3 



to blossom out into Stowe St. Mary, the change, which began 

 on the Church bills, having already reached the sign posts. 

 As ecclesiastically -minded ladies would say, the new names are 

 much " nicer," but they breathe the spirit, I venture to think, 

 of Church restoration at its worst. *■ 



Now these examples have a real moral, a lesson that we 

 need to bear in mind. The influence on our place-names of 

 folk-etymology has been far greater, probably, than is supposed. 

 If such changes as these I have glanced at are possible even 

 at the present day, what could not be effected when all spelling 

 was uncertain, and when maps were as yet unknown ? for folk- 

 etymology has been always with us, and the too ingenious 

 antiquary is no modern phenomenon. Even Henry of 

 Huntingdon could hardly mention a place without proceeding 

 to explain the meaning of its name ; and Robert of Gloucester 

 explained that Colchester derived its name from King Coel. 

 Colchester proved itself worthy of the tale, and showed not 

 only his statue and his sword but even his " kitchen " and his 

 " pump." It is now proposing to place his Arms on its new 

 Town Hall, having, I observe, obtained them for the purpose 

 from " Heralds' College, London." 



It is on account of the influence of this folk-etymology that 

 I dispute the claim of the philologist to explain place-names 

 by his laws. His laws fail from the same cause* as the laws of 

 political economy ; they ignore the human element. I have 

 observed that if you tell a philologist what a place-name 

 originally was, and what it is now, he will produce a law with 

 a long name which accounts for the change to perfection, but 

 if he is not supplied with that preliminary information, his laws 

 are by no means a sure guide to the modern forms of an 

 ancient name. Let me cite, from a single county, two instances 

 as a test. The name of Chaddesley Corbett, Worcestershire, 

 suggests that there must have been some other Chaddesley in 

 the county from which it had to be distinguished. And 

 research will show that in the 12 th Century there actually was 

 such a place, which appears as " Chaddesleia." But this latter 



