40 NOTES ON A BOOK CALLED DOMESDAY. 



and south mayne gates bctvvene 8 and 9 at night." Now it is 

 a puzzle to antiquaries to fix the place of the east gates. Domesday 

 mentions an east gate several times, but only once so as to specify 

 its situation at all clearly. In 12 Hen. IV., 1410 (f. xliv.), 

 \ve find " alta strata que ducit ad portam orientalem." This looks 

 plain enough as evidence that the east gate was at the foot of High 

 Street ; for from the context I gather that alta strata here is High 

 Street, and not " Altus Vicus Australis " or any other. It is the 

 only instance of the word "strata" which I have observed in 

 Domesday. Is it not just barely possible that it is used as 

 indicating that this street was even so late as Henry IVs time still 

 "via strata" still a piece of the paved "via Iceniana," or, at 

 least, of the Decumanus Maximus, of the lords of the world 1 If 

 so, and if we are sure of an east gate at the foot of High Street, 

 we get here a small bit of proof that that " via " did coincide 

 with High Street, which has been disputed. Again, we get a little 

 help at the other end of High Street. In (f. xliv.) 12 Hen. IV., 

 1410, we find a burgage in West Street, " prope portam." Now, 

 considering the massiveness of the Roman wall, the only one we 

 suppose ever to have fenced Dorchester, it is most unlikely that 

 the medisevals would have broken out new east and west gateways. 

 May we not, therefore, take these mentions of those gates to be 

 pretty fair evidence of the localities of the two ends of the 

 Decumanus Maximus at least 1 This is not the place to say why I 

 make this sort of reservation. I ought to add that in 1 Ed. VI., 

 1547 (f. cxxv.) the west gate, and even wall adjoining, seem to be 

 ignored, speaking of a burgage and garden south side of West 

 Street, between a burgage on the east and on the west " campum 

 de ffordyngton." This is now Mr. Burnett's and is precisely the 

 one spot where a fragment of the wall still exists ; so that non- 

 mention does not mean non-existence. Of the south gate I find 

 no mention, only of walls at the end of South Street. But then 

 that is where the gate site is undoubted. Then we come to 

 Durngate. The name makes one think of Dwr, water ; but there 

 is no particle of evidence to that effect, as far as I know. Mr 



