Talk:Westward Ho!

Village not a Town
Westward Ho! although known by many as a Town it is in fact a Village it has never had a market. See here —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bramanfiles (talk • contribs) 12:05, 5 July 2008 (UTC)

Novel VS Town Name
Westward Ho! is a Village not a Town. see here The article here says that the town is named for the novel, however the link from the article about exclamation marks implies that the novel took its name from the town. Clearly only one of these can be correct. BigHaz 01:12, 10 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * By now, exclamation mark has been changed to make it clear the town is named after the book. What I want to know is, did the town exist before the book, and if so, what was it called before? If not, when was it founded and under what circumstances? The "History" section of this article is pretty scanty on the history. --Angr/undefined 00:08, 18 July 2005 (UTC)


 * According to this the town was established in 1863: Until 1863 Westward Ho! was just pastureland with a few farmhouses and ploughed fields. Bastie 18:03, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Another Westward Ho
There is another Westward Ho. It is located approxamately 10km east of Sundre, Alberta, Canada. It is a small hamlet of about 100 people. This place was named after the book while it was an Oil camp in the late 1950s. The story goes that someone was reading the book at a time when the oil camp needed a name.

Use of 'Torridge'
The first line said
 * Westward Ho! is a seaside town in Torridge, Devon, England, near Bideford.

I don't know anyone who would describe a place as being 'in Torridge'. Yes, it's located in the area administered by Torridge District Council, but 'Torridge' is merely an administrative area, as opposed to being a geographical one (with the exception of the River Torridge, but that isn't a geographical area, it's just the name of a river). And it's certainly not used in normal parlance of those who live nearby.

So I've changed it. Feel free to change back if you feel strongly :-) Guidomax 13:35, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

Cut and paste from Reference desk/Humanities of 2007-09-19.

Westward Ho!
If the book Westward Ho! published in 1855 was the cause of the name for the town Westward Ho!, when did the town get named? Did it exist before/what was there? -- SGBailey 23:12, 19 September 2007 (UTC)


 * The settlement now called Westward Ho! is near Bideford in Devon, which was Charles Kingsley's home town. After Kingsley's novel was published in 1855, people came to visit the area he described, which gained the convenient name of Westward Ho! It became more developed after the United Services College was established there in 1874 and kept the name of the book. Xn4 23:26, 19 September 2007 (UTC)


 * My recollection is that a developer named it Westward Ho! in the hope of selling land and houses there. He failed, and some of the houses were sold cheaply to the newly formed USC. Don't have refs to hand, but will try to dig them out. DuncanHill 23:30, 19 September 2007 (UTC)


 * There's an article about the development of Westward Ho! in Devon Life, volume 9 (1972) pp. 34-35. Xn4 23:34, 19 September 2007 (UTC)


 * This from Devon Libraries Local Studies page :
 * "WESTWARD HO [in the parish of Northam] is an entirely modern settlement. Following the publication of Kingsley's book in 1855, a 'company was formed to develop this site as a watering place. The Westward Ho Hotel was built, a church (Holy Trinity) followed in 1870, and by 1872 there were two or three rows of terraces, many scattered villas, and a single line of shops. A golf course was laid out on the Burrows which became known as one of the finest in England. The United Services College for the sons of officers was opened in 1874, and is the mise en scène of Kipling's Stalky& Co. Within the next thirty years much more building took place in a planless way, but worse came in the 20th century. To-day Westward Ho is a sad spectacle of what uncontrolled speculative building can do with a fine site. Many of the buildings are alien to Devon, and most of them could be anywhere else. The golf course remains superb. The Pebble Ridge is a remarkable natural phenomenon nearly 2 m. long, about 50 ft. wide, and 20 ft. high." Carrington's biography of Kipling adds that USC bought a row of twelve lodging houses, and converted them into a school by running a corridor along the length of the terrace.
 * DuncanHill 23:45, 19 September 2007 (UTC)


 * According to Adrian Room, A Concise Dictionary of Modern Place-Names in Great Britain and Ireland (Oxford 1983), the Northam Burrows (North Devon) Hotel and Villa Building Company was formed in 1863 and the Westward Ho! Hotel opened two years later. "The name had been proposed by a friend of Kingsley, Dr W. H. Acland of Bideford, although it appears that the author had not been consulted and that the friendship between the two men was endangered for a time."  —Tamfang 04:45, 20 September 2007 (UTC)


 * That's a fair description, but it actually isn't quite so terrible as the above might lead you to believe! I'm thinking of another part of England where since I was a child an equally beautiful coastline has been buried under field after field of permanent caravan and 'mobile-home' parks, a lot of which have to suffer the winter weather without any coats of paint when the spring comes... but there you are, we're warned "Never go back!" Xn4 23:56, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Anyone going to revise the Wikipedia article Westward Ho!?--Wetman 04:56, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

End of cut and paste -- SGBailey 07:08, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Westward Ho! 1947 Foreign Labour Scheme
I'm not sure if anyone is aware of this, but the British Foreign Labour Committee implemented a plan to bring (in total) roughly 78,500 European displaced persons to work in "critical industries" in Britain around 1947. At the very least there should be a disambiguation here.

For reference, see Paul, Kathleen. Whitewashing Britain (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997), p 72. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.159.40.28 (talk) 16:31, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

Westward Hoe?
Anyone know whether the "ho!" was adapted from "hoe" as in nearby martinhoe, trentishoe, etc? 82.10.108.49 (talk) 22:58, 9 May 2008 (UTC)
 * No. The town was named after the title of a book.  --HighKing (talk) 13:25, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

Use of British Isles
--HighKing (talk) 13:35, 7 October 2010 (UTC)
 * The largest area that can be reliably sourced appears to be "United Kingdom" - see the BISE page for full details. --HighKing (talk) 12:26, 18 November 2010 (UTC)
 * No probs. Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:16, 18 November 2010 (UTC)
 * I've reverted it. There was absolutely no agreement for this at the BISE page and there are plenty of reputable sources stating British Isles; see this for example; . Removal of British Isles in this article must be one of the clearest cases yet of removal purely due to a dislike of the term. LemonMonday    Talk   17:16, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

I thought this was resolved. GoodDay (talk) 21:30, 19 November 2010 (UTC)
 * It was, and LM is in breach of the BISE guidelines. Cailil is dealing with this for now from his Talk page.  If we don't see a revert really soon, I expect this will get escalated (although sometimes I think that we can take AGF too far, it's not like LM is actually trying to participate at BISE, or looking to discuss anything in any detail ...)  Once again, by reverting this article, he's sticking two fingers up at the rest of us.  My patience is running out. --HighKing (talk) 14:16, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * No consensus was reached here or at BISE for changing to British Isles. LM's edit should be reverted immediately. GoodDay (talk) 16:04, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * (edit conflict)I've added a reference to the assertion. To do so is, I believe, completely in keeping with the spirit of BISE and in particular regarding the thread for this article. It was stated that a reference meeting WP:RS for the largest relevant geographical area should be found. I have now done so. I acknowledge that my original action in reverting was not in keeping with the spirit of BISE, but only because I failed to add a reference. Now that a suitable reference has been found I suggest we move on. (just picked up the ec with GoodDay's text). Remember GD, this article originally used British Isles and there was definitely no consensus to change from it. The only consensus was to find a good reference for the largest relevant geo' area. LemonMonday    Talk   16:11, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * I've reverted all that back to United Kingdom. Note, it's my only revert, as edit warring isn't in my interest. GoodDay (talk) 16:14, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * (ec again)Sorry GD, I had to revert you because your revert took place while we were both contributing to this Talk page, and I believe my contribution here would affect a decision whether to revert or not. LemonMonday    Talk   16:15, 20 November 2010 (UTC)

Since BISE doesn't have the final say, let's settle things at this talkpage. What's it gonna be United Kingdom or British Isles. Note that both have references. GoodDay (talk) 16:17, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * As we've got conflicting resources? WP:CONSENSUS becomes the decider. We should use United Kingdom as the Hotel is located within the UK. The Hotel doesn't cover Ireland, Isle of Man or Channel Islands. -- GoodDay (talk) 16:22, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * According to TFOWR at BISE it should be the largest geographical area that can be referenced. At the moment that's the British Isles, so perhaps we should draw a line under it now? LemonMonday    Talk   16:23, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * In terms of geographics, UK wouldn't work. Great Britain would suffice. The larger area is preferred? does this mean if a resource was found for Europe (an example) then Europe would be used? GoodDay (talk) 16:26, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * (ec)Yes, I think so. I would disagree with it, for reasons of English language usage, but if a quality reference was found for Europe then according to the current consensus at BISE it would take precedence, unless and until a differing view found favour. LemonMonday    Talk   16:32, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * We'll need a reference for Europe, which like Great Britain, is an undisputed term. If there's none for Europe, then let's use 'Great Britain'. GoodDay (talk) 16:35, 20 November 2010 (UTC)

If LM wishes to reopen this case, he can bring it to BISE, and use the BISE templates to notify other editors. He is familiar with the process. As it is, his actions are disruptive. --HighKing (talk) 16:30, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Having reconsidered, Great Britain would be the best choice, IMHO. GoodDay (talk) 16:38, 20 November 2010 (UTC)

As someone who edited this page long before BISE got involved (because I happen to know the place well), you'd be surprised at how pathetic these arguments seem. The editors on this page really don't care. Sort it out, lads. Ghmyrtle (talk) 16:34, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * I understand and sympathize. BISE is supposed to keep this crap from cluttering up the article space, and now it seems, even if it "gets sorted" at BISE, some editors are still allowed to cause disruption. Hopefully it'll get sorted soon. --HighKing (talk) 16:43, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Great Britain would be the best fit. GoodDay (talk) 16:36, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * There isn't currently a reference for GB, and even if there was it would be trumped by the reference for the larger area British Isles, at least according to BISE. LemonMonday    Talk   16:38, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Unless the Hotel is also (which is structural impossible) within Ireland (the island), IoM and CI? then British Isles (a disputed term) is un-acceptable. GoodDay (talk) 16:40, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * GoodDay, you're not helping by fanning the flames here. If LM wishes to reopen the case, he can do what everone else does - take it to BISE. --HighKing (talk) 16:43, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * I can't force LM to 're-open' this case at BISE, though I wish he would. GoodDay (talk) 16:45, 20 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Therefore, I've re-opened the case at BISE. GoodDay (talk) 16:52, 20 November 2010 (UTC)

My goodness, really? This goes on? The closure was simple, use the "largest area that can be reliably sourced".
 * Thus if only England can be reliably sourced use that. If only Great Britain can be reliably sourced, used that. If only the United Kingdom can be reliably sourced, use that. If British Isles can be reliably sourced, use that. If Europe can be reliably sourced, use that.

I think this position is a good one, as this is only mentioned due to the rare usage of the punctuation. If someone has found a source for British Isles, that is determined reliable, use British Isles. If someone else finds a source for a higher entity, Western Europe, Northern Europe, Europe, even the European Union, use that, even better. Chipmunkdavis (talk) 17:06, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Come on over to BISE. GoodDay (talk) 17:28, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Hello, just signed up and wasn't expecting this to have been discussed in detail.
 * Is it possible to re-open this edit on the basis that 'The British Isles' is a controversial term so it can't be reliably sourced? Jazzrty (talk) 12:23, 25 January 2024 (UTC)

Lack of exclamation mark on Google Maps
Is it worth mentioning this as an interesting fact? Google maps fails to add an exclamation mark after Ho, thus spelling the village name incorrectly. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Harrychown1989 (talk • contribs) 08:17, 28 February 2011
 * Not interesting, not notable; lots of maps contain errors. Ghmyrtle (talk) 09:11, 28 February 2011 (UTC)
 * And more to the point, its a fabrication as G-maps/G-earth DO use the exclamation point. MrZoolook (talk) 06:16, 2 July 2012 (UTC)

Places whose name includes an exclamation mark
Although WH! is apparently the only place in England/Britain/UK/etc. to rejoice in this particular nomenclature, are there any other locations which end not with a whimper, but with a bang? MinorProphet (talk) 03:46, 6 June 2016 (UTC)
 * Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! - as mentioned in the article. Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:36, 6 June 2016 (UTC)