piece of firm land in a
fen
A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...
and of land situated on a stream or between streams". It is still used locally in
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
to indicate former water meadows and flood basins adjoining the
River Mersey
The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...
:
Chorlton Ees,
Sale Ees and
Stretford
Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, sited on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal; the Bridgewater Canal bisects the town. The town is located south of Manchester, south of Salfo ...
Ees. In the Lake District there are Ees and Strickland Ees on Esthwaite Water. The term is also modified to "eye" and "eea" in the name of Park Eye (or Park Eea).
[Lloyd, John M. (1972) ''The Township of Chorlton-cum-Hardy''. Manchester: E. J. Morten ; pp. 3-4 (Lloyd gives the derivation as from "ea", (=water or a river) )]
Notes
Water-meadows
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