Victor Watts, (18 April 1938 – 21 December 2002) was a British

toponymist Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...

medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, translator, and academic, specialising in English place-names. He served as

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

Grey College, Durham Grey College is a Colleges of Durham University, college of Durham University in England, founded in 1959 as part of the university's expansion of its student population. The college is named after Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, who was Prime Mi ...

from 1989 until his sudden death in 2002. He had been a lecturer in English at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

from 1962, honorary director of the English Place-Name Survey from 1993, and editor of the ''Journal of the English Place-Name Society'' from 1996.

Early life and education

Watts was born on 18 April 1938. He was educated at

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 Mixed-sex education, mixed, Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowe ...

, then an all-boys

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in Bristol. He studied at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, and at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

Academic career

In 1962, Watts jointed

as a lecturer in English language. He was promoted to senior lecturer in 1974. His first association with

was as a pastoral tutor. Then, from 1984 to 1989, he served as the college's senior tutor and vice-master. In 1989, he was appointed

of Grey College. He was, by his death, one of the longest serving head of college at Durham University. He additionally served as Dean of Colleges, leading the university's 15 colleges, between 1999 and 2002. Outside of his university, he held a number of positions. He was an active member of the Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland: he served successively as vice-president and then president of the society between 1983 and 1991. In 1993, he was appointed honorary director of the English Place-Name Survey, and therefore of the

English Place-Name Society The English Place-Name Society (EPNS) is a learned society concerned with toponomastics and the toponymy of England, in other words, the study of place-names ( toponyms). Its scholars aim to explain the origin and history of the names they st ...

, in succession to Kenneth Cameron. He served as general editor of the society's survey volumes from 1994, and was also editor of the ''Journal of the English Place-Name Society'' from 1996.

Personal life

Watts had three children with his first wife, Mary Watts: two daughters and a son. Having divorced Mary, he later married Elaine; this marriage brought two stepsons. Watts died on 21 December 2002, aged 64. He had had a heart attack.

Honours

Watts had been elected a

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

(FRHistS), and a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

(FSA).

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Victor 1938 births 2002 deaths Toponymists British medievalists Masters of Grey College, Durham Academics of Durham University People educated at Bristol Grammar School Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Alumni of the University of London Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London 20th-century British translators