4 The History of the Parish of All Cannings. 



the name of some old settler or cliief of a clan, and the latter por- 

 tion or termination, — ingas, afterwards ings, — denoting his descend- 

 ants, or those who formed part of the same settlement under him 

 as their chief. Many instances may be adduced from the Codex 

 Diplomaticus of places in Wiltshire, the names of which are clearly 

 so formed. Thus (No. 336), we meet with the Co\-ingas, from 

 which comes the name Colling-bourn ; in No. 379 the Teofunt- 

 ingus, which we retain in the abbreviated form Teffont ; in No. 

 778 Uggaford-m^ras, from which we have TJgford. In like manner, 

 from local names still remaining in England, he infers the existence 

 of many other old clans in ancient times. Thus in the Manning- 

 fords and Homings-ham, he concludes that we still have in "Wilt- 

 shire memorials of the clans which called themselves Man-ingas 

 and Horn-ingas, or, as we should say in modern times the Mannings, 

 and the Hornings. So we may fairly believe that Can-ingas (or 

 Cannings), was originally a patronymic, denoting a clan, or tribe, 

 who derived their name from some old chieftain, who settled with 

 his dependents in this locality. From being the name of the tribe, 

 the appellation, by an easy transition, became that of the place of 

 their settlement. At no great distance from Cannings, is a name 

 which seems to be a traditionary memorial of the same chieftain 

 or principal land-owner, whatever his precise designation may have 

 been, for the hill at the entrance to Devizes from Melksham is 

 still called Cane Hill.^ 



The portion of the parish which belongs to All Cannings proper, 

 is bounded on the north-west by Allington and Beckhampton ; on 

 the east by Stanton Berners ; on the south by Patney. Its length 

 from north to south is between four and five miles, and its average 

 breadth nearly two miles. The acreage is as follows : — 



A, R. p. 



Arable Land 1504 1 21 



Meadow Land 722 1 3 



1 We meet with the same name in composition in other counties. Thus we 

 have Canning-ton, in Somerset, and Kenning-ton, in Surrey. And in the 

 name Ken, one well known and valued by all lovers of devotional hymnody, 

 we seem to have the word in something like its primitive form. 



