The Rev. W. Awdry was inspired to use this name for the setting of his railway stories on a visit to the Isle of Man.
In the year 1089, the Isle of Man, along with Orkney and the Hebrides, came under Norwegian rule. The Norwegians formed the Diocese of Sodor in 1158, to cover these islands; the name means, essentially, 'southern islands'.
Norway ceded control of these islands to Scotland in 1266. The Isle of Man was detached from the Scottish islands in 1344, when it came under the suzerainty of the Kings of England. By the late 16th century, the terms 'Sodor' and 'Man' had become interchangeable, and the Anglican diocese (which covered only the Isle of Man and its adjacent islets) eventually became known as Sodor and Man. This name is belived to have originated in the 17th century, in ignorance of the proper application of the name 'Sodor' to the bishopric of Man.
The Rev. Awdry was intrigued to find that although the Bishop had the title 'Sodor and Man', he had only Man for his diocese. "Everybody knew that there was an Isle of Man, but we decided to 'discover' another island – the Island of Sodor – and so give the poor deprived Bishop the other half of his diocese!" He sited Sodor in the Irish Sea, between the Isle of Man and Barrow–in–Furness – which was then in Lancashire, but has been in Cumbria since 1974.
© Macclesfield Quiz League 2017