6 The History of the Parish of All Cannings. 



reason for the name of the hill, and one which involves no belief 

 in strange deities like the Celtic Tanaris. Fortunately we have 

 three ancient Anglo-Saxon charters relating to the neighbouring 

 parish of Stanton Berners, some expressions in which throw 

 light on the subject. It is true that these charters are copies 

 and not originals, and have come down to us in a corrupt form, 

 Btill in the matter before us the evidence may be regarded as toler- 

 ably complete. Thus in the Codex Diplomaticus (No. 335) we 

 have this description of a portion of the boundary, — " ^onne of 

 gemerstane on gemaer beorgas ; "Sonne of langan dene neoSewearde 

 to Anan stane ; Sonne ofer Wodnes die ; Sset to ^are eorSbyrig ; 

 "Sonne ^onan to Oxnamere middeweardne ; Sonne Sonan on lytlan 

 beorg to Anan stine ; ^onne ^onan to East-more to ^ajre bur- 

 gilsan : ^onne "Sonan to Bromlace." — [Thence from the mere-stone 

 to the mere-barrows (boundary-barrows) ; thence from Long-dene 

 downward to Anne's stone ; thence over Wansdyke ; then to the 

 earth-barrow ; thence to Ox-mere midward ; thence by the little 

 barrow to Anne's stone ; thence to Eastmore to the burial-places ; 

 thence to Bromlace.] * 



Now these extracts shew clearly that in olden time (the dates of 

 the charters respectively are A.D. 903, 957, 960,) there was an 

 owner of land in the immediate neighbourhood of All Cannings, 



' In the other two Charters, (Nos. 467, 483) the latter of which, with very slight 

 variations of spelling in one or two lines, is clearly a copy of the former, we 

 have the same portions of the boundary given with greater detail. Thus Charter 

 No. 467, reads : — On "Sane mterstan ; of San stane on Sa foxhola ; "Sonon on 

 "Sone stanigan beurh on ^orndune norSewearde ; of San beorge on Sa stanes 

 andlang dene ; neo^eweard of "Sam stane on ^?ine-stan ; Sonon on .(4wne-|?om; 

 ^onon on "Sa wearhroda on Wodnes- die ; Sonan on ^a ealdan burgh midde- 

 wearde ; of "Sane ealdan (burgh ?) on Oxnamere ; "Sonne on ^wne-crundel on 

 liSan stan ; of "Sam stane on Sone midmestan hiycg on Eastcumbuni ; ^onon 

 on Eastmores heafod to Sam ha)Senan byrgelse on Bromlace."- — [At the mere- 

 stone ; from the stone to the fox-hole ; thence to the stone-barrow on Thorn- 

 down northward ; from that barrow to the stones along the dene ; downward 

 from those stones to .(4n«e's-stone; thence to ^nne's-thorn ; thence to the 

 hoar-cross ? on Wansdyke ; thence to the old barrow midward ; from the old 

 barrow to Ox-mere ; thence to ^«ne's-crundel by the sloping stone ; from that 

 stone to the midmost ridge by Eastcomb ; thence by the head of Eastmore to 

 the heathen burial places at Bromlace]. 



