Vennel

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A vennel is a passageway between the gables of two buildings which could in effect be a minor street in Scotland, particularly in Royal Burghs created in the twelfth century, . The word "vennel" probably comes from Norman French - the French word "venelle" means "alley" or "lane" and "venella" is the Latin form.

The Scottish burghs set up initially by David 1, (see Scotland in the High Middle Ages - Economy) drew upon the burgh model used in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and used a number of French or Germanic words for town scape items. In Durham, like Newcastle, part of the old Northumbria, lanes are also colloquially known as vennels.

There are vennels in Cromarty, Dumfries, Edinburgh, Eyemouth, Forfar, Irvine, Lanark, Linlithgow, North Berwick, Peebles, Perth, South Queensferry, Stirling and Wigtown.

Historical records suggest there may have been a Vennel in Arbroath. There are records of several vennels in Perth with names such as Meal Vennel, Horners Vennel, Cutlog Vennel, and Guard Vennel. Aberdeen City Council also refers to vennels as part of the old town.

[edit] References

• The Conservation Glossary: produced in conjunction with Town & Regional Planning, University of Dundee's postgraduate course on European Urban Conservation
• Aberdeen City Council
• "Townlife in Fourteenth-Century Scotland" by Elizabeth Ewan; Edinburgh University Press, 1990