Roman Towns in Britain

Many will know how place names ending in -cester or -chester show they were former Roman towns. Until comparatively recently this was attributed to the Romans themselves, where the Latin castra or 'fort' had produced the name. Yet records show these settlements were not known as -cesters or -chesters until after the Romans had left. Further proof of a different origin comes in the form of Old English, the language of the Anglo-Saxons, where caester meant very specifically 'a former Roman stronghold'. Thus could not have been named until after the Romans departure because of (a) the specific meaning and (b) the language was not known in Britain until after the Romans had left.

The following list of Roman towns give the modern name and that used by the Romans, along with a definition wherever possible.

Bath is an Old English name, this clearly referring to 'the Roman baths'. The Romans referred to the place as Aquae Sulis, this 'the waters of Sulis'. The place was already a shrine to the Celtic goddess Sulis, the Romans seeing similarities with their goddess Minerva and always keen to adopt as many gods as possible (one can never have too many gods), a goddess perceived as the life-giving mother goddess. Further information on Bath and nearby place names can be found in my Somerset Place Names.

Canterbury speaks of itself as 'the stronghold of the people of Kent'. To the Romans it was Durovernum Cantiacorum, here the Romans referred to the former British tribe, the Cantiaci, residing at Durou ernon or 'stronghold by the alder grove'. All this is covered in my book East Kent Place Names.

Carlisle is a an old British name meaning 'the (place) of a man called Luguvalos'. The Celtic term cair added to the personal name, much as the Romans did when they called this place Luguvallum. Further information in my Cumbria Place Names.

Chelmsford comes from 'the ford of a man called Ceolmaer', while the Romans knew this as Caesaromagus or 'the market place of Caesar'. See my Essex Place Names.

for further information. Chester simply uses the basic Old English caester or 'former Roman stronghold' with no additions. For the Romans this was Deva Victrix, the Latin referring to the goddess who also gave a name to the River Dee, with Viictrix simply meaning 'victorious' and all seen in Cheshire Place Names.

Cirencester tells us it was 'the former Roman stronghold known as Corinion, the origin of which is uncertain but may share an origin with the River Churn in ultimately referring to a tribe known as the Cornovii. It is known several tribes throughout the land were known as such, the meaning is unclear but could mean 'the people of the horn' and refer to the shape of the land they occupied. These and more in Gloucestershire Place Names by, of course, me!

Colchester is 'the former Roman stronghold on the Colne', Camulodunum to the Romans who knew this as 'the stronghold of the Camulos' a Celtic deity seen as the equivalent of the Roman Mars with more information in my Essex Place Names.

Doncaster is 'the former Roman stronghold on the River Don', a British river name meaning simply 'water'. To the Romans this was Danum for the same reason, with information on the place in my South Yorkshire Place Names and on the river name in English River Names by the same author.

Dover, or Dubris to the Romans, is found in my East Kent Place Names where you will discover both originate in the British name for the River Dour, where dubras simply meant 'water'.

Exeter also owes its present name to the river on which it stands, the present name speaking of 'the former Roman stronghold on the Exe' with the river name again meaning simply 'water', while the Roman name of Isca Dumnoniorum describes the river as 'full of fish' being where the people known as the Dumnonians or 'people of the vales'. You can find more information on this and neighbouring place names in my South Devon Place Names.

Gloucester, which is the county town found in Gloucestershire Place Names, has the modern name referring to 'the former Roman stronghold called Glevum, which is exactly what the Roman name was for the Celtic settlement named as the 'bright place'.

Lancaster and the Roman name of Lunecastrum share an origin in the river on which the fortification stands - Oold English caester and Latin castrum both refer to the Roman fortification, albeit the former in the past tense. The river name, as discussed in my English River Names, comes from a British term meaning 'healthy, pure', while the Lancashire town can be found in Lancashire Place Names.

Leicester speaks of itself as 'the former Roman stronghold of the Ligore, a tribal name of unknown origins. The Romans knew the place as Ratae Coritanorum, the first element meaning 'ramparts' and the latter the tribal name of Corieltauvians, again of unknown origins as is discussed in my Leicestershire Place Names.

Lincoln, as found in my Lincolnshire Place Names, was known to the Romans as Lindum Colonia was known as the linduo colonia or 'the pool of the Roman colony (for retired legionaries)'.

London is often said to be 'the place of a man called Londinos', but just who that person was is unknown, as was it to the Romans whose form of Londinium shares an origin but was equally uncertain. A deeper look into the alternative meanings of the name is found in my Middlesex Place Names.

Manchester is traditionally a city of Lancashire, and is therefore covered by my Lancashire Place Names where we see 'the former Roman stronghold near the mamm or breast-shaped hill' was known as Mancunium by the Romans, a name of identical meaning.

Newcastle speaks for itself, although note this castle is 'new' which tells us it replaced an earlier feature. To the Romans this was Pons Aelius, this meaning 'the bridge of Aelius', this the clan or family name of the Emperor Hadrian. More information can be found in my Northumberland Place Names.

Pevensey is an Old English name meaning 'the river of a man called Pefen'. To the Romans this was Anderitum which, as discussed in my East Sussex Place Names, simply means 'the great ford'.

Rochester, found in my West Kent Place Names, is 'the former Roman stronghold called Hrofi'. This is not a personal name but badly corrupted form of the earlier name of Durobrivis, the Roman version Durobrivae, both meaning 'the walled town with bridges'.

St Albans, as found in my Hertfordshire Place Names, is named as 'the holy place of St Alban', this the saint martyred here in AD 209. Earlier this had been Verulamium, this possibly referring to 'the tribe of the broad hand'..

Salisbury refers to itself as 'the stronghold at Sorvio', hence for the Romans this was Sorviodunum. As discussed in my Wiltshire Place Names, the etymological trail ends here.

Winchester refers to itself as 'the former Roman stronghold called Venta' and known as Venta Belgarum to the Romans. Here the venta or 'town' was associatd with the tribe known as the Belgae, who not only gave their name to modern Belgium but also gave us a series of Brythonic and Gaulish derived words fundamentally telling us they had a reputaion for being angry. Find out more in Hampshire Place Names.

Worcester or 'the former Roman stronghold of the Weogora is found in my Worcestershire Place Names.Here the name of the tribe is shown to come from 'the people of the winding river', while the Roman name of Wigornia has identical origins.

Wroxeter, found in my Shropshire Place Names, speaks of 'the Roman stronghold of the Uriconio. Known to the Romans as Virconium, both these early names have given us the modern name of Wrekin and derived from a personal name with a root meaning 'man wolf'..

Yarmouth, as discussed in my Isle of Wight Place Names, stands at the 'gravelly or muddy estuary'. To the Romans this was Magna Gernemutha, the same meaning but with the addition of magna or 'great'.

York, famously known to the Romans as Eboracum, will be covered in my forthcoming North Yorkshire Place Names, where the ancient Celtic name of Eborus is shown to refer to 'the place of the yew trees'.

Richard III - Etymologically Speaking

I’m always open to suggestions for this blog, at least from an etymological viewpoint. This post is the result of a suggestion by Rosalind Adams. Her Children’s History of Leicester of a couple of years ago is being followed by The Children’s Book of Richard III, which will be available this week.

Now if you want to read the story of King Richard III, I recommend clicking here, which will take you to Rosalind's book on Amazon. Here I intend looking at etymology of the words associated with this monarch.

Richard – a Germanic name from ric meaning ‘power, rule’ and hard or ‘brave, hardy’.

Plantagenet – is of Latin derivation, from planta genista or the ‘sprig of broom’ said to have been a part of the crest of the House of Anjou.

Bosworth – the name of the battle where Richard lost his life is derived from Old English bar worth or ‘the enclosure near where boars are seen’. Interestingly Bosworth is the name given to a four-handed version of chess created some 20 years ago.

Leicester – where Richard’s remains were found and ‘the Roman stronghold associated with the Ligore’, this the Romano-British tribe associated with this part of the world.

King – generally said to come from Old English cyning, however the word is common to just about every nation whose language derives from the Proto-Indo-European tongue. That word is unknown but must have been denoting a ‘ruler’, ‘leader’, or similar.

Richard III was also a play by William Shakespeare, written around 1592. Less well known is the version by Colley Cibber in 1699 and another in 1852 by Victor Sejour. There have also been four films of this name, 1912, 1955, 1995, and 2008; and a song by Supergrass.

Thank you for your suggestion Rosalind, I’m sure your book will be of great interest to children young and old.

A Selection of Field Names

When producing my books on the origin of place names I like to look at the basic names, those of towns and villages, topographical features, such as hills and rivers, and also local names, such as districts, roads and streets, pub names and field names.

Since I began researching the subject, now approaching a rather frightening twenty years ago, I have become increasingly fascinated with the field names of England. While our basic place names originate in the Old English language, the majority of field names were coined rather later and derived from Middle English which, as the name suggests, came between Old and Modern English.

Field names are not only important to rural areas. As an earlier blog post discussed, fields which have been developed for modern housing have proven the inspiration for the name of the streets – local councils like to retain existing names. Several names are commonplace, found in many places as street names. Possibly the most common from a field is Pinfold, a street name which led to the small holding area where stray animals were held awaiting collection by the owner. These were rounded up by the pinner (leading to the surname) and required payment of a fine on collection by the owner.

A few field names which I feel are worthy of particular mention begin with Blind Boys Field. This name is found around Leicestershire, indeed I cannot recall having found it far from this East Midlands county. It has nothing to do with sightless young males. Here we find an old term, one still used in North America, for the blinkers worn by a horse. Hence the Blind Boys were none other than the plough team and the field where they were pastured.

Around the boundaries with neighbouring Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland an unusual name is found in that of the Nicker. This is no misspelling, here we have a dialect term for the woodpecker – so-called because the bird uses its beak to nick into the wood of the trees.

Found throughout the land is a field name which, in some cases has been used as a minor place name. However Plaistow began as Old English pleg stow and referring to ‘the place of play’. This is understood to refer to where games or sports were played, at least annually and probably several times a year on feast days.

Possibly my favourite story comes from Cambridgeshire and the huge job of draining of the fens, one which took a great deal of man hours. As it was impossible for the labourers to give enough of their time away from the fields on a voluntary basis, those with money sponsored the workforce, enabling them to carry out the work and still support their families. Those who undertook the work received a share of the land on completion of the work, those who invested their money received a great deal more. The resulting fields reflected them both in many being known the Adventurers and Undertakers.

I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Ley Lines Across the Midlands - Beacon Hill to Oadby

A recent conversation asking about my book on ancient trackways prompted me to reproduce one of the walks from the book.

Not all leys forge a straight line through what remains of England's wildernesses. Once these trackways linked the major population centres, so we should not be too surprised to find a ley forging its way straight through a major city. Indeed the only surprising thing about it is that it can still be traced under the concrete of modern society.

In order to trace this ancient track we must start outside the city of Leicester to the northwest. Bradgate Park is not only three hundred and fifty hectares of ancient deer park and the birthplace of Lady Jane Grey, but is the setting for the folly known as Old John's Tower. It is a fairly modest construction as follies go, just two storeys but at over one hundred and seventy metres above sea level affords magnificent views around the Leicestershire countryside.

It was not built as a ley line marker of course. Indeed the construction only dates from the 18th century when, according to some reports, it allowed ladies a view of the race course which circled the top of this hill. A rough circle of stones surrounds this hill - could they have marked out the course? The arch which makes this one of the county's most easily recognised sights, making the silhouette on the skyline look not unlike a very large beer mug, was added in 1786.

Originally this was the sight of an old windmill belonging to Old John, in turn becoming the name of the present building. Legend has it that this employee of the 5th Earl of Stamford was killed in quite unusual circumstances. It seems that a party was being held to mark the 21st birthday of the earl's son. A rather boisterous male assemblage seemed to think it would be a good idea to build a bonfire around the flagpole there. Sadly when the fire started it brought the pole crashing down upon the unfortunate Old John killing him instantly. A highly fanciful tale probably created to explain the name and having no basis in truth.

However this is not the start of the ley. From here it is quite easy to see the beginning to the northwest. Indeed it is difficult to miss the two hundred and forty-five metre high Beacon Hill, the site of a Bronze Age hill fort and the second highest point in the county. No obvious signs of the ancient settlement remain, however there is a small toposcope. Here a brass plate sits on top of a stone plinth, the radiating lines showing points of interest visible in that direction (including Old John's Folly). It is claimed that Lincoln Cathedral is visible from this point, yet even though it was the clearest of days I could not make out the building with its two great towers standing high above the surrounding city.

Beacon hill is not just an ancient sighting point, it also has what has become known as a 'trig pillar' - short for triangulation pillar. Standing around one metre high these concrete markers are found dotted throughout the country and were erected to support a theodolite. Every single pillar was designed to be visible from two others, hence the triangle, and are placed on the highest point in the area. Today it is often only possible to see one other point, however it is perhaps no surprise to find how often they stand on, or very close to, an ancient ley. By using these detailed and remarkably accurate maps of Britain were produced. While the modern GPS systems are undoubtedly more accurate, they are only marginally so and are simply easier to read than basic maps.

Each of these pillars carries a unique number and there are a number slightly different designs despite the basic shape, making collection of their designation and a photograph (with the collector, of course) an unusual hobby. At one time there were over six thousand of these dotted around the country, around seventy per cent of which still survive.

Extending the line southeast between the two we find we eventually close in on Bradgate Road just as it is entering Anstey. To the north of this road, the final three fields prior to the houses exhibit signs of earlier habitation. The unmistakable signs of an earlier settlement can be seen from aerial photographs. It is thought that this represents elements from a number of historical periods, although without recent field archaeology it is impossible to say when the earliest settlers arrived.

The very name of Anstey may well be a clue to the existence of a ley, for it has been defined as '(place at) the narrow path'. If further evidence is required there is also a path which is still sometimes referred to locally as The Leys.

A little further along the sixteen kilometre course the ley hits two makers in the village of Anstey, frequently referred to as 'the Gateway to the Forest' (ie Charnwood). Firstly comes the church of St Mary, the oldest parts of which are known to date from 1220. That Christian places of worship replaced former pagan sites is certain. Indeed it is likely the mandate from the Vatican was not 'convert the people', when envoys were sent to England, but 'convert their places of worship'.

Just a little further on near Gynsall Lane and alongside the A46 is Anstey Stone. For as long as anyone could remember the stone was horizontal until a local farmer stood it on its end, returning it to its former position rising two metres above the surrounding land.

One of the major road junctions in the area is next, the roundabout where the A50 meets the A453. Once a crossroads and lying directly on the ley, the meeting of Glenfrith Way and New Parks Way with the Groby Road has appeared on maps for centuries - although not until recently were they so named!

Following the the line we rejoin the A50 trunk road at Frog Island. The name suggests one thing but is clearly not an island as we would know it. However in times past it may well have been an effective island as it was (at least for the majority of the time) an isolated patch of dry land bordered by the River Soar to the north and surrounded by marshland. The exact site of this dry land coincides with the ley line and its (now) well hidden marker stone.

The ley also crosses the site of the Britella plastics factory on Frog Island. As mentioned in the first chapter there are those who consider ley lines a magnet for ghosts, doubtless the workers at that factory during the 1970s would agree. Unexplained damage to machinery and feelings of cold so unnerved the workers they demanded an exorcism be performed or industrial action would be taken.

Just further along we come to All Saint's Church, a fourteenth century building which, along with the adjoining roads, was declared a conservation area in 1999. However it may be argued that it is not the church that is the marker but High Cross Street which runs alongside, the name adding weight to this argument. It should be noted that while the church is probably the stronger marker, it may not have been built on the exact site of the original pagan temple and thus the road name is the more likely marker.

Quite a jump to the final marker, six kilometres to the fourteenth century Oadby church of St Peter's. Such a distance may seem to make the suggestion of this being on the ley a little hard to believe. Yet we should remember that this part of Leicester is heavily populated, has been for many years, so any markers laid down centuries ago will have been decimated.

Today the steeple is still visible from quite a distance and there is no doubt it is still the local landmark. Indeed nothing is likely to have stood out more since the monks built the first known chapel on this site in 1075. This seems an unusual point for the terminus of the ley, however there are no modern signs of a continuation. It is possible it joins another here which followed the general line of the modern A6. Either way this sixteen kilometre track packs a lot of history into its short course.

Admittedly I was not expecting this walk to be among the most enjoyable as it passes right through the centre of the city of Leicester. Not that I have anything against this city, simply that it is less punishing to walk across farmland than a concrete jungle. However I was pleasantly surprised and time passed remarkably quickly. It was indeed a most pleasant day.

I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Leicestershire and Rutland Place Names

As I will be speaking in the county in the near future on the subject of place names, I offer a quick taster taken from my book published a couple of years ago.

Countesthorpe

This delightful name was listed as simply Torp in the early 13th century, a Scandinavian term for a farmstead. Shortly after this we find a Middle English manorial addition in contesse, which means this is 'the outlying farmstead belonging to the countess'. The name of Buckingham Road comes from a former resident of the orphanage in Countesthorpe. William Buckingham went from a small boy reliant on the charity of the Leicester Board of Guardians, to fighting for his country in the Great War of 1914-18. William lost his life during World War I, but not before his acts of bravery earned him the highest of military honours, the Victoria Cross.

Other streets in Countesthorpe named after individuals include Barnley Close from Dr E Wynne Barnley who in 1925 was one of the few ladies to have achieved such a position. She had help in running the surgery by Miss Lindsey Stanyon and her efforts are remembered by Stanyon Close. Beechings Close is on developed land which was formerly the line of the railway track and among the thousands of miles torn up as being uneconomical following the now infamous Beeching Report. Elliotts Yard stands on what was once Eales farmyard, the personal name probably refers to William Elliott who was a yeoman and churchwarden in 1753.

Ladbroke Grove recalls the 13th century lord of the manor William de Lodbrok, former factory owner Leopold Wacks and his generous investments in Countesthorpe are commemorated by Leopold Close. A former 20th-century headmaster of the school Mr Edward Marston gave his name to Marston Close, and former Leicestershire and England cricketer Maurice Tompkin to Maurice Drive.

Former landowners have always been a favourite for street names. Bassett Avenue recalls William and Christopher Bassett who were here by 1851 the latter gentleman also giving his name to Christopher Close, while a century earlier John Benskin owned 109 acres of which Benskyn Close formed a part. Although Edward Ludlam certainly held land here in 1680 he was never a resident but the family is still marked by the name of Ludlam Close. Any history of the village cannot fail to mention the Tebbs family who have been recorded here since the late 18th century and are marked by Tebbs Close. Countesthorpe is twinned with the French town of Mennecy and this is marked by Mennecy Close.

Four pubs in Countesthorpe have names originating from four different areas. The Bulls Head is a common name which would originally have been a part of the coat of arms of the lords of the manor. We also find the Railway Inn, predictably close to the site of the station, and a King William IV which was likely built or named such at some significant point in that English king's reign. Lastly the Axe & Square which was named such by a former landlord who had earlier worked as a carpenter, a welcome and imaginative diversion from the usual names associated with this trade.

I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.