72 The Names of Places in Wiltshire. 
which in many cases he must simply trust to some guess more or 
less happy, or leave them altogether unexplained. 
It is still necessary here, as in the previous essay, to come to 
conclusions with much caution. Even in Anglo-Saxon charters, 
especially when they are not originals but copies, we meet with 
names evidently in a corrupt form. To draw inferences too readily © 
from the entries in Domesday Book is unsafe; the Norman scribes 
spelt the names as best they could, and the effect of their own 
language on the Anglo-Saxon is evident even in that early record. 
The influence of centuries moreover has been at work in changing 
the form, or modifying the pronunciation, of a name, till at last it 
becomes so disguised that hardly a trace of its true origin remains. 
The well-known tendency of names when corrupted to assume a 
feasible form, the counterfeit in fact being specious enough and 
looking just like sterling coin, is most misleading. Every careful 
student of Local Nomenclature must often feel suspicious of inter- 
pretations that are accepted readily—and, strange as it may seem, 
almost for the very reason that they are apparently so self- 
evident. 
37. As an illustration of my meaning I will give one or two 
examples :— 
(2) Sometimes names derived from the same source assume very 
different forms. Thus the Anglo-Saxon Fearn-din becomes FaRRINnG- 
DON, whilst Fearn-lege becomes Far-Lecu, and Fearn-ham retains 
almost its original form in Farn-nam. Again the Anglo-Saxon 
Stan-ford, i.e., the stone, or paved, ford, becomes Stow-ForD; whilst 
the compound Stén-ford-tin (i.e., the village by the Stone-ford) 
becomes softened down to Sta-VER-TON. 
(2) In other cases names derived from different sources assume 
similar forms. Thus Upton is the name of two villages at no great 
distance from each other not far from Warminster. One of them, 
Upton Scudamore, is literally the ‘‘ Up (=upper) Town” or village, 
and is sometimes called the “North Town.’ The other Upton 
Lovet is a contraction of Ubéan-tin, i.e., “ Ubba’s Town,” and so 
a memorial of a celebrated Danish chieftain, or at all events of his — 
name-sake. Another good instance is in the name WooLLEy, which: 
