290 



Chippenham. Notes of its History. 



first of the two names is the old Saxon name of the place: the 

 second is the Norman family- name. Compton, near Calne, un- 

 doubtedly did belong to the Bassets, Langley to the Burrells, 

 Yatton to the Keynells, Littleton to the Drews, and Leigh to the 

 Delameres. 



This then explains many of our double names. In many cases 

 also, the name of the Saint to whom the church was dedicated, 

 was used as the second name, as Kington St. Michael, &c. 



There are one or two of the neighbouring parishes, which by 

 time and vulgar mis-pronunciation, have become strangely meta- 

 morphosed. For instance, the place I just now mentioned, Yatton 

 Keynell. The people about there invariably call it " Church 

 Eaton." The history of the matter is this. The real original 

 proper Saxon name was "Eaton," meaning " watery ground." 

 Now just as in Wiltshire they call an apron a y apron, so do they 

 pronounce Eaton, Yeaton. There are two parts of the parish, one 

 where there is no church they call West Eaton, or West Yatton. 

 The other where the church stands they call " Church Eaton," or 

 Church Yatton. This part having belonged to the Keynell family 

 became Yatton Keynell. 



Another parish, well known to us all, has a very extraordinary 

 name, Christian Malford : which as a name is downright nonsense, 

 impossible, in that shape, to be explained. But the people about 

 there keep up the real original name, for they call it " Crist Mal- 

 ford; the meaning of which is this. The Anglo-Saxon word 

 " Crist-mal" means "Christ's mark," or the Cross. I have seen 

 in a deed, a boundary oak tree described as the " Christmal-oak," 

 being a tree marked with a cross, as a limit of the parish. And 

 Christmal-ford, was beyond all doubt, in ancient times, a ford, by 

 which stood a cross; and the name means Christ cross ford. 



( Conclusion.) 



Now that I am drawing to the end of my story, I wish, in 

 parting, to drop a little hint. I don't expect every body to take it, 

 and I should not be much surprised if nobody does. But still, 

 when a hint is dropped before an assembly, of various tastes and 



