138 Swindon and its Neighbourhood. 



Braden. 



The proper way of spelling this name is Braden, not Bradon. 

 And the explanation of the reason will give in a few words its 

 history. 



The whole of the country, North "West of Swindon, presented in 

 ancient times as strong a contrast as possible to the district South 

 of Swindon. Any ancient British or Saxon gentleman standing 

 upon the brow of the chalk downs at Wroughton, or Cliff Pipard, 

 and looking towards the South, would see before him a vast open 

 platform, almost without a tree, probably without a ploughed field, 

 a range for many miles of green turf, dotted with barrows, crossed 

 by grass dykes, studded here and there with earthworks, camps, 

 structures of huge stones in avenues and circles, and all the other 

 relics of his predecessors. But if the same British or Saxon gentle- 

 man turned upon his heel, right about face, and looked to the North, 

 he would see something very different ; commencing almost at his 

 feet immediately under the cliff, a broad tract of wood for many 

 miles. In ancient times Braden came a great deal farther South, 

 as well as in other directions, than the small tract now called by 

 that name. There are in existence several documents called Per- 

 ambulations of the Forest ; and in one of them the town of Wootton 

 Basset, is described as lying within its precincts. The name of 

 Wootton means Wood-town. Basset is, of course, only the family 

 name. 



The Anglo-Saxons brought their words over with them, and 

 applied those words according to the character of the places where 

 they settled. Their way was this. A number of men settled on 

 one spot. Each had a portion of arable land, on which he lived ; 

 this was for his own exclusive use. But their feeding ground, 

 their pasture, was in common. So also, in common, were the 

 woods and forest ground through which their animals ranged. Such 

 names of places as end in ton., tun, (meaning enclosure) ham, worth, 

 stead, and the like, all imply the settled habitation where the houses 

 were. But such names as end in, den, holt, tcood, hurst, and others, 

 invariably denote forests, and roving pastures in forests. The 

 word den, in particular, says the late Mr. Kemble, is a Saxon noun 





