68 



For the purposes of classification, the history of the County 

 may be divided into Pre-Roman, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Danish, 

 Norman, and Post-Norman Periods. 



Very few of the Dorset names are Post-Norman, showing that 

 even our smallest villages existed at an early date. Churches, 

 palaces and houses have decayed, and in many cases have been 

 replaced from time to time, but the names of the places to which 

 those bygone churches and other buildings were attached have 

 survived, and we can therefore say that the place-names are more 

 ancient than anything else in the county except the various earth- 

 works and burying places which are so abundant. 



Taking the periods before mentioned into particular consider- 

 ation we will first deal with the Pre-Roman Period. None of the 

 names go back beyond Celtic times and even these names are con- 

 nected with the natural . features rather than with settlements. 

 Winfrirh (gwyn, clear, fvut, a stream), Kimmeridge (cymmve, a place 

 of hills and hollows), Creech (a hill), Dorchester, Owermoigne, 

 Blandford, Eggardun, Maiden Castle, Badbury (bod, a dwelling), 

 Frome (frou, a river), Wey (wye, water), Trent (tvoueni, a winding 

 river), Stour (sdora, water), Allen (elaine, a fawn), Pillesden Pen, 

 Pentridge, Pembury Hill and Poole are names which wholly or 

 partly belong to this period. Winfrith, which is entirely British in 

 origin, is of special interest as two other names in the county of 

 different derivations have the same significance. Wimborne is a 

 hybrid from Brit, gwyn, clsar, and S., bume, a stream, while Sher- 

 borne is pure Saxon from sciva, clear, and bume. 



Very few names given by the Romans have come down to us, 

 in fact, there is apparently not one name of purely Roman origin. 

 We find only Dorchester, Bridport, Portland and Stratton. 



On a close examination it is seen that the majority of the place- 

 names date from Anglo-Saxon times. Wherever the syllables, burn, 

 burne or borne, ford, well, mouth, abbas, comb, ton, wick, ham, 

 worth, regis, and others are found, then we know we have names 

 partly or wholly Saxon in character. A large number of such names 

 in Dorset were dealt with in a previous paper and do not call for 

 mention again here, but there are some worthy of more than a 

 passing notice. We all know what an important position Wessex 

 filled among the Saxon Kingdoms and how in course of time the 

 others were subdued by it. Dorset was in the centre of powerful 

 Wessex and it is therefore not surprising that the kings of that time 

 had large possessions in the county and often visited it. Bere Regis 

 was probably the site of a Saxon royal palace. Melcombe Regis, 

 Lyme Regis and Wyke Regis were given by Saxon kings to 

 religious communities at Milton, Sherborne and Winchester respec- 

 tively, Lyme Regis being presented "so that salt for the said 

 church (Sherborne) should be boiled there for the supplying of 

 various wants," and it is quite possible that Melcombe Regis was 

 given for a similar purpose as the deed of gift mentions a " saltern 

 by the wear." Kingston, Kingston Lacy, Kinson (king's stone 

 town), Winterbourne Kingston, Kingston Russell and Kingston 



