48 
JOURNAL OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 
which was founded in the fourteenth century for the defence of the 
town against the French, who nevertheless not many years after- 
wards burnt the greater part. Of this event we had a memorial in 
the fine old historic name " Briton Side," which an ill-instructed 
corporation changed for the meaningless Exeter Street. 
New Street in the process of time has become one of the oldest 
streets in the town ; but it was new when Old Town Street was 
ancient. Yet no one had ever heard of Old Town Street sixty 
years ago. For centuries it had handed down under the name of 
" Old Town " simply, the memory of the parent community of 
which the Sutton of the Conquest was the offspring. Westwell 
and Finewell and Buckwell Streets help us to realize the days ere 
Drake " brought the water into Plymouth." Finewell may have 
been named from its quality. Buckwell was clearly the spot where 
the good housewives used to "buck" or wash their clothes. Black- 
friars Lane for centuries preserved the memory of the house of the 
Dominicans, in the absence of all written record. Whitefriars 
Lane, Friary Court, and Friary Street, in like manner kept alive 
that of the settlement of the Carmelites. Catherine Street is so 
called because it led to the chapel of St. Catherine on the Hoe. 
Catte Street, which we may presume was somehow connected with 
Cattewater, has now given place to Stillman Street, which, how- 
ever, like Bilbury Street and Whimple Street, is one of the oldest 
street names in the town. Frankfort Street is the sole memorial 
relic of the siege days, and indicates the site of Frankfort Gate. 
Several names record the existence of old families. The Trevilles 
were notable merchants in the time of Elizabeth ; Yintry Street was 
once called Foyne's Lane, after the still more notable Fowneses ; 
Kinterbury Street was Colmer's Lane. Week Street and How's 
Lane are names of the same class. 
Our personal place-names form an especially interesting group. 
They are mostly given for the direct purpose of distinction. The 
oldest in this locality is Brixton, given in Domesday as Brictricstun, 
or " the tun of Brictic." As a rule these personal distinctives 
date from Norman and indeed feudal times. Thus we have 
Newton Ferrers — " New-town " of the Ferrerses — in distinction to 
the many other Newtons of the county. Tamerton Foliott — 
"Tamar-town" of the Foliotts ; Weston Peverill — " West-town" of 
the Peverills; Compton Gilford — "Combe or valley town" of the 
Gillards; Stoke Damerel — "Stockaded place" of the Damerels. 
