Frogley, Cockhead and Crutch

Willy Cockhead had to live with his name. So too did countless others lumbered with ridiculous names, safely hidden away in Oxford's records and censuses--until now. And what names! Some rhyme (Dick Thick), a few are odd (Silly Waters), others you have to say out loud (Rhoda Turtle) and some are just groan-worthy (Blenda Belcher). Uncovered by local author Paul Sullivan and accompanied with strange-but-true anecdotes, this entertaining volume of baffling, ill-thought-out and just plain rude examples champions the people and places of Oxfordshire that got lumbered with the daftest names.

Paul Sullivan is a full-time writer. A specialist in folklore with many books to his name, including The Little Book of Oxfordshire and Bloody British History: Oxford, he also researched, wrote, and presented a weekly festivals and customs guide for BBC Radio 5 in the 1990s. He worked part-time in The Museum of Oxford in order to absorb the history of the area, reading widely, studying the museum's collection and visiting as many of the city's celebrated sites and events as possible.