Högskolan i Halmstad
Humaniora
Handledare: Lene Nordrum
Engelska 61-90 p.
Anna Maria Olofsson
781128-2446
Manchester vs. London
The etymology of the place-names of the two areas in
connection with British history
Table of Content
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 3
1.1
Background ............................................................................................................................ 3
1.2
History ..................................................................................................................................... 4
1.2.1
History of Britain ............................................................................................................ 4
1.2.2
History of the Manchester area .................................................................................. 5
1.2.3
History of the London area .......................................................................................... 6
1.2.4
History of “County Confusion” ..................................................................................... 6
1.3
Aims......................................................................................................................................... 7
1.4
Method and Material ............................................................................................................. 7
2. Results ................................................................................................................. 9
2.1
Introduction............................................................................................................................. 9
2.2
The London area ................................................................................................................... 9
2.2.1
Surrey ............................................................................................................................. 9
2.2.2
Berkshire ...................................................................................................................... 11
2.2.3
Buckinghamshire ........................................................................................................ 12
2.2.4
Hertfordshire ................................................................................................................ 13
2.2.5
Essex ............................................................................................................................ 14
2.2.6
Kent ............................................................................................................................... 16
2.2.7
Concluding remarks of the London area ................................................................. 17
2.3
Manchester area ................................................................................................................. 18
2.3.1
Cheshire ....................................................................................................................... 19
2.3.2
Merseyside................................................................................................................... 20
2.3.3
Lancashire ................................................................................................................... 21
2.3.4
West Yorkshire ............................................................................................................ 23
2.3.5
Derbyshire .................................................................................................................... 24
2.3.6
Concluding remarks of the Manchester area ......................................................... 26
3. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 27
Appendix 1................................................................................................................ 30
Appendix 2................................................................................................................ 31
2
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
My fascination for Great Britain and the English language started long before my first
visit (at a class trip back in 1994). After that I have been fortunate enough to have friends
living there so that I have been able to visit many times. My dream was to live in Britain
myself one day (if only for at short period of my life) and I tried to fulfil the dream in 1998 by
working as an au-pair just outside of Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire in a little village named
Great Hallingbury. Even though I learned a lot from this experience, I also realized that I was
limited in exploring my fascination for the country as an au-pair. A few years later, after I had
been working for a Swedish company for a couple of years, I got the opportunity to work in
Great Britain for a period of time. The company was to move their U.K. sales department
from just outside Oxford up to Manchester and they needed someone who knew the routines
to start up the new office. As I showed my interest and wanted something challenging and
new, this was perfect. I lived south of Manchester in a town called Wilmslow, Cheshire, and I
loved every minute of it. Now I finally got the chance to explore my fascination!
During my stays I realized that Britain has a lot of picturesque-sounding (and also
looking) towns and villages. This opened my interest for the history of the country and I
started to feel intrigued by it. But it took me a while to gather my thoughts before I took an
English course at the University. In the realia courses, I learnt about all the events that have
coloured the isles from the beginning of time and this made many pieces fall into place. I
realized that I wanted to dig deeper into the subject. The fact that five invasions have taken
place in Great Britain, which all made a big impact on the country, makes the history of
place-names particularly interesting. The aim of this essay is therefore to compare placenames in the Manchester area and the London area, and try to find the origin of the names.
An additional aim is to find out which foreign invasion, if any, has coloured the areas the
most. The reason why I chose these two areas is my personal interest in and knowledge about
these two specific areas. As I have lived in both places, and therefore travelled around a little
bit in both areas, a curiosity for etymology arose.
3
1.2 History
1.2.1 History of Britain
According to Yule (2004:218), the history of the English language is usually divided into
three main periods; Old English (OE) 7th century to the end of 11th century, Middle English
(ME) 12th century to 16th century and Modern English (ModE) 16th century to present time.
Before the Old English period, however, there were some highly influential invasions, and
Britain has experienced more invasions throughout the Old English and Middle English
periods. In total, it is common to talk about five major invasions in Britain. The first invasion
was the one of the Celtic tribes around 500 BC. Although Britain most certainly was settled
before this we do not know what language these settlers spoke or where they came from
(Odenstedt 2000:43). The Celts were later pushed away to more isolated parts of the country
(Cornwall, Scotland and Wales) by the Romans who invaded Britain in 43 AD: the second
invasion. Despite this, the Celtic language has survived to modern times (van Gelderen
2006:2, 35, McCrum et al 1992:48ff, Barber 1995:65f). The Romans had a big impact on
Brittania, as they called it, and during their domination Latin was widely spread (van
Gelderen 2006:2, 93, Odenstedt 2000:43f).
The third invasion was made by Germanic tribes in 450 AD and they brought the
Germanic language to Englaland; the land of the Angels (Odenstedt 2000:45, McCrum et al
1992:57, Yule 2006:218, van Gelderen 2006:3, 29). English is a west-Germanic language
derived from Proto-Germanic (which in its turn is derived from Proto-Indo-European) which
developed into different branches due to the expansion of the Germanic tribes (Barber
1995:83ff, van Gelderen 2006:3, 29). As time went by the Anglo-Saxons were converted to
Christianity by influence from Rome (Odenstedt 2000:51, Yule 2004:218). Hence a lot of
Latin and Greek words entered the English language (Odenstedt 2000:71f, Yule 2004:218,
221f, van Gelderen 2006:47, 93, McCrum et al 1992:63).
The forth invasion was made by the Vikings, whose raids started in the late 8th century
(Odenstedt 2000:53, McCrum et al 1992:65, Yule 2006:218, van Gelderen 2006:95).
Gradually they settled down and intermarried (McCrum et al 1992:75). Because the Vikings
were a threat to Alfred the Great, he negotiated the Danelaw which was to be the Vikings’
territory in Britain if they left the Anglo-Saxons in peace (van Gelderen 2006:97, Barber
1994:128). The Danelaw stretched from London to Chester, on the west-coast, and the AngloSaxons were to keep south and west of this “line” (Barber 1994:128, Odenstedt 2000:53). As
a result the Vikings and the native English managed to co-exist (McCrum et al 1992:70). Due
4
to the Vikings, English was influenced by the Scandinavian languages and this was especially
the case in the Danelaw, which we find evidence of still today (Odenstedt 2000:86f, 116,
Barber 1994:128ff, Yule 2006:218, van Gelderen 2006:96ff).
At the Battle of Hastings in 1066 AD the fifth and last invasion took place. This invasion
was carried out by the Norman French with William the Conqueror in the lead (McCrum et al
1992:72f, Odenstedt 2000:79, Yule 2006:218, van Gelderen 2006:9). Norman-French became
the language of the upper class and English the language spoken by peasants and this was
how it looked for the next 300 years (Odenstedt 2000:79, Yule 2006:219, McCrum et al
1992:73, van Gelderen 2006:9).
1.2.2 History of the Manchester area
The place where Manchester is situated today was found by the Romans who built a fort
from which there were roads in all directions (Blakeley). The Romans called the area
Mamucium: meaning breast-shaped hill (Schofield 2003:16, Moss, wwwa). But there are also
other spellings to be found: Mancunium, Mameceaster, Mamecestre, Mamcestre (Farrer &
Brownbill). When the Romans left the country and the Saxons came along, they altered the
name: Mam became Man and ceaster was the result of a twist from the Latin word castrum,
meaning fort, army camp (Schofield et al 2003:16, Odenstedt 2000:71, McCrum et al
1992:52). The Viking raids evolved into them almost taking over the country (McCrum et al
1992:66). For this reason, Alfred the Great, the king of Wessex, negotiated the Danelaw and
the Vikings were to keep east and north of the drawn “line” (McCrum et al 1992:66). The
Manchester area was mainly settled by Norwegian Vikings, although Manchester itself had
some Danish settlements (van Gelderen 2006:97, Barber 1994:129, Odenstedt 2000:53,
Simpson). After the Norman Conquest, William had to fight back rebellion from the north and
consequently he confiscated land, which he gave to those who were loyal to him (Barber
1994:135, wwwb, Simpson, wwwc). The area around Manchester was given to a man named
Roger de Poitou (Moss, Simpson).
Another important fact in relation to Manchester is its location surrounded by several
rivers: the Irwell, the Irk, the Medlock and the Mersey just to mention a few (wwwd, e, f, g).
The rivers have made the area very attractive to settlers throughout the centuries: it is much
thanks to the rivers that the area has prospered.
5
1.2.3 History of the London area
When the Romans landed in England they travelled up the Thames and found the place
where London is today (wwwh). They called the site Londinium, where the word lond means
wild and is derived from Old Irish, as the Celts were there first and had already put their mark
on the area (McCrum et al 1992:56, Else et al 2003:175, Freeborn 1998:20). As a result of the
good location the Romans built the first London Bridge and London has been an important
trading point ever since (wwwh, Barrow). However, when the Roman Empire pulled back
from England all that had been built up fell into decline for quite some time, followed by
further prosperous times when the Saxons invaded and inhabited an area a little bit to the west
of the Londinium site; they called this area Lundenwic; where the OE word wic means
dwelling place, village, town (Smith II 1956:257, Harper, Nash Ford, Uittenbogaard, wwwi).
London consequently grew from the area where London Bridge is today: in other words
where Londinium and Lundenwic were situated (wwwi).
Due to the position next to the Thames the Lundenwic area became popular for Viking
raids (wwwj). Alfred the Great fought the Vikings several times but the site fell into the hands
of the Vikings due to the Danelaw, although it was later reclaimed (Barrow). The Danelaw
also explains the fact that the area to the north and east of London was mainly settled by
Danish Vikings, whereas the area to the west was settled by the Anglo-Saxons (Barber
1994:129, van Gelderen 2006:97). After the Norman Conquest London was the central point
for the king and he had the Tower of London erected, which became his residence (Johnson).
From this site he could protect the city but also have control of it (McGillick).
1.2.4 History of “County Confusion”
In England, there are mainly three different ways in which the country is divided into
counties: Firstly there is the historic county division, which has been there since before the
Normans (wwwk). It is still used by the Royal Mail, in social contexts, and it plays a big role
for individuals’ sense of regional belonging (wwwk). Secondly there is the county division
made by the Local Government Act 1972 (LGA). This act divided the country into local
government areas which were called counties and differed from the historical counties
(wwwk). Thirdly there is the county division made by the Lieutenancies Act 1997 (LA). This
act combines counties from the LGA into another set of counties. The county division made
by the LGA and the LA acts is only for administrative purposes. All three different county
divisions are used in every-day life and this causes a great deal of confusion (wwwk).
6
Even though I am personally of the opinion that the historically county division is the
correct one to use, I have chosen to use the Government Administrative county division for
this essay. The reason for this is that when I started to locate the place-names in adjacent
counties to my core cities, London and Manchester, I did not want them to be too far away
from the core. I realized when I started to locate place-names according to the historic county
division that in some cases I ended up rather far away from the core and this might jeopardize
the outcome of this essay. The aim is to try to find a pattern in the place-names of the area and
if I pick out place-names too far away from the core, it is likely that a pattern will be difficult
to detect.
Nevertheless, I still want to underline the fact that I do not support the usage of any other
county division than the historic. I personally believe that for the administrative county
division one could have chosen a different description name than county in cases where a
different area than the historic is being used.
1.3 Aims
The essay will be a descriptive essay and the method will be a combination of literature
studies and lexicographic studies. My hypothesis is that the London area has a lot of placenames with a French origin due to the strong Norman influence during the Middle Ages;
however, there might be many Roman names as well due to the Roman invasion. The
Manchester area, on the other hand, I hypothesize has a lot of Scandinavian influences which
originates from the Viking raids, but it might be influenced by both the Roman invasion and
Norman invasion as well. In sum, the following research question is asked: What is the
etymology of the place-names of the two areas and can a strong connection to one of the five
invasions be found?
1.4 Method and Material
The essay uses a qualitative method as I had a personal interest in some of the first chosen
place-names and I wanted to describe a small quantity of place-names in detail. I have
included twenty-one place-names in the London area and twenty in the Manchester area. To
some extent the essay uses quantitative methods, as potential differences between the two
areas will be mentioned in terms of numbers. Due to the limited number of place-names,
however, no statistically significant conclusions can be drawn and the results of the essay
must be seen as indications to be validated by further studies. The place-names illustrated in
7
figures 1 and 2, respectively, cover six adjacent counties to London and five adjacent counties
to Manchester.
To begin with there was a different choice of place-names than the ones shown in figure 1
and figure 2. When I took a closer look at the map and areas affected it became obvious that a
few alterations in the preparation work were necessary. For the best result an even spread of
place-names around the core of the city centres of London and Manchester was desirable. By
studying different maps I took out the adjacent counties to the core and chose a number of
place-names in each county.
As can be noticed when studying figures 1 and 2 I have not been entirely consistent when
defining the core of London and Manchester. I have deliberately chosen Lancashire as an
adjacent county to Manchester. The reason for this is that Lancashire is a relatively big county
and if I were to include Lancashire in the core and instead take the adjacent county (which is
Cumbria) I reason as if the Manchester area would be too big to find the outcome I am
looking for. Conversely, in the London area I included Middlesex in the core because
Middlesex is a relatively small county.
All place-names are located fairly close to the core. The place-names were chosen in a
relatively random manner, but some focus was placed on place-names with an interesting and
picturesque-sounding name. However, there were two place-names in which I had difficulty
to find the etymology or any other historical fact for that matter, and I chose to replace them.
In the London area, Great Hallingbury was replaced by Hemel Hempstead and in the
Manchester area, Loveclough was replaced by Coppull.
8
2. Results
2.1 Introduction
In this section I will discuss the etymology of the place-names in the London area and in
the Manchester area; as well as the connection of the etymology to one of the five invasions.
2.2 The London area
As mentioned in 1.3 my hypothesis is that the place-names of the London area might have
French origin due to the Norman invasion which was strong in this area. However, the Roman
influence might have been strong in this area as well. Figure 1 shows the adjacent counties to
London and which place-names that I have chosen in each county.
Hertfordshire:
Sawbridgeworth
Bishops Stortford
Essex::
Buckinghamshire:
Hemel Hempstead
Saffron Walden
Newport Pagnell
Stansted Mountfitchet
High Wycombe
Chelmsford
Milton Keynes
Harlow
London
Berkshire:
Kent:
Slough
Dartford
Windsor
Surrey:
Bracknell
Leatherhead
Haslemere
Gravesend
Sevenoaks
Westerham
Dorking
Shepperton
Figure 1 Place-names in the London area
2.2.1 Surrey
The following place-names in Surrey will be discussed in this section: Leatherhead,
Haslemere, Dorking and Shepperton.
9
Leatherhead:
The Romans have most certainly been at the site where Leatherhead is today. This is evident
from the discovery of an old Roman road indicating a great deal of Roman activity in the area
of Leatherhead (wwwm). In 880 AD, during the Saxon invasion, the site was called
Leodridan although other variations of the spelling have been found: Lerred, Ledred,
Ledrede, and Ledered (Mills, Charnock, Smith II 1956:83). A possible Celtic origin of the
place-name has also been discussed and Leatherhead may be a compound of the two Celtic
words *led1 with the possible meaning grey and *rid meaning a ford (Cameron 1996:49,
Smith II 1956:83, wwwm, Mills). The landscape surrounding the river Mole, where
Leatherhead is situated, is described in old Celtic with words reminding of the later Saxon
name: lleddf, llethr, llethrod, llethredd (Charnock). Unfortunately I have not been able to find
the etymology of these words. Although a Celtic origin have been suggested here I found the
Saxon origin plausible.
Haslemere:
Both the Celts and the Romans were at this site although there is no evidence of a place-name
from this time (wwwo). The first record of a place-name is from 1221 AD when it was spelled
Haselmere, which has been altered into Haslemere, a mix of the OE words haesel and mere
(wwwn, Mills). At this time there were hazels growing next to a lake that no longer exists,
hence the meaning pool where hazels grow (wwwn, Mills). The Saxon word mere means lake
or pond and haesel means hazel tree (Partridge 1991:282, Pulleyn). One interesting point of
view is that the Old Norse (ON) word for hazel tree is hasl, which shows how closely related
OE was to ON or Old Scandinavian2 (OS) (wwwl, Partridge 1991:282). Despite this
connection I agree with the imminent information of Saxon origin.
Dorking:
Even Dorking has marks from the Romans but as in the case with Leatherhead, Dorking has
no marks in the place-name from this time (Overell). The name Dorking was mentioned in the
Domesday Book of 1086 as Dorchinges; a compound of OE Deorc, which is a person name,
and -ingas which is a common Anglo-Saxon suffix (Harrison, Mills, wwwp, Taylor).
1
The asterisk means that the spelling and/or meaning of the word is doubtful
2
Old Scandinavian is a generic term for the North Germanic languages
10
However, Deorc could also be the old name of the river Mole (wwwp). In any case, Dorking
seems to originate from the Anglo-Saxons.
Shepperton:
The first name found for this place is from 959 AD and it was Scepertune; which according to
the Domesday Book from 1086 later became Scepertone or Sceperton (Mills, wwwr, wwwq).
The place-name is a compound of the OE sce-ap-hirde or sceaphyrde and tun, where the first
part is a compound in itself meaning shepherd and the latter tun means yard, farmstead,
enclosure (Mills, Smith II 1956:188, Partridge 1991:615, wwwr). The name may indicate that
there were Shepherds’ farms in the area (Mills, wwwr, Fisher Murray). Moreover, it is
interesting to mention the similarity between the OE sceap and the Old Scandinavian skap
both meaning sheep; also the similarity between the OE word tun and the ON word tun both
with the same meaning (Smith II 1956:188, Partridge 1991:615). An Anglo-Saxon origin of
the place-name is plausible here.
In sum, it can be concluded that place-names in Surrey are largely of Anglo-Saxon origin.
2.2.2 Berkshire
The following place-names in Berkshire will be discussed in this section: Slough, Windsor
and Bracknell.
Slough:
The first record of Slough is as Slo in c.1195 (Mills, wwws). In the Domesday Book of 1086 a
place in close proximity was referred to as Upton and the site where Slough grew from is
between Upton-cum-Chalvey and Eton (wwws, wwwt, wwwu). The OE word sloh means
muddy place and might refer to the features of the landscape (Cameron 1996:178, Harper,
Mills, Partridge, wwws, wwwu). It is likely that the origin here is Anglo-Saxon.
Windsor:
The OE spelling of Windsor dates back to 1060 as Windlesoran; which is a compound of the
OE words windels meaning a winch, a windlass and ora meaning margin, bank – in place
names with the meaning river bank (Cameron 1973:26, Smith II 1956:268, 55, Mills, Harper).
Alternative spellings, such as Windles-ofra and Windlesores have been found (Cameron
11
1973:26, Charnock). In the 1086 Domesday Book, the spelling Windesores is found
(Cameron 1973:27, Mills). Both OS and the Anglo-Saxon (OE) windan means to wind and
ofer, as suggested in some of the alternative spellings, means a margin, bank (as in river
bank) (Smith II 1956:53, Charnock, Partridge 1991:807). The place-name Windsor suggests
the meaning a river bank with a windlass/winch for pulling up boats (Cameron 1973:186,
Smith II 1956:268, Mills, wwww, Harper). In 700 AD the Saxons had a royal residence at Old
Windsor, situated about three miles from New Windsor, but in 1070 the Normans built a fort
where Windsor is situated today (Cameron 1973:27, wwwv, wwww). It is interesting to find
the same word for to wind in both OS and OE, but I would like to suggest that the AngloSaxons interference in this place-name was the first influence of the two.
Bracknell:
The first evidence of this place-name dates back to 942 AD as Braccan Heal; but other
spellings have been found, such as Brackan Heal, Braccen-Heale (Hasted, Mills, Nash Ford).
This is a Saxon compound of an OE person name and healh (halh) meaning a nook or corner
of land; the place-name Bracknell may mean a corner of land of a man called Braccan (Smith
I 1956:223, 239, Mills). The place-name seems to have an Anglo-Saxon origin.
To sum up, the place-names in Berkshire are largely of Anglo-Saxon origin.
2.2.3 Buckinghamshire
The following place-names in Buckinghamshire will be discussed in this section: Newport
Pagnell, High Wycombe and Milton Keynes.
Newport Pagnell:
This is one of the few place-names with Norman roots in the London area, even if there are
supposedly roots from the Romans here as well (Wilkinson, wwwy). In the Domesday Book
of 1086 the place is called Neuport, meaning new market town in OE: from the compound
niwe or neowe meaning new and port with several different meanings but here a market town
(Smith II 1956:50f, 70, Mills, Partridge 1991:441, wwwx, wwwy). The suffix Pagnell became
part of the place-name later, when the Paganell, Pagnell or Paynel family took over the
manor in the 12th century (Mills, wwwx, wwwy).
12
High Wycombe:
In 970 AD this place was called Wicumun but in the Domesday Book of 1086 it had changed
into Wicumbe and the river Wye is most certainly connected to the place-name (Mills,
wwwaa). There were a few words the Anglo-Saxons did not have in their vocabulary to
describe certain parts of the British landscape; therefore they used whatever words they could
find in its place, hence many Celtic connections in place-names, river-names and such
(McCrum et al 1992:56). In High Wycombe’s case the word combe is derived from Celtic and
describe how the landscape looked at this specific place, namely like a deep valley (McCrum
1992:56). I would suggest Anglo-Saxon origin in this place-name although influences from
the Celts are obvious.
Milton Keynes:
In the Domesday Book of 1086 this site was called Middeltone but in records from 1227 the
name is Middeltone Kaynes (Mills). The word Milton may mean middle farmstead, farm or
settlement where the OE words middel and tun creates Milton (Mills). The OE middel means
middle and the OE tun means farmstead, village, enclosure (Harper, Smith II 1956:40, 188).
It is interesting to notice the connection between ON tun and OE tun, the meaning being
farmstead, enclosure as well; the ON medal replaced the OE middel within the Danelaw
(Smith II 1956:188). The French Cahaignes or Cahagnes family owned land at this site in the
later part of the 12th century and in the beginning of the 13th century; they have presumably
given name to the latter part of Milton Keynes (Cameron 1996:112, Endell). I would estimate
the origin to be Anglo-Saxon even though the similarity between OE and ON is obvious.
To conclude, with the exception of one place-name with Norman origin, the general picture of
Buckinghamshire is Anglo-Saxon.
2.2.4 Hertfordshire
The following place-names in Hertfordshire will be discussed in this section:
Sawbridgeworth, Bishops Stortford and Hemel Hempstead.
Sawbridgeworth:
Records from the Domesday Book of 1086 show that this site was called Sabrixteworde,
meaning Saebeorht’s enclosure (Mills). The compound consists of an OE person name and
13
the OE word (pronounced as worth) meaning an enclosure (Smith II 1956:273ff, Mills,
Charnock). Worth, as found in Sawbridgeworth, could be a farm, homestead or an enclosure
(Smith II 1956:273, Charnock, Harper). The origin of this place-name would be Anglo-Saxon.
Bishops Stortford:
The Saxons settled this area when the Romans had left and they called the site Esterteferd;
which probably is an OE person name, after a family called Estere who might have owned the
land or controlled it in some way, and the OE ferd meaning an army, a troop from the AngloSaxon dialect (Smith I 1956:171, wwwab, wwwac). Around 1060 the Bishop of London
possessed land in the area and the place-name altered into Bishop’s or Bysshops Esterteferd
(wwwac, wwwab, Mills). In the 1086 Domesday Book the place-name had changed into
Storteford which may be a compound of the OE steort meaning tail and ford meaning shallow
part of a stream crossed by a road (Smith I 1956:180, Mills, wwwac, wwwaad). It can thus
be concluded that the Anglo-Saxons have coloured the place-name of Bishops Stortford as
well.
Hemel Hempstead:
The site was called Hamelamestede according to the Domesday Book of 1086, which could
be interpreted as homestead in Haemele where Hamele may be the name of the site at this
time (wwwac, Mills, wwwad). The King of Essex gave this land to the Bishop of London in
705 AD and this is the first time the site is called Hamaele (Mills, wwwad). Hemel may come
from the OE hamel meaning mutilated: the broken, undulating area and Hempstead comes
from the OE word ham-stede meaning homestead (Smith I 1956:232, 231, Harper, Mills,
wwwac). Hence, the origin of this place-name appears to be Anglo-Saxon.
In sum, it can be concluded that place-names in Hertfordshire are largely of Anglo-Saxon
origin.
2.2.5 Essex
The following place-names in Essex will be discussed in this section: Saffron Walden,
Stansted Mountfitchet, Chelmsford and Harlow.
14
Saffron Walden:
After the Romans had left the Anglo-Saxons settled at Saffron Walden (wwwae). Around
1000 AD the place was called Wealadene and in the Domesday Book it was referred to as
Waledana (Mills). The name is a compound from OE walh meaning a foreigner, as in a
Briton, a Welshman or a serf (slave), and the OE denu meaning a valley (Smith I 1956:130,
Smith II 1956:242, Charnock, Mills). In the 16th century the site was called Safforne Walden
(where the affix later changed into Saffron) thanks to the saffron plant which was cultivated
in a large scale around this area for different purposes (Charnock, Mills, wwwaf, Katzer). The
origin of Saffron Walden is obviously Anglo-Saxon.
Stansted Mountfitchet:
During the Anglo-Saxon invasion this site was simply called Stanstead after the OE stan
meaning stone and stede meaning a place, a site: the place-name referring to its surroundings
as a stony place (Smith II 1956:144, 147ff, wwwag, Mills, wwwah). In 1190 Richard de
Muntfichet had possession of the town, hence the later suffix Mountfitchet in the town name
(Mills, wwwag). The Anglo-Saxons named this place.
Chelmsford:
The Romans called this place Caesaromagus which meant the market place of Caesar, the
only town in Britain with his name (wwwaj, wwwai). When the Romans left there was a
Saxon settlement in the vicinity of the ancient town, which was called Ceolmaer’s Ford a
name originating from the OE river name and OE ford meaning shallow part of a stream
crossed by a road: the Chelmer being the river flowing through the town (Smith I 1956:180,
Charnock, wwwaj). In the Domesday Book of 1086 the site was called Celmeresfort and by
1189 it had changed to Chelmsford (Mills, wwwai). Even if the place-name has changed
substantially from the Roman Caesaromagus to the Anglo-Saxon Chelmsford, I would argue
the origin of the place-name to be Roman due to the fact that they actually named the place
first of the two.
Harlow:
The OE word here and hlaw gave name to this site which was settled by the Saxons after the
Romans had left it (wwwak, Harrison, Room). OE here equals the ON word herr, interesting
15
enough both referring to the meaning an army. OE hlaw means hill, mound; although in the
sense of this place-name the meaning might be the meeting place of a hundred3 (Smith I
1956:244, 248ff). In the Domesday Book of 1086 it is referred to as Herlaua and was later
changed by the Normans to Herlaue (Mills, wwwak). Even though it was pronounced as it is
today, it was not until the 13th century that it was spelt Harlowe: the e was dropped a few
centuries later (wwwak). Even this place-name has Anglo-Saxon origin.
In conclusion, the place-names in Essex are for the most part of Anglo-Saxon origin.
2.2.6 Kent
The following place-names in Kent will be discussed in this section: Dartford, Gravesend,
Sevenoaks and Westerham.
Dartford:
The place-name means ford over the river Darent and is a compound of the Celtic river name
Darent and the OE word ford meaning shallow part of a stream crossed by a road (Cameron
1996:175, Smith I 1956:180, 183, Mills, wwwal, Room). The Celtic river name Darent in its
turn means river where the oak-trees grow (Mills, wwwal). There used to be a Roman
military road here, which stretched between Londinium (the Roman name for London) and the
coast of Kent, crossing the river Darent (wwwam, Chatwin). In the area of Dartford there
were mainly Saxons and Frankish people4 who settled when the Romans left the area
(wwwam). In the 1086 Domesday Book the site was called Tarentfort (Mills, wwwan,
Chatwin). From the etymological description above I would say the origin of Dartford is
Anglo-Saxon.
Gravesend:
According to the Domesday Book of 1086 this site was called Gravesham; the manor with the
same name, at this time belonging to Odo, the Bishop of Bayeux (Hughson, Mills, wwwao).
3
A hundred refer to the sub-division of a country; enough land to keep one hundred families. Equals the
Swedish word härad.
4
People from Germany, Northern France and Belgium
16
In 1157 the place-name had changed to Grauessend (Mills). The place-name may be derived
from the OE graf meaning grove, copse and ende meaning end: the full meaning of the placename being place at the end of the grove or copse (Harper, Hughson, Mills, wwwao). There
are a few other etymological suggestions of the place-name as well, but they are uncertain and
I will therefore not take them into account here. It is unclear what origin this place-name has
although as it is derived from OE a plausible suggestion is Anglo-Saxon.
Sevenoaks:
The place-name actually means what it suggests: seven oak-trees, and was originally named
Seovanacca or Seouenaca, the Saxon name of a chapel standing next to seven oak-trees in
c.800 AD (wwwap, Charnock, John, Mills). The Anglo-Saxon name is a compound of the OE
seofon which means seven, and ac meaning an oak tree (Smith I 1956:1, Smith II 1956:119,
Charnock, Harper, Mills). It is interesting to find the ON name for oak-tree as eik (Smith I
1956:1). This is an Anglo-Saxon place-name although parallels can be drawn to the Vikings.
Westerham:
The place-name between 871 and 889 was Westarham (Mills). In the Domesday Book this
site was named Oistreham, and in the Textus Roffensis5 we find the place-name Westerham
(Hasted, Mills). The place-name Westerham means westerly homestead/village derived from
the OE wester meaning more westerly and ham meaning home, estate, village; to be
mentioned as a curiosity, ON vestr means the same as OE wester (Smith I 1956:226, Smith II
1956:256, Harper, Harrison, Mills). Despite the connections with ON, an Anglo-Saxon origin
is plausible for Westerham.
In sum, it can be concluded that place-names in Kent are largely of Anglo-Saxon origin.
2.2.7 Concluding remarks of the London area
With only one instance of a Norman influenced place-name (Newport Pagnell) and none
of Roman origin my hypothesis of the London area as highly influenced by the Normans and
the Romans did not prove correct. As shown in appendix 1 there are four instances in all
5
Similar to the Domesday Book, which was of Anglo-Saxon origin, it recorded ownership of land. The Textus
Roffensis dates from around 1125 AD; it was written during the Norman invasion.
17
where the Normans have put their mark on the area; three of these place-names have been
coloured by suffixes of French family names. It is interesting to find one-third of the placenames to have some sort of similarity between OE words and ON/OS words due to the fact
that the Danelaw basically split this area in half.
Nevertheless, the origin of the place-names in the London area is overall Anglo-Saxon.
However, it should be kept in mind that the outcome might have been different with a greater
selection of place-names.
2.3 Manchester area
My hypothesis is that the place-names of the Manchester area might have more influences
of the Vikings than the London area. However, Roman and Norman influences might be
found in this area as well. Figure 2 shows the adjacent counties to Manchester and the placenames that I have chosen in each county.
Lancashire:
Ormskirk
Chorley
Preston
Coppull
Merseyside:
West Yorkshire:
Kirkby
Castleford
Crosby
Featherstone
St.Helens
Halifax
Manchester
Prescot
Birkby
Cheshire:
Derbyshire:
Wilmslow
Chesterfield
Macclesfield
Ashbourne
Alderley Edge
Derby
Chester
Matlock
Figure 2 Place-names in the Manchester area
18
2.3.1 Cheshire
The following place-names in Cheshire will be discussed in this section: Wilmslow,
Macclesfield, Alderley Edge and Chester.
Wilmslow:
This site was not referred to in the Domesday Book, although the area might have been
included under Macclesfield or Adlington; which both are situated nearby (Clark). It is not
very clear as to where the name Wilmslow comes from even though several theories can be
found. One suggestion is that it comes from OE Wighelmes-hlaw meaning mound of a man
called Wighelm argued to be a pagan Anglo-Saxon burial place (wwwaq, Clark, Mills). OE
Wighelm is a person name and OE hlaw means a mound, hill (Smith II 1956:225, Smith I
1956:158). The survival of one Roman road in the area indicates that there was Roman
activity at the site (Clark). However, it was not until the 13th century that we know the placename and then it came in different shapes: Wilmesloe in c.1250, Wimmislowe and
Wylmeslowe in the end of the 13th century, Welmeslowe in the mid 14th century and
Wilmislawe in the beginning of 16th century (Clark, Mills). Although, the evidence is
somewhat scarce, the origin of this place-name seems to be Anglo-Saxon.
Macclesfield:
Pre-Roman settlements have been found at this site but no Roman ones (Clark et al). In the
Domesday Book of 1086 the place-name was Maclesfeld, which is believed to mean Maccle’s
open land/country; a compound of an OE person name and feld meaning open land/country
(Smith I 1956:166, Dodgson 1970:113f, wwwar, Mills, Room, Clark et al). In c.1182 the
name had changed to Maklesfeld or Makeslesfeld, in 1240 Makefeld and in the 14th century as
Makerisfield (Dodgson 1970:114, Clark et al, wwwar). The place-name may originate from
the Anglo-Saxons.
Alderley Edge:
The area has been inhabited by the Celts, the Romans and the Saxons and there is evidence of
a copper mining here that pre-dates Roman time (Batty, wwwat, wwwas). In the Domesday
Book of 1086 this place was called Aldredelie (Clark, Mills). The place-name later changed;
in 1208 it was referred to as Aldredis and in 1286 as Aldeldeleg (Clark). It has been suggested
that the name comes from the OE person name Aldred/Althryth and the OE leah meaning
19
open field, meadow: the full meaning of the place-name would then be woodland clearing of a
woman called Althryth; while others suggest that the name is connected with the alder tree
which was sacred in Northern England at this time (Smith II 1956:18, Dodgson 1981:265,
Clark, Batty, Harper, Mills). The OE word leah became ModE ley meaning a meadow
(Dodgson 1981:265). The suffix Edge may come from the landmark in the form of an
escarpment at the site where Alderley Edge is situated and Edge form OE ecg with the
meaning an edge (Smith I 1956:145, Dodgson 1970:95, Harper, Mills, wwwau). Hence, the
place-name seems to be Anglo-Saxon.
Chester:
About 150 AD the Romans had a base at this site and they named it Deva after the River Dee,
which the site is upon (Cameron 1996:59, Smith I 1956:21, Harper, Wilkes, Mills). Similarly
to many river-names in Britain the name is derived from Celtic and means the goddess, the
holy one (Cameron 1996:59, Smith I 1956:21, Harper, wwwav). In 735 AD the place-name
had changed into Legacaestir which means city of the legions and in the Domesday Book it is
called Cestre, taken from the Latin castra, which means fortress built by the Romans (Smith I
1956:85ff, Cameron 1996:59, Charnock, Harper, Mills). In this case I would say the origin is
Roman due to the strong connection of the later Anglo-Saxon name to the Roman name.
In conclusion, with one place-name suggesting Roman origin, while the other three suggests
Anglo-Saxon origin, I assume the origin of the county to be Anglo-Saxon.
2.3.2 Merseyside
The following place-names in Merseyside will be discussed in this section: Kirkby,
Crosby, St. Helens and Prescot.
Kirkby:
In the Domesday Book of 1086 Kirkby was named Cherchebi meaning village with a church
which comes from ON kirkiu-byr or kirkju-by(r) (Cameron 1996:127, Smith II 1956:4, Mills,
wwwaw, wwwax). ON kirkja means church and the OE word for the same translation is
cirice; ON by means settlement, farmstead, village (Smith I 1956:66, Smith II 1956:3, Harper,
Harding). The place-name has changed several times: ten years later it was called Karkebi, in
the early 1200’s Kierkebi and in the late 1200’s Kyrkeby (wwwax). This place-name is
obviously of Viking origin.
20
Crosby:
The Vikings have left their mark in this place-name as well. The name comes from the ON
Kross-by meaning village with the cross (Smith II 1956:7, Cameron 1996:130, Mills,
Harrison, wwway, Harding). The ON word kross means a cross and by means settlement,
farmstead, village (Smith I 1956:66, Smith II 1956:7, Harrison, Harding). In the Domesday
Book Crosby was referred to as Crosebi and in 1212 it had changed into Crosseby (Harding).
As in Kirkeby’s case, Crosby is clearly of Viking origin.
St. Helens:
The place-name comes from that of the Chapel of St. Helen and was first documented in 1552
(Mills, wwwaz). There might have been a settlement at this site before this time, but there is
no solid evidence for it (wwwaz). At a construction work in 1956 an ancient find that might
have belonged to an old farm settlement dating centuries before the 16th was found (wwwaz).
In this case it is difficult to draw any parallels to one of the five invasions.
Prescot:
This site might have had Celtic settlements, although the place-name itself is derived from
Anglo-Saxons and was called Prestecote in the 12th century (Harrison, wwwaaa, wwwaab).
The name is a compound of the OE word preost meaning priest and the OE word cot meaning
cottage, dwelling, hut but when in place-names it may also mean manor; the meaning of the
place-name is therefore priests’ cottage(s) or manor (Cameron 1996:131, Smith II 1956:73,
Smith I 1956:108, Harper, Harrison, Mills, Reaney et al). It is interesting to find the similarity
between the OS prestar and OE preost; also between ON kot and OE cot (Harper). The origin
of the place-name Prescot is most probably Anglo-Saxon.
To sum up; in two cases out of four there were Viking origin and in a third case the similarity
between the OE words and the ON words were striking. I would therefore like to think that
this area is coloured by the Viking invasions.
2.3.3 Lancashire
The following place-names in Lancashire will be discussed in this section: Ormskirk,
Chorley, Preston and Coppull.
21
Ormskirk:
Roman coins have been found in the vicinity of this place and a Roman road passed through
this site (wwwaac). However, no place-name has been recorded of this site from the Roman
time. The first record is from around 1190 as Ormeshirche, which means church of a man
called Ormr and comes from the Viking settlement here from the 9th century (Cameron
1996:127, Mills, wwwaac). The compound of this place-name is an ON person name meaning
serpent and the ON kirkja meaning church (Cameron 1996:127, Smith II 1956:3, Mills,
Room). The place-name has later changed from the early compound; in 1202 it was recorded
as Ormeskierk, in 1366 as Ormeskirk and in 1554 as Ormiskirk (Farrer & Brownbill). Due to
the ON connections I assume this place-name to have Viking origin.
Chorley:
When the Anglo-Saxons settled Chorley they called it Ceorla-leah where the OE ceorl means
free peasant and the OE leah means clearing: clearing of the peasants (Cameron 1996:136,
Smith I 1956:89, Smith II 1956:18, Harper, Harrison, Mills). In 1246 the place was called
Cherleg, in 1252 Cherle and in 1257 it had changed to Chorley, although referred to as
Cherley in 1276 and Chorlegh in 1292 (Mills, Farrer & Brownbill). Opposed to Ormskirk this
place-name has Anglo-Saxon origin.
Preston:
In the Domesday Book this site was called Prestune or Prestone meaning the priests’ manor
after the OE preost meaning priest and the OE tun meaning village, estate, manor etc
(Cameron 1996:18, 131, Smith II 1956:73, Harper, Mills, Harrison). As in Prescot, the OE
preost equals the OS prestar. In 150 AD the Romans were in the vicinity of this site; they had
some kind of military supplies depot here and a road passed by close to the city centre of
today (O’Gara). I would think that even this place-name might have Anglo-Saxon origin
although the connection to OS is interesting.
Coppull:
Roman roads used to pass by Coppull and both Anglo-Saxons and Vikings have been here
(Parkinson). However, the place-name originates from the Anglo-Saxon era and means hill
with a peak: which comes from the OE copp meaning a peak and the OE hyll meaning a hill –
later changed into the ME cop and hul (Cameron 1996:180, Smith I 1956:107, 274, Harrison,
Mills, Walsh, Parkinson). There have been several different spellings of this place-name
22
during time: in the 13th century as Cophill, Cophull, Crophull and Cophulle, in the 14th
century as Cophull, Copphull and Copthull and in 1444 we find the spelling of today: Coppull
(Walsh, Farrer & Brownbill). The origin of this place-name is Anglo-Saxon.
In conclusion, despite a hint of the Viking invasion the county has more traces from the
Anglo-Saxons than the Vikings.
2.3.4 West Yorkshire
The following place-names in West Yorkshire will be discussed in this section:
Castleford, Featherstone, Halifax and Birkby.
Castleford:
In 79 AD the Romans built a fort called Legioleum at Castleford and there were many roads
passing through this place (wwwaad). The place-name during the Roman era was Lagentium
(but Legeolio and Lagecio have also been found) where the Latin word lagenae means
bottles: the place of the bottles which might explain the large findings of glass-making here
(wwwaae). The Saxons settled this area, after they had pushed back the Celts, and in the 11th
century the place-name was Ceaster forda meaning ford by the Roman fort (Mills, wwwaad).
The place-name originates from the Roman castrum which in OE is ceaster meaning a camp
or a fort and the OE ford meaning shallow part of a stream crossed by a road (Smith I
1956:85, 180, Mills, wwwaad). Due to the connection with the Roman place-name I suggest
the origin to be Roman.
Featherstone:
The Romans were in the vicinity of this site but there does not seem to have been a settlement
here (wwwaaf). In the 10th century the place-name was Feotherestan meaning (the place at)
the four stones: the place-name is a compound of the OE feoder (pronounced as feather)
meaning four and the OE stan meaning stone (Smith I 1956:171, Mills, wwwaaf). A
monument in stone consisting of a tetralith probably has a connection with this name (Smith I
1956:171, wwwaaf). The Domesday Book of 1086 records the place-name Ferdestan or
Fredestan (Mills, wwwaaf). The place-name might be of Anglo-Saxon origin.
23
Halifax:
This place was recorded as Halyfax in the beginning of the 11th century and was derived from
the OE halh meaning nook, corner of land and the OE feax meaning rough grass (literally
hair): nook of rough grass (Smith I 1956:166, 223, Mills, Room). Earlier it has been
translated as holy hair due to the OE halig meaning holy and f(e)ax meaning hair; connected
with a legend about a virgin martyr who was killed at this site (Harrison, Room). The Swedish
dialectal word faxe and the Norwegian dialectal faks also mean rough grass (Smith I
1956:166). Even in this case the place-name might be of Anglo-Saxon origin, but the
interesting similarity between Scandinavian and OE raises some questions.
Birkby:
In the Domesday Book the place-name was Bretebi meaning settlement of the Britons and is a
compound of ON Bretur/Bretar and by meaning settlement (Smith I 1956:50, 66, Mills,
wwwaag). OE Brettas was one of the names the Anglo-Saxons used for the Celts (Britons)
and this word was in its turn borrowed by the Vikings (Smith I 1956:50, wwwaah). Due to the
ON connection, however, I have decided to include Birkby among the place-names of Viking
origin.
In sum, the etymology of the place-names in Lancashire is less straightforward than in many
other counties; the Viking invasion has colored two place-names and the Roman invasion one.
2.3.5 Derbyshire
The following place-names in Derbyshire will be discussed in this section: Chesterfield,
Ashbourne, Derby and Matlock.
Chesterfield:
As in Chester, Cheshire, and Castleford, West Yorkshire, this site has connections with the
Romans, and not long ago a Roman fort has been found in Chesterfield (Room). The name
Chesterfield means open land near a Roman fort or settlement and is OE derived from the
Anglo-Saxon word for a Roman fort: ceaster and the OE feld meaning field as in open land
(Smith I 1956:85, 166, Mills, Room, Lambert). In 955 the place-name was Cesterfelda and in
the Domesday Book of 1086 it was named Cestrefeld (Mills). The connection with the Roman
invasion would mean that Chesterfield is of Roman origin.
24
Ashbourne:
This Anglo-Saxon town was called Aescburnan in 1008 and Esseburne in the Domesday
Book of 1086; the place-name would picture how the scenery looked like here and means
stream where ash-trees grow (Cameron 1996:167, Mills, Reaney). The name is a compound
of the OE aesc meaning ash-tree and burna meaning a spring, stream (Smith I 1956:4, 63,
Harper, Harrison, Mills). The similarity of the ON askr and the OS ask is quite interesting, as
well as OE burna and ON brunnr meaning a spring, a fountain (Smith I 1956:5, 63, Harper).
There is not much history of the place-name from this time but an Anglo-Saxon origin seems
most likely, even if the resemblance of Scandinavian is obvious.
Derby:
The origin of this place-name is uncertain although it is believed that there used to be a
Roman settlement called Derventio in this place; the name taken after the river Derwent in the
vicinity (Charnock). When the Anglo-Saxons settled they called the place Northworthinge or
Northworthy meaning north enclosure but it is believed that the Vikings changed it to
Deoraby in the 10th century meaning settlement where deer are kept (Cameron 1996:59, 74,
Lewis & Creighton, Charnock, Mills). However, a few other spellings have been found, such
as Deorby, Dereby and Derebi (Charnock). Deoraby is a compound of the ON word dyr,
whose equivalent in OE is deor, meaning wild beast/animal, deer and ON by meaning
settlement (Smith I 1956:66, 130, 141, Mills, Charnock, Harper, Harrison). The OE word deor
was accordingly used as the name for the species deer and has in that sense been used in
several place-names (Smith I 1956:130, Anderson, Harper). In the Domesday Book of 1086
the name had changed to the place-name of today: Derby (Mills, Anderson). Although both
Roman and Anglo-Saxon connections are traceable, Derby seems to be of Viking origin.
Matlock:
I have not been able to find much information on the etymology of Matlock. However, the
place-name in the Domesday Book may have been Meslach which in 1196 had changed into
Matlac (Mills). Other spellings of the place-name are Mesterford or Metesford (Lewis). The
meaning of the place-name is oak-tree where meetings are held and is a compound of the OE
maedel (pronounced as maethel) meaning assembly/council and ac meaning oak-tree
(Cameron 1996:139, Harper, Mills, Crystal). The connection between the OE metan and the
25
ON maeta meaning to meet is quite interesting (Harper). I have concluded the origin of the
place-name to be Anglo-Saxon although the similarity between OE and ON is apparent.
In conclusion, a parallel to the disperse picture in West Yorkshire can be drawn for
Derbyshire.
2.3.6 Concluding remarks of the Manchester area
My hypothesis of the origin of the place-names in the Manchester area was a rather strong
influence from the Vikings, but also Roman and Norman influence. With five instances of
Viking origin and three of Roman origin (as shown in appendix1) it seems likely that my
hypothesis for the Manchester area is correct. That said, there were in total eleven instances of
Anglo-Saxon origin, which may be an indication that a larger selection of place-names would
reveal an overall Anglo-Saxon origin of the area. On the other hand, some of the place-names
of Anglo-Saxon origin were uncertain, which leaves the satisfactory outcome that my
hypothesis might be correct, at least to some extent.
26
3. Conclusion
There is an overall influence from the Anglo-Saxons on the place-names in the
Manchester area as well as in the London area. The conclusion of the results will be discussed
further below.
In 1.3 I hypothesized that the London area has a lot of place-names influenced from the
Norman invasion, as well as from the Roman invasion. The hypothesis proved wrong as the
outcome of the twenty-one place-names indicates a presumably Anglo-Saxon origin. As
shown in appendix 1 there is only one instance of a place-name originating from the Norman
invasion and that is Newport Pagnell. I would have thought the London area to have more
place-names of Norman origin due to the fact that William the Conqueror won the battle of
Hastings (which is situated southeast from London) and London became the central point and
headquarter for the newly appointed king (cf. 1.2.3).
Although nineteen place-names prove to be of Anglo-Saxon origin, twelve of them have
influences from other invasions as well. One-third of the place-names have been coloured by
the Viking invasion and their Scandinavian language. This might be due to the Danelaw
which stretched through this area, as mentioned in 1.2.3. In connection with this, I would have
expected a regular pattern of the Viking-inspired place-names to the north and east of the city,
but they seem to be scattered all around the core (London).
In the five cases where Celtic words have influenced a place-name a river-name is
generally involved – a brief overview in appendix 2 points this out. The reason why so many
river-names in Britain have Celtic origin is that many invaders used a Celtic word to describe
something, usually scenery at the site where they settled, if they did not have a word for it
themselves.
There is only one instance of Roman origin in the London area and that is Chelmsford; the
place-name has changed a lot since the Romans named the place Caesaromagus. As in the
case with the Normans, the Romans landed in the south-east of England. They worked their
way up the Thames towards Londinium where they settled and had the first London Bridge
erected; usually there were Roman fortifications, camps and settlements in strategic places
where the Romans had been. Therefore, I would have thought the London area to have many
Roman-inspired place-names.
With this said about the London area, it seems as the place-names are overall of AngloSaxon origin, although the outcome might have been different if a greater selection of placenames were chosen.
27
In contrast, my hypothesis that the Vikings had left a strong mark on the place-names in
the Manchester area, as well as the Romans and the Normans (cf. 1.3), was confirmed.
Twenty place-names in the Manchester area indicate a Viking origin.
There are five place-names with a solid Viking origin, as shown in appendix 1. Out of
these there are two place-names with influences from other invasions: Birkby, with an AngloSaxon influence and Derby with both an Anglo-Saxon and a Roman influence. The reason for
this might be that the invaders pre-dating the Vikings had put their mark on the area already
but when the Vikings came along they had such a strong influence on the place-names that it
changed entirely with influences from their Scandinavian language. As mentioned in 1.2.2
there were mainly Norwegian Vikings who settled in the Manchester area and as shown in
appendix 2 the words derived from the Vikings are mainly ON. Some words are marked as
OS, a generic term for the North Germanic languages, which show on a perhaps uncertain
origin among the Scandinavian countries, but still a Viking origin.
Eleven out of twenty place-names originate from the Anglo-Saxons, and four of these
place-names, influenced from other invasions, are of Viking influence. As shown in several
cases in appendix 2, OE words and ON/OS words are very similar. Hence, a certain ambiguity
when it comes to categorising a place-name as Anglo-Saxon or as Viking. Nevertheless, I
would imagine the area to have been strongly influenced by the Viking invasion, bearing in
mind the vast amount of Viking settlements in the Manchester area.
There are three instances of Roman place-names in the Manchester area and a forth
instance where Romans have influenced an Anglo-Saxon place-name. As mentioned in 1.2.2
the Romans built a fort where Manchester is situated today and they called the place
Mamucium. This site must have been highly strategic because the Romans built roads in all
directions from this fort. As a result, I expected there to be quite a few place-names with
Roman origin in the Manchester area, but this proved to be wrong within this selection of
place-names.
It is interesting to find that there is no influence whatsoever from the Norman invasion in
the Manchester area. This might be connected to the fact that William the Conqueror had his
headquarters in London and ruled from there. On the other hand, he consequently confiscated
land from instigators of rebellion and gave the land to those loyal to him. But the reason why
the place-names did not change due to this might be because the place-names where so deeply
rooted already and people living there begrudged the fact that someone appointed by the king
took over land in the area.
28
With this said about the Manchester area, it seems as the place-names are overall of
Viking origin, bearing in mind the massive spreading of Viking settlements here.
It can be concluded that if a significantly higher number of place-names had been studied
the outcome might have been different, which could be expected. However, such a study
would demand more time for research to be able to locate an outcome as accurate as possible.
My research question in 1.3 was: What is the etymology of the place-names of the two areas
and can a strong connection to one of the five invasions be found? The etymology of the
place-names of the two areas has been shown under point 2: as 2.2 The London area and 2.3
The Manchester area. In the London area I found a strong connection to the Anglo-Saxon
invasion and this consequently proved my hypothesis for a Norman and Roman origin wrong.
In the Manchester area I found a strong connection to the Viking invasion, even though the
Anglo-Saxon origin seemed overwhelming; this proved my hypothesis partly correct.
Moreover, there was some Roman origin as I hypothesized, but unfortunately no Norman.
As already mentioned it would have been interesting to increase the number of placenames so that the outcome would be as accurate as possible. Besides this, I feel content over
the place-names in the study. As time has been a factor for this essay the work needed for the
selection of place-names has been limited. Bearing this in mind it is satisfying to see that the
results show an interesting etymology of all the place-names in the study.
I am satisfied with the outcome of this essay, though it has intrigued my interest for the
etymology of place-names in the rest of Britain as well!
29
Appendix 1
Invasion
AngloCeltic Roman Saxon
Viking
Norman Result
The London area
Surrey Leatherhead
Haslemere
Dorking
Shepperton
Berkshire Slough
Windsor
Bracknell
Buckinghamshire Newport Pagnell
High Wycombe
Milton Keynes
Hertfordshire Sawbridgeworth
Bishops Stortford
Hemel Hempstead
Essex Saffron Walden
Stansted Mountfitchet
Chelmsford
Harlow
Kent Dartford
Gravesend
Sevenoaks
Westerham
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
AS
AS
AS
AS
AS
AS
AS
N
AS
AS
AS
AS
AS
AS
AS
R
AS
AS
AS
AS
AS
The Manchester area
Cheshire Wilmslow
Macclesfield
Alderley Edge
Chester
Merseyside Kirkby
Crosby
St. Helens
Prescot
Lancashire Ormskirk
Chorley
Preston
Coppull
West Yorkshire Castleford
Featherstone
Halifax
Birkby
Derbyshire Chesterfield
Ashbourne
Derby
Matlock
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
AS
AS
AS
R
V
V
AS
V
AS
AS
AS
R
AS
AS
V
R
AS
V
AS
30
Appendix 2
Celtic
Leatherhead
Latin
OE
ON
OS
OF-F
*led
grey
*rid
Haslemere
Dorking
a ford
haesel
Deorc
Shepperton
hasl
hazel-tree
mere
lake, pond
Deorc
person name or old name of the River Mole
-ingas
AS suffix
sceaphyrde
sceaphirde
shepherd
sceap
tun
Slough
sloh
Windsor
windan
Bracknell
Newport
Pagnell
skap
sheep
tun
yard, enclosure, farmstead
muddy place
windan
to wind
windels
a winch, a windlass
ora
margin, bank (river bank)
ofer
margin, bank, shore
Braccan
person name
halh
a nook, corner of land
healh
a nook
niwe
neowe
new
port
market town; gate, harbour
Pagnell
High Wycombe
Modern English
Wye
river name
combe
Milton Keynes
family name
a deep valley
middel
middle
tun
village, estate, farmstead, enclosure
Cahaignes family name
Sawbridgeworth
Bishops
Stortford
Hemel
Hempstead
Saffron Walden
Stansted
Mountfitchet
Saeborth
person name
worth
a place: farm, homestead, enclosure
Estere
person name
ferd
an army, a troop
steort
tail
ford
shallow part of a stream crossed by a road
hamel
the broken, undulating area, mutilated
ham-stede
homestead
wahl
a foreigner; a Briton, Welshman or a serf (slave)
denu
valley
Saffron
the saffron plant
stan
stone
stede
a place, a site
Muntfichet
Chelmsford
Ceolmaer
river name
ford
Harlow
here
hlaw
Dartford
family name
Darent
shallow part of a stream crossed by a road
herr
an army
hill, mound
river name = river where the oak-trees grow
ford
shallow part of a stream crossed by a road
31
Gravesend
Sevenoaks
copse, grove
ende
end
seofon
Westerham
Wilmslow
Macclesfield
Alderley Edge
Chester
graf
seven
ac
eik
oak-tree
wester
vestr
more westerly
ham
home, residence, estate, village
Wighelmes
person name
hlaw
mound, hill
Maccles
person name
feld
open land, country
Aldred/Althryth
person name (female)
leah
woodland clearing
ecg
edge
Deva
river name: Dee = the goddess/the holy one
castra
Kirkby
ceaster
cirice
Crosby
a camp or a fort
kirkja
church
by
settlement, farmstead, village
kross
a cross/crucifix
by
settlement, farmstead, village
St. Helens
the name of the chapel
Prescot
preost
cot
Ormskirk
Chorley
prestar
cottage, dwelling; in place-names: manor
Ormr
person name = serpent
kirkja
church
ceorl
free peasant
leah
Preston
Castleford
Featherstone
Halifax
Chesterfield
castra
Ashbourne
Derwent
Matlock
estate, village, manor
copp
a peak
hyll
a hill
bottles
Caester forda
ford by the Roman fort
ceaster
a camp or a fort
ford
shallow part of a stream crossed by a road
feoder
four
stan
stone
nook, corner of land
feax
faks
Brettas
Bretar
The AS word for the Celts, borrowed by the V
faxe
rough grass, lit. hair
by
settlement
ceaster
a camp or a fort
feld
field; open land
aesc
askr
burne
brunnr
deor
dyr
wild beast, animal; deer
by
settlement
Derventio
ask
ash-tree
a spring, stream; fountain
from river name
maedel
metan
ac
Lundenwic
priest
tun
halh
Birkby
London
prestar
lagenae
castra
Derby
clearing
preost
Coppull
priest
kot
lond
assembly, council
maeta
to meet
oak-tree
wild
wic
dwelling place, village, town
32
Bibliography
Literature:
Barber, C. 1993. The English language a historical introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Cameron, K. 1973. The place-names of Berkshire, Part I. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Cameron, K. 1996. English place names. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd.
Dodgson, J. McN. 1970. The place-names of Cheshire, Part I. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Dodgson, J. McN. 1981. The place-names of Cheshire, Part V. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Else, D. et al. 2003. Britain. Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. 5th
edition.
Freeborn, D. 1998. From Old English to Standard English. New York: Palgrave. 2nd edition.
McCrum, R. et al. 1992. The story of English. London: Faber and Faber Limited.
Odenstedt, B. 2000. The history of English. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
Partridge, E. 1991. Origins. London: Routledge. 4th edition.
Schofield, J. et al. 2003. Manchester the complete guide. Schofield, J. (ed.). Oxford: Stones
Printers. 5th edition.
Smith, A.H. 1956. English place-name elements, Part I. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Smith, A.H. 1956. English place-name elements, Part II. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Van Gelderen, E. 2006. A history of the English language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins
Publishing Company.
Yule, G. 2004. The study of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2nd edition.
Electronic sources:
Barrow, M. The history of London. URL http://www.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/london/history.htm (date of access 2008-04-26)
Barrow, M. The history of London. URL http://www.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/london/history.htm#Saxon (date of access 2008-04-26)
33
Blakeley, A. A short history of Blackley. URL http://www.fdjohnson.co.uk/shorthistory.html
(date of access 2008-04-21)
Farrer, W. and J. Brownbill (eds.). A history of the county of Lancaster: Volume 4. URL
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41409 (date of access 2008-04-21)
Harper, D. Online etymology dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=wick (date of access 2008-06-01)
Johnson, M. Norman London URL
http://www.britannia.com/history/londonhistory/norlon.html (date of access 2008-04-26)
McGillick, K. The Tower of London URL
http://www.britainexpress.com/articles/London/tower-of-london.htm (date of access 2008-0426)
Moss, J. History and heritage of the city and the Metropolitan county of Greater Manchester.
URL http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/history.html (date of access 2008-04-21)
Moss, J. Early Manchester – The Normans in Manchester. URL http://www.manchester2002uk.com/history/roman.html (date of access 2008-04-21)
Nash Ford, D. Saxon London. URL http://britannia.com/history/londonhistory/saxlon.html
(date of access 2008-04-26)
Simpson, D.A. Manchester (Historically in Lancashire). URL
http://www.northeastengland.talktalk.net/Manchester.htm (date of access 2008-04-21)
Uittenbogaard, B. Anglo-Saxon London. URL
http://www.macalester.edu/courses/geog61/buittenbogaa/lundenwic.html (date of access
2008-04-26)
wwwa. Manchester UK – Northwest. URL
http://www.visitmanchester.com/Parts3.aspx?PartId=420&ExperienceId= (date of access
2008-04-21)
wwwb. Lancashire a quick walk through history. URL
http://www.geocities.com/kera2000_uk/history.html (date of access 2008-04-21)
wwwc. Harrying of the North. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrying_of_the_North
(date of access 2008-04-21)
wwwd. River Irwell. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Irwell (date of access 2008-0421)
wwwe. River Irk. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Irk (date of access 2008-04-21)
wwwf. River Medlock. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Medlock (date of access
2008-04-21)
34
wwwg. River Mersey. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Mersey (date of access 200804-21)
wwwh. London: The greatest city (The Romans in London). URL
http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/i-m/london1.html (date of access
2008-04-26)
wwwi. Roman London. URL http://www.britainexpress.com/London/roman-london.htm (date
of access 2008-04-26)
wwwj. Anglo-Saxon London. URL http://www.britainexpress.com/London/anglo-saxonlondon.htm (date of access 2008-04-26)
wwwk. The problem of “county confusion”. URL
http://www.abcounties.co.uk/counties/confusion.htm (date of access 2008-04-26)
wwwl. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
URL http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9109778 (date of access 2008-06-12)
Electronic sources for the London area:
Surrey:
Leatherhead:
Charnock, R.S. Local etymology: A derivative dictionary of geographical names. URL
http://books.google.se/books?id=I2BulY4WvsYC&pg=PA313&lpg=PA313&dq=leatherhead
%2Betymology&source=web&ots=BaxRGGh3j1&sig=SX_IdbBBhLtqMUq6oWTR6UYvg
W4&hl=sv#PPA313,M1 (date of access 2008-05-01)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e8305 (date
of access 2008-05-05)
wwwm. Leatherhead. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leatherhead#Pre-1800 (date of
access 2008-05-01)
Haslemere:
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e6591 (date
of access 2008-05-01)
35
Pulleyn, W. The etymological compendium, or, portfolio of origins and inventions. URL
http://books.google.se/books?id=oTUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA296&dq=haslemere%2Betymology (date of access 2008-05-01)
wwwn. Haslemere. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haslemere#History (date of access
2008-05-01)
wwwo. Haslemere Visitors Guide. URL http://www.visithaslemere.com/ (date of access
2008-05-01)
Dorking:
Harrison, H. Surnames of the United Kingdom: A concise etymological dictionary. URL
http://books.google.se/books?id=H1msWqD0SA4C&pg=PA119&dq=Dorking%2Betymolog
y&lr=&sig=S1r-XpTYCXC90FB_WCZPVr5nheI (date of access 2008-05-01)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e4523 (date
of access 2008-05-01)
Overell, B. Town history. URL http://www.visitdorking.com/dt_town_history.asp (date of
access 2008-05-01)
Taylor, I. Words and places or etymological illustrations of history, ethnology and…URL
http://books.google.se/books?id=x4rutCY2csC&pg=PA83&dq=Dorking%2Betymology&lr=&sig=SW_N3T8jeTnmXKcJCZ9a
KVJ4r_k (date of access 2008-05-01)
wwwp. A Key to English Place-Names. URL
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/ins/epncurrent/php/detailpop.php?placeno=8355 (date
of access 2008-05-01)
Shepperton:
Fisher Murray, J. Environs of London. Western division. URL
http://books.google.se/books?id=_eEHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA224&dq=Shepperton%2Betymo
logy&lr= (date of access 2008-05-01)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e11776
(date of access 2008-05-01)
wwwq. Shepperton. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepperton (date of access 2008-0501)
36
wwwr. A Key to English Place-Names. URL
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/ins/epncurrent/php/detailpop.php?placeno=4720 (date
of access 2008-05-01)
Berkshire:
Slough:
Harper, D. Online etymology dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=sloh&searchmode=none (date of access 200805-29)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e12055
(date of access 2008-05-02)
Partridge, E. Origins: A short etymological dictionary of Modern English. URL
http://books.google.se/books?id=xA9dxrhfa5kC&pg=PA632&dq=Slough%2Betymology&lr
=&sig=Swe7NX1_gQZnzBUacBhURW4Yotk#PPA632,M1 (date of access 2008-05-02)
wwwts Slough’s history. URL http://www.slough.gov.uk/mytown/articles/2236.aspx (date of
access 2008-05-02)
wwwt. Slough. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Slough (date of access 2008-0502)
wwwu. A dictionary of English etymology. URL
http://books.google.se/books?id=y3IPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA219&dq=Slough%2Betymology
&lr=#PPA219,M1 (date of access 2008-05-02)
Windsor:
Charnock, R.S. Local etymology: A derivative dictionary of geographical names. URL
http://books.google.se/books?id=I2BulY4WvsYC&pg=PA34&dq=Windsor%2Betymology&l
r=#PPA298,M1 (date of access 2008-05-02)
Harper, D. Online Etymology Dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Windsor&searchmode=none (date of access
2008-05-02)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e14070
(date of access 2008-05-02)
37
wwwv. Windsor. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor%2C_Berkshire#History (date of
access 2008-05-02)
wwww. A brief history of Windsor. URL
http://www.thamesweb.co.uk/windsor/windsorhistory/brief.html (date of access 2008-05-02)
Bracknell:
Hasted, S. History of the area: The Saxons. URL
http://www.bfheritage.org.uk/history.php?CID=49&Title=The+Saxons+%28AD+500+1066%29 (date of access 2008-05-02)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e2072 (date
of access 2008-05-02)
Nash Ford, D. Royal Berkshire History: Bracknell. URL
http://www.berkshirehistory.com/villages/bracknell.html (date of access 2008-05-02)
Buckinghamshire:
Newport Pagnell:
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e9807 (date
of access 2008-05-05)
Wilkinson Addison, W. et al. Understanding English place-names. URL
http://books.google.se/books?id=YH0DAAAAMAAJ&q=Newport+Pagnell%2Betymology&
dq=Newport+Pagnell%2Betymology&lr=&pgis=1 (date of access 2008-05-06)
wwwx. Newport Pagnell. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Pagnell#History (date
of access 2008-05-05)
wwwy. Newport Pagnell: The town. URL http://www.newport-pagnell.org.uk/thetown/ (date
of access 2008-05-05)
High Wycombe:
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e14376
(date of access 2008-05-06)
wwwaa. High Wycombe. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Wycombe#History (date of
access 2008-05-06)
38
McCrum, R. et al. 1992. The story of English. London: Faber and Faber Limited.
Milton Keynes:
Endell, C.W. A dictionary of English and Welsh surnames with special American instances.
URL http://books.google.se/books?id=zQPnB1IAjUsC&pg=RA1PA155&dq=Milton+Keynes%2Betymology&lr=&sig=w5H66n5twT4G1Oy7i1-Lht3CHuM
(date of access 2008-05-06)
Harper, D. Online etymology dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=middle&searchmode=none (date of access
2008-06-01)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e9359 (date
of access 2008-05-06)
Hertfordshire:
Sawbridgeworth:
Charnock, R.S. Local etymology: A derivative dictionary of geographical names. URL
http://books.google.se/books?id=I2BulY4WvsYC&pg=PA300&dq=Sawbridgeworth%2Bety
mology&lr= (date of access 2008-05-06)
Harper, D. Online etymology dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=-worth&searchmode=none (date of access
2008-05-29)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e11498
(date of access 2008-05-06)
Bishops Stortford:
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e12417
(date of access 2008-05-07)
wwwab. Bishops Stortford. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishops_stortford#History (date
of access 2008-05-07)
wwwac. History of the town. URL http://www.bishopsstortfordtc.gov.uk/history.htm (date of
access 2008-05-07)
39
Hemel Hempstead:
Harper, D. Online etymology dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=hamstede&searchmode=none
And URL http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=stead (date of access 2008-05-29)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e6764 (date
of access 2008-05-07)
wwwac. A key to English place-names. URL
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/ins/kepn/detailpop.php?placeno=4591 (date of access
2008-05-07)
wwwad. Hemel Hempstead. URL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemel_Hempstead#Origin_of_the_name (date of access 200805-07)
Essex:
Saffron Walden:
Charnock, R.S. Local etymology: A derivative dictionary of geographical names. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=apcmAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Charnock&
hl=sv#PPA234,M1 (date of access 2008-05-08)
Katzer, D. Saffron: Origin. URL http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Croc_sat.html (date of
access 2008-05-09)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e13518
(date of access 2008-05-07)
wwwak. Saffron Walden. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffron_Walden#History (date of
access 2008-05-07)
wwwal. Town History: A brief history of Saffron Walden. URL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffron_Walden#History (date of access 2008-05-09)
Stansted Mountfitchet:
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e12281
(date of access 2008-05-15)
40
wwwag. A key to English place-names. URL
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/ins/kepn/detailpop.php?placeno=12596 (date of access
2008-05-09)
wwwah. Stansted Mountfitchet. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stansted_Mountfitchet
(date of access 2008-05-09)
Chelmsford:
Charnock, R.S. Local etymology: A derivative dictionary of geographical names. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=apcmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA65&dq=Chelmsford%2Betym
ology&lr=&hl=sv (date of access 2008-05-09)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e3117 (date
of access 2008-05-15)
wwwai. Chelmsford. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelmsford#History (date of access
2008-05-09)
wwwaj. About the borough. URL http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=12541
(date of access 2008-05-09)
Harlow:
Harrison, H. Surnames of the United Kingdom: A concise etymological dictionary. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=H1msWqD0SA4C&pg=PA189&dq=harlow%2Betymolog
y&lr=&hl=sv&sig=HVrzRZXx4W9boH5pguY8jvP4y5I (date of access 2008-05-13)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e6519 (date
of access 2008-05-15)
Room, A. Placenames of the world: Origins and meanings… URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=M1JIPANeJ4C&pg=PA160&dq=harlow%2Betymology&lr=&hl=sv&sig=y3zf3qZWBuRrAsF9k5Ou2
Hp76es (date of access 2008-05-13)
wwwak. Harlow’s history and geography. URL
http://www.mun.ca/geog/interdisiplinary/harlow/harlow1.php (date of access 2008-05-10)
41
Kent:
Dartford:
Chatwin, M. Dartford history. URL http://www.dartford.gov.uk/dartford/history.htm (date of
access 2008-05-13)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e4218 (date
of access 2008-05-15)
Room, A. Placenames of the world: Origins and meanings… URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=M1JIPANeJ4C&pg=PA108&dq=Dartford%2Betymology&lr=&hl=sv&sig=KdBrSW1FJbAblSXigplH
QoKcEj8#PPA104,M1 (date of access 2008-05-13)
wwwal. A key to English place-names. URL
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/ins/kepn/detailpop.php?placeno=2652 (date of access
2008-05-13)
wwwam. Archaeology and early history. URL
http://www.dartfordarchive.org.uk/early_history/ (date of access 2008-05-13)
wwwan. Medieval period. URL http://www.dartfordarchive.org.uk/medieval/ (date of access
2008-05-13)
Gravesend:
Harper, D. Online etymology dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=graf&searchmode=none (date of access 200806-01)
And URL http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=end&searchmode=none (date of
access 2008-06-01)
Hughson, D. London: To thirty miles extent, from an actual perambulation. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=1zeGQTbU5k8C&pg=PA171&dq=Gravesend%2Betymol
ogy&lr=&hl=sv (date of access 2008-06-01)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e6180 (date
of access 2008-05-15)
wwwao. History of Gravesend. URL http://www.kentfind.co.uk/about/gravesend/history.php
(date of access 2008-05-13)
42
Sevenoaks:
Charnock, R.S. Local etymology: A derivative dictionary of geographical names. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=apcmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA243&dq=Sevenoaks%2Betym
ology&lr=&hl=sv (date of access 2008-05-13)
Harper, D. Online etymology dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=seven&searchmode=none (date of access
2008-06-01)
And URL http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=oak&searchmode=none (date of
access 2008-06-01)
John, M. History of Sevenoaks. URL http://www.sevenoakslife.co.uk/index.php/article/articleview/69/1/1/ (date of access 2008-05-13)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e11674
(date of access 2008-05-15)
wwwap. A guide to Sevenoaks. URL http://www.heartofkent.org.uk/site/five-kentishtowns/sevenoaks/ (date of access 2008-05-13)
Westerham:
Harper, D. Online etymology dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=home&searchmode=none (date of access
2008-06-01)
Harrison, H. Surnames of the United Kingdom: A concise etymological dictionary. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=H1msWqD0SA4C&pg=RA1PA275&dq=Westerham%2Betymology&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=3MD_fiscZVs6XAvfdkeZSV
r3djk (date of access 2008-05-13)
Hasted, E. Parishes: Westerham. URL http://www.britishhistory.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=62850 (date of access 2008-05-13)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e13793
(date of access 2008-05-15)
43
Electronic sources for the London area:
Cheshire:
Wilmslow:
Clark, J. Cheshire historic town survey: Wilmslow Archaeological assessment. URL
http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/B79FAD7C-C8D0-4174-AD812B8F34AFBFAB/0/HTS_Arch_Assess_Wilmslow.pdf (date of access 2008-05-14)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e14038
(date of access 2008-05-15)
wwwaq. Wilmslow: History. URL http://www.smso.net/Wilmslow#Etymology (date of access
2008-05-13)
Macclesfield:
Clark, J. & M. Shaw. Cheshire historic town survey: Macclesfield Archaeological assessment.
URL http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/C06C80F3-BF69-4CE0-A0A8F97F7A05CEC4/0/HTS_Arch_Assess_Macclesfield.pdf (date of access 2008-05-14)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e8930 (date
of access 2008-05-15)
Room, A. Placenames of the world: Origins and meanings of the names…URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=M1JIPANeJ4C&pg=PA229&dq=Macclesfield%2Betymology&lr=&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=9gdIFWXb
EK_rGzj67vszhYEOYi8 (date of access 2008-05-13)
wwwar. Macclesfield: Etymology. URL http://www.smso.net/Macclesfield#Etymology (date
of access 2008-05-13)
Alderley Edge:
Batty, M. Alderley Edge: History of the Edge. URL http://www.alderleyedge.org/history.htm
(date of access 2008-05-14)
Clark, J. Cheshire historic town survey: Alderly Edge and Nether Alderly Archaeological
assessment. URL http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/72DCF2DE-380D-42CF-B730F4E9A41C0985/0/HTS_Arch_Assess_AlderleyEdgeandNetherAlderley.pdf (date of access
2008-05-14)
44
Harper, D. Online etymology dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=lea&searchmode=none (date of access 200806-01) and
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=edge&searchmode=none (date of access 200806-01)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e212 (date
of access 2008-05-15)
wwwas. An introduction to the archaeology of Alderley Edge. URL
http://www.alderleyedge.manchester.museum/topic_contents.php?theme_id=86&theme_title=
An%20Introduction%20to%20the%20Archaeology%20of%20Alderley%20Edge (date of
access 2008-05-14)
wwwat. A day out in the Cheshire countryside. URL
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-daysout/w-daysout-area/w-daysoutcheshire_buildings/w-daysout-cheshire_countryside.htm (date of access 2008-05-14)
wwwau. Alderley Edge. URL
http://www.macclesfield.gov.uk/standardpage.asp?pageid=10397 (date of access 2008-05-14)
Chester:
Charnock, R. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=apcmAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Charnock&
hl=sv#PPA66,M1 (date of access 2008-05-14)
Harper, D. Online etymology dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Chester (date of access 2008-05-14)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e3144 (date
of access 2008-05-15)
Wilkes, S. Chester. URL http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/towns/chester.shtml (date
of access 2008-05-15)
wwwav. A key to English place-names. URL
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/ins/kepn/detailpop.php?placeno=12106 (date of access
2008-05-14)
45
Merseyside:
Kirkby:
Harding, S. Vikings in Lancashire. URL
http://www.formbycivicsociety.org.uk/learning/full_article.asp?storyid=14 (date of access
2008-05-15)
Harper, D. Online Etymology Dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=kirk&searchmode=none (date of access 200806-01)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e7965 (date
of access 2008-05-15)
wwwaw. Kirkby origin and history. URL
http://history.knowsley.gov.uk/show_photo.msql?reference=KBorigins1 (date of access 200805-15)
wwwax. Merseyside Maritime Museum: Kirkby. URL
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/exhibitions/magical/placenames/kirkby.asp
(date of access 2008-05-15)
Crosby:
Harding, S. Vikings in Lancashire. URL
http://www.formbycivicsociety.org.uk/learning/full_article.asp?storyid=14 (date of access
2008-05-15)
Harrison, H. Surnames of the United Kingdom: A concise etymological dictionary. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=H1msWqD0SA4C&pg=PA101&dq=Crosby%2Betymolo
gy&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=xzKy7in5JJCvsRvIbSPOnTMze9Y (date of access 2008-05-15)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e4002 (date
of access 2008-05-15)
wwway. The Crosby channel: History. URL http://www.merseyworld.com/crosbychannel/history.htm (date of access 2008-05-15)
St. Helens:
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
46
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e11341
(date of access 2008-05-17)
wwwaz. A brief history of St. Helens. URL http://www.sthelenshistory.net/site.do?id=28 (date
of access 2008-05-15)
Prescot:
Harper, D. Online Etymology Dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=priest&searchmode=none (date of access
2008-06-01) and
URL http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=cottage&searchmode=none (date of
access 2008-06-01
Harrison, H. Surnames of the United Kingdom: A concise etymological dictionary. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=H1msWqD0SA4C&pg=RA1PA91&dq=Prescot%2Betymology&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=0X8SaU21aFic72d9lzBfreU77vo
(date of access 2008-05-17)
Mills, A. D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e10611
(date of access 2008-05-17)
Reaney P. H. & R.M. Wilson. A dictionary of English surnames. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=fPoujUPs3hYC&pg=RA1PA361&dq=Prescott%2Betymology&lr=&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=hDl1XaGUrs7gjs_0zcUK4uMdv0 (date of access 2008-05-17)
wwwaaa. Preston church timeline. URL http://prescotchurch.merseyworld.com/timeline.html
(date of access 2008-05-17)
wwwaab. Knowsley local history. URL
http://history.knowsley.gov.uk/show_photo.msql?reference=PTorigins1 (date of access 200805-17)
Lancashire:
Ormskirk:
Farrer, W. & J. Brownbill (eds). A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3 (1907), pp.
261-264. URL http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41331 (date of access
2008-05-17)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
47
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e10027
(date of access 2008-05-17)
Room, A. Placenames of the world: Origins and meanings… URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=PzIerwYbnQC&pg=PA269&dq=Ormskirk%2Betymology&lr=&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=QafD1FhSrpmqjvq5_qS5CZzAMQ (date of access 2008-05-17)
wwwaac. Ormskirk’s history. URL
http://www.westlancsdc.gov.uk/leisure__tourism/ormskirk/ormskirks_history.aspx (date of
access 2008-05-17)
Chorley:
Farrer, W. & J. Brownbill (eds). A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6 (1911), pp.
129-149. URL http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=53085 (date of access
2008-05-18)
Harper, D. Online Etymology Dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=churl&searchmode=none (date of access
2008-06-01)
Harrisson, H. Surnames of the United Kingdom: A concise etymological dictionary. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=H1msWqD0SA4C&pg=PA79&dq=Chorley%2Betymolog
y&lr=&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=v5q0M0TT2xZS6kQ0O49qytkHcSE (date of access 2008-0518)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e3253 (date
of access 2008-05-18)
Preston:
Harper, D. Online Etymology Dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=priest&searchmode=none (date of access
2008-06-01)
Harrisson, H. Surnames of the United Kingdom: A concise etymological dictionary. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=H1msWqD0SA4C&pg=RA1PA91&dq=Preston%2Betymology&lr=&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=0X8SaU21aFic72d9lzBfreU7
7vo (date of access 2008-05-18)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
48
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e10617
(date of access 2008-05-18)
O’Gara, R. History of Preston. URL http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/prestonian/history.htm (date
of access 2008-05-20)
Coppull:
Farrer, W. and J. Brownbill (eds.). A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6 (1911),
pp. 224-229. URL: http://www.britishhistory.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=53104&strquery=Coppull (date of access 2008-05-20)
Harrisson, H. Surnames of the United Kingdom: A concise etymological dictionary. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=H1msWqD0SA4C&pg=PA91&dq=Coppull%2Betymolog
y&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=dVXs_TK2-ddAUicIlAm-m0A24u8 (date of access 2008-05-20)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e3697 (date
of access 2008-05-20)
Parkinson, R. Coppull – a Lancashire village. URL http://www.coppull.com/ and
http://www.coppull.com/history.html (date of access 2008-05-20)
Walsh, H. A history of Coppull. URL http://www.lanopc.org.uk/Coppull/downloads/CoppullHistory.pdf (date of access 2008-05-20)
West Riding of Yorkshire:
Castleford:
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e2919 (date
of access 2008-05-20)
wwwaad. The history of Castleford. URL http://www.castleford.org/history.html (date of
access 2008-05-20) and
URL http://www.castleford.org/history/cas003.html (date of access 2008-05-20)
wwwaae. Lagentivm. URL http://www.roman-britain.org/places/lagentium.htm (date of
access 2008-05-20)
Featherstone:
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
49
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e5372 (date
of access 2008-05-20)
wwwaaf. Featherstone history. URL http://www.romanbritain.org/chase/places/featherstone.htm (date of access 2008-05-20)
Halifax:
Harrisson, H. Surnames of the United Kingdom: A concise etymological dictionary. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=H1msWqD0SA4C&pg=PA182&dq=Halifax%2Betymolo
gy&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=dd5VrZcwiXpmOF9xDIudxPjEkeU#PPA182,M1 (date of access
2008-05-20)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e6389 (date
of access 2008-05-20)
Room, A. Placenames of the world: Origins and meanings… URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=PzIerwYbnQC&pg=PA148&dq=Halifax%2Betymology&lr=&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=XQ5IE4gkM
t1ZOxLNAjkHQuc_dDc (date of access 2008-05-20)
Birkby:
Mills, A. D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e1737 (date
of access 2008-05-20)
wwwaag. Family history: Domesday Book. URL
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/searchresults.asp?catid=24&searchtype=quicksearch&pagenumber=1&query=birkby&first_date=&l
ast_date=&querytype=1&sortspec=scope+asc&pagetitle= (date of access 2008-05-26)
wwwaah. English place-names. URL http://www.yorksj.ac.uk/dialect/EnglishPN.htm (date of
access 2008-05-26)
Derbyshire:
Chesterfield:
Lambert, T. A brief history of Chesterfield. URL
http://www.localhistories.org/chesterfield.html (date of access 2008-05-26)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
50
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e3147 (date
of access 2008-05-20)
Room, A. Placenames of the world: Origins and meanings… URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=PzIerwYbnQC&pg=PA85&dq=Chesterfield%2Betymology&lr=&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=A6EERFBlsH34aLRX2p0PtxVVA4 (date of access 2008-05-26)
Ashbourne:
Harper, D. Online Etymology Dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=ash&searchmode=none (date of access 200806-01) and
URL http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=burne&searchmode=none (date of
access 2008-06-01)
Harrison, H. Surnames of the United Kingdom: A concise etymological dictionary. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=H1msWqD0SA4C&pg=PA13&dq=Ashbourne%2Betymo
logy&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=XLIxA7Rh6vvW-3pZGmf5EZayZ6o#PPA13,M1 (date of
access 2008-05-27)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e563 (date
of access 2008-05-20)
Reaney P. H. & R.M. Wilson. A dictionary of English surnames. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=DDF3mn8473wC&pg=PA101&dq=Reaney%2BAshbourn
e&hl=sv&sig=Kb0wsihiNPeUbV93JsU_PA2B6J8 (date of access 2008-05-27)
Derby:
Anderson, R. Earl. Folk-taxonomies in early English. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=rYT8MPFl_egC&pg=PA427&dq=Derby%2Betymology&
as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=QdrMVSApmjkVFLQnRzAzU4OCGG8#PPA427,M1 (date of access
2008-05-27)
Charnock, R.S. Local etymology: A derivative dictionary of geographical names. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=apcmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA283&dq=Derby%2Betymolog
y&as_brr=3&hl=sv#PPA85,M1 (date of access 2008-05-27)
Harper, D. Online Etymology Dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=deer&searchmode=none (date of access 200806-01)
51
Harrison, H. Surnames of the United Kingdom: A concise etymological dictionary. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=H1msWqD0SA4C&pg=PA114&dq=Derby%2Betymolog
y&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=y1lE91QxaTBTYFGacgNjkTkgnDQ (date of access 2008-05-27)
Lewis, S. & R. Creighton. A topographical dictionary of England. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=g84qAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA6&dq=Derby%2Betymology
&lr=&as_brr=3&hl=sv#PPA24,M1 (date of access 2008-05-27)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e4290 (date
of access 2008-05-20)
Matlock:
Crystal, D. Prof. The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language. URL
http://books.google.com/books?id=Kh_RZhvHk0YC&pg=PA140&dq=Matlock%2Betymolo
gy&lr=&as_brr=3&hl=sv&sig=zTU1958ZCOmOB7xPrshQnmO1uwA (date of access 200805-27)
Harper, D. Online Etymology Dictionary. URL
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=oak&searchmode=none (date of access 200806-01)
Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford
Reference Online. Högskolan i Halmstad. URL
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t40.e9146 (date
of access 2008-05-20)
Lewis, S. (ed). A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 271-277. URL
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51139 (date of access 2008-05-27)
52