Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Fornhep 1226,1232 FF

• Fornischap(p) 1292 Ass2

• Thorn(e)shapp(e), Thorn(e)shap 1395 Cl 1395,1397 Pat 1540 DRH 1842 TA

• Thorreshapp 1540 MinAcct

• Thorn(e)shipp(e), Thorn(e)ship 1590,1666 PR 1671 ShpPn 1823 M

Etymology

This is the name of a small hamlet on the Lowther a mile southwest of Shap, from which it is probably named. Ekwall takes it to be from ON  forn 'old' and to mean 'old Shap', but as this does not appear to be the original settlement the first el. is more likely to be the ON  pers.n. Forni . The Thorn (e )- spellings are inversions of Forn -, which could arise when initial Th - had become F - (which it often did from the 15th century, cf. Wyld §282 (3), YW vii, 91–2 §49).