By R. C. Alexander, Esq., M.D. 203 
an initial H has never been either assumed or dropped in any 
other Anglo-Saxon word, or in any word of any Germanic lan- 
guage, till recent days of cockneyism, seems to set at rest the 
question of Highley being Iglea. It is more likely to be a hamlet 
built in modern times upon a field called High-ley. The map in- 
serted in Ingram’s Saxon Chronicle represents the neighbouring 
brook as forming an island, but compared with other maps excites 
a suspicion that it is only with the aid of field ditches that the 
ground acquires an insular character, and, such as it is, Highley 
does not stand upon it. Against Westbury Leigh there is the 
same objection that it is not an island. Iford near Bradford, would 
have been much more plausible. 
Next as to Yatton being Aipandun. The name means Gate-farm, 
or village from geat a gate, or rather gateway, pronounced yat, as 
it is still in the northern counties, a word from which a great 
number of other places have derived their names, the Yattons in 
Somerset and Herefordshire, the Yates in Gloucester and Lanca- 
shire, Yatehouse, Yately, Yatesbury, &c. Yatton could not pos- 
sibly be derived from Aipan, for every English word beginning 
with y, if of Saxon, was formerly written either with ge or iw, or 
with ¢ and some vowel after it. For instance, year, yoke, yard, 
yule were spelt gear, geoc, geard, and geol, although unquestionably 
pronounced as at the present day; and again Yalding, Yardley and 
York were spelt Ealding, Eardleah and Eoforwic; and yew, Yew- 
den and Yewcomb, spelt iw, Iwden and Iwcumb. It does not 
appear that any truly English name that now begins with a y was 
ever spelt with an initial w@ ore. Nor, as before observed, do I 
think that there is any instance in the English language of a p 
before a vowel becoming ¢. It is not sufficient in these matters to 
say that the sounds are much alike and might pass into one ano- 
ther, as in other countries. We must humbly observe what actually 
has taken place in similar words, and not reason a priori, but from 
precedents. 
We learn from Mr. Scrope’s paper that Yatton was formerly 
called Eaton, and the downs near it Etton downs. That may very 
well be so. Geat-ton, Hat-ton and Yat-ton are only different spel- 
