CASTERS AND CHESTERS. 291 



western town has stopped short, but the tongues of the 

 natives have run on till nothing now remains but Cisseter. 

 If we had only that written form on the one hand, and 

 Durocornovium on the other, even the boldest etymologist 

 would hardly venture to suggest that they had any con- 

 nection with one another. Of course the common 

 prefix Duro, is only the Welsh Dwr, water, and its 

 occurrence in a name merely implies a ford or river. The 

 alternative forms may be Anglicised as Churn, and Churn- 

 water, just like Grasmere, and Grasmere Lake. 



I wish I could avoid saying anything about Worcester, 

 for it is an obscure and difficult subject ; but I fear the 

 attempt to shirk it would be useless in the long run. 

 I know from sad experience that if I omit it every 

 inhabitant of Worcestershire who reads this article will 

 hunt me out somehow, and run me to earth at last, with 

 a letter demanding a full and explicit explanation of this 

 silent insult to his native county. So I must try to put 

 the best possible face upon a troublesome matter. The 

 earliest existing form of the name, after the English 

 Conquest, seems to be that given in a Latin Charter of 

 the eighth century as Weogorna civitas. (Here it is 

 difficult to disentangle the English from its Latin dress.) 

 A little later it appears in a vernacular shape (also in a 

 charter) as Wigran ceaster. In the later part of the 

 English Chronicle it becomes Wigera ceaster, and Wigra 

 ceaster ; but by the twelfth century it has grown into 

 Wigor ceaster, from which the change to Wire oeaster 

 and Worcester (fully pronounced) is not violent. This 

 is all plain sailing enough. But what is the meaning of 

 Wigorna ceaster or Wigran ceaster ? And what Roman 



u 2 



