242 



NOTES AND QUERIES. [2nd s. VI. 143., Sept. 25. '58. 



sorily over Wales, where the same industry and 

 zeal might have found many, if not so many, re- 

 miniscences of the Norsemen. At p. 74. he 

 says : — 



" The names of places in England ending in ' by ' are 

 only to be found in the districts selected b3' the Danes 



for conquest or civilisation Tenb}% formerly Ten- 



bigh, in Pembrokeshire, is from a diflferent derivation." 



Mr. AVorsaae cites no authority for the ancient 

 spelling ; but as the name of Denbigh might seem 

 to a certain extent to bear him out (unless, in- 

 deed, he has confounded them together), I would 

 not be so presumptuous as to contradict him. 

 But might not its Danish origin seem somewhat 

 more probable, if other traces of that people were 

 found in the neighbourhood ? 



Five miles to the west of Tenby is a place 

 called Manorbeer ; but it is spelt so variously that 

 no one knows the correct spelling, or can do more 

 than guess at its etymology. The Rev. Gilbert 

 N. Smith, rector of the neighbouring parish of 

 Gumfreston, in a paper in the Archaologia Cam- 

 hrensis, says that Giraldus (who was born there) 

 " calls it the mansion of Pyrr, or, according to his 

 Latinity, Pyrrus. Maenor" he says, " we know 

 is 'manor;' but Pyrr, a word of more doubtful 

 meaning." The latter part of the word being 

 thus of uncertain origin and signification, might 

 not the suggestion be admissible that it is the 

 Danish termination hy or byr ? or, even more 

 probably, as its resemblance is still greater, the 

 Norwegian hmr (which in the old northern language 

 signified, first, a single farm, afterwards a village, 

 or a town in general) ? — especially as (at p. 68. of 

 the Danes in England) we are toUJ that it was 

 their practice to add their peculiar terminations 

 to the native name already existing. 



To this suggestion of a Danish or Norwegian 

 termination in the name of Manorbeer, or Mae- 

 nor Pyrr, I would add that some years since, 

 during a visit of some months' duration in that 

 parish, my attention was directed to a large cir- 

 cular field on the southern .cliff, which, sloping 

 landward, struck me as presenting the appearance 

 of an ancient military camp. If it were one, it 

 was a well-chosen site ; the position being a strong 

 and eminently defensible one, where nothing could 

 approach unseen from the interior, while its rear 

 was protected by perpendicular cliffs. From the 

 sands of the bay immediately on the west an easy 

 and protected ])ath led to it, — easy, that is, to a 

 friendly force : ibr, could a hostile one have landed 

 on the beach, a sally from the camp must inevit- 

 ably have overwhelmed the invaders. The field 

 lies to the south of the parish church, and stretches 

 to the crown of the hill (the church itself being 

 about midway from the foot). As much of this 

 field or camp as is visible from the opposite side 

 of the valley is circular ; but from the top of the 

 bill, on the east side, to the perpendicular cliff to 



the south, the bank runs in a straight line ; to- 

 wards the west, also, the circular form disappears, 

 where the land dips and naturally forms the path 

 from the bay upwards, which I have already men- 

 tioned. The south-east corner is now divided into 

 several smaller fields. From the crest of the hill 

 southwards there is abundance of furze, through 

 which it is difficult and painful to make way. I 

 should add, I was unable to leai-n that any tradi- 

 tion existed as to its ever having been a camp. 

 The occupier (a farmer) knew no more of it than 

 that it was now called the Parsonage Field, and 

 was glebe land. 



My first thought respecting this camp (if camp 

 it were) was, that it was Roman. That, however, 

 a little reflection pointed out was highly impro- 

 bable ; as, if it had ever been used as a military 

 position, it is evident it must have been so used 

 by a force from the sea ; and the Romans, who 

 penetrated so far westwards as this, doubtless 

 came by land from other parts of Britain. The 

 Northmen were hardy sailors, and made coasting 

 voyages. From our eastern coasts, where they 

 first landed, they passed northwards to the north- 

 ern extremity of Scotland, thence southward 

 along the western shore of our island and Ireland. 

 If Mr. Worsaae be correct, when he says " small 

 islands whose names end in ey and holm remind 

 one of the Northmen," it were easy to collect 

 numerous traces of Scandinavian settlements from 

 the Orkneys to the mouth of the Severn. Angle- 

 sey, he says, is but a modern form of " Ongulsey" 

 or " Angelsoen," — a name given to it by the 

 Danes and Norwegians with regard to its situa- , 

 tion by the land of the Angles (England). Then I 

 we have Grasholm (Dan. Grasholm), a small 

 island to the west of Pembrokeshire ; and in the 

 Severn are the Flatholmes (Dan. Fladholmene) 

 and Steepholmes. The Northmen being thus cer- 

 tainly in the neighbourhood, is it unlikely that, as 

 their custom was to add a national termination to 

 the existing name of a place where they settled, 

 and as Manorbeer seems a sufficiently suitable 

 place for their debarkation and subsequent opera- 

 tions, this village owes the last syllable of its 

 name to those hardy mariners ? 



"Before the coasts of Shetland (says Mr. 

 Worsaae, p. 220.) stand many high and ragged 

 rocks, called 'stacks' (old Norsk, stack?-)." Two 

 such rocks in this neighbourhood are still known 

 respectively as the Great and Little Stacks. They 

 ai'e about five miles from the town of Pembroke ; 

 and from them Stackpole Court, the seat of the 

 Eurl of Cavrdor, takes its name. En passant, I 

 may mention that these rocks are a great attrac- 

 tion to all visitors to the neighbourhood, but most 

 especially to the naturalist. For a considerable 

 portion of the summer they are tenanted by count- 

 less thousands of sea-fowl, that go there to breed. 

 On some days they crowd the rock so thickly 



