274 



The Names of ¥ laces in Wiltshire. 



clature in Wilts. A few observations will suffice to place before 

 our readers the general results of this investigation. 



(a) First of all, we may remark that a state of things seems to 

 be implied considerably at variance with notion s, once generally 

 entertained, as to the^ treatment inflicted on the British races by 

 successive conquerors. These "Names" shew, that the earliest 

 inhabitants or their descendants were neither destroyed nor wholly 

 banished by the advancing Saxon, No doubt the British chieftains 

 were slain in battle, or forced into exile, but the bulk of the popu- 

 lation remained, and in the course of centuries was absorbed into 

 the general mass of the inhabitants. Many years after the English 

 were virtually masters of the country, they retained in familiar use 

 several Welsh names of districts. And near border-lands, and es- 

 pecially in the vicinity of the great dykes, names still preserved 

 shew how Britons and Englishmen lived as neighbours long enough 

 to fix on certain localities names derived from their respective 

 occupants. 1 



(b) But a further remark that may be made, as the result of this 

 enquiry, is this — that the Celtic element in Wiltshire names is not 

 Welsh, but approaches nearer to the Cornish, or the Armorican. It will 

 have been observed that many of the forms of roots, which have 

 served to interpret our Names of Places, have been found in the 

 latter dialects. This shews us pretty clearly that the Celtic tribes 

 that inhabited our portion of the country, though closely related to 

 the Cymry, or Welsh, were distinguished from them by certain 

 dialectical differences which mark a diversity of race. It is an 

 interesting result, as confirming the statement of Csesar, who implies 



1 It is especially interesting to observe in the names still remaining on either 

 eide of border-lands evidences of the two races thus, as it were, dwelling side by 

 side. Thus on the southern border of the county we have Bt it-ford and not 

 far from it Chard-ford (i.e., Cerdic's ford), a memorial of the Saxon chieftain. 

 Then on the north-west border we find close to one another English-combe and 

 Wal-cot, i.e., the dwelling of the Welsh. So too on the Berkshire border, the 

 two names Ingle-wood and Walling-iord denote respectively the occupation 

 of the English and the Welsh. Moreover on the Hampshire border, whilst on 

 the one side you have Meichet, Wallop and Welpley, all seemingly Celtic names, 

 on the other you have Sher-field English which can only mean the "shire (= 

 border) field " occupied by the Teutonic race. 



