By Thereza Story Maskelyne. 409 



seems to have been when George and Alice Wroughton^ came to 

 live at Overton in 1565, after the dissolution of the monasteries. 



Elcombe. 



The History of Elcombe is of especial interest in helping to 

 explain several points in the history of Wroughton. 



Without a knowledge of the family of the Lovels of Elcombe it 

 would be impossible to understand the meaning of the pension 

 which is mentioned in Pope Nicholas' Taxation,'^ as paid for many 

 years by Elyndon Church to Minster Lovel. And without knowing 

 that the important family of Lovel were connected with Ivry in 

 the north of France and that they originally bore the name "cZe 

 Ivry'' we should have no clue to the meaning of a portion of their 

 ancient estate whicli still goes by the name of "The Ivery," 



It has been said, and indeed it is only too true, that " writers on 

 place-names sometimes give little consideration to anything else 

 than the form of the name, instead of giving due weight also to 

 the history and circumstances of the place to which the name 

 applies," and it would be idle to speculate on the meaning of this 

 name of Ivery, without a knowledge of the land and of its former 

 owners. It was once suggested that as the old Anglo-Saxon word 

 Vlera" (meaning over, or higlier) applied to this high land, it 

 might account for the name. The answer to this is that Upper 

 Wroughton was the historical name of quite another part of the 

 village, i.e., Over Worton, now Overton. 



Another conjecture was that the name " The Ivery " was derived 

 from an old Frencli word " iverie " (which means a place for 

 bleeding horses) because Wroughton is a place where racers are 

 now trained 1 This absurd suggestion was, however,soon withdrawn." 



'The Ivery" is in fact a pasture surroundcnl by LJie ancient 

 ramparts and ditches, now much obliterated, of EUendune, the 



^ Aubrey and Jackson Wiltshire Collections, 368. 



* l^opc Niclioltis' Taxation is t,qv('ii at i>a.!<e 404. 



''Tilt' tonus of llu' word Uriaco, II)rfi(>, or Ivry >ho\v uk- that the piact^ 



uanu' * Thi' Jrery ' cannot l)i" dcrivfil tiom ' in ric ' a stud farm, l>ut is simply 



the French form of the old llomano C'l-ltic ((Jaulish) name o\ £''ri>icuin or 



Briacuni.'' The Kcv. A. L. Mayhrw, Oxford. 



'2 I. '2 



