Devon Place Names |
At first glance, the placenames of Devon look somewhat more English than the Tre,
Pol and Pen names found in Cornwall, but once one realises that typical Devon
names such as Combe, Dun and Tor are all derived from Celtic words, one begins
to appreciate just how many of Devon's fascinating placenames are Celtic in origin.
Combe is the second most common placename element found in Devon. It is second only to Ton (Old English: tun, meaning a farm, but later extended to infer a town), but even the word 'ton' is often to be found at the end of an otherwise Celtic name, e.g. Dunterton (for the meaning of which, see below). Combe derives from the same Celtic root as Welsh 'cwm' and Cornish 'cum', and means 'valley'. Although it is most common in Devon, it is also found in abundance throughout the South West including Somerset, Dorset and Cornwall (where it is most noticeable in East Cornwall, having been mainly superseded in the West by the more recent Cornish word 'nans'). Although Combe (or Coombe) is often found on its own, it is usually attached to a descriptive word (or words), which is often English, e.g. Smallacombe (meaning small valley). It is most probable that these adjectival extensions are later additions in order to help identify which particular Combe one is referring to. Sometimes the word Combe is found in a corrupted form such as in the enigmatically named Plymouth district of Pennycomequick. The first part of this name is definitely 'Pen-y-combe' (meaning Head of the Valley), but the 'quick' bit is more uncertain. Suggestions have varied from 'gwyk' (meaning either settlement or creek) to 'quite', from 'coet' (Welsh 'gwig'), meaning wood or grove. Either settlement or creek would fit the location perfectly, but there is certainly no wood there now. However, this may not have been the case when the place was first named in the Dark Ages. Other 'combe' names include Combe Martin, Combepyne, Babbacombe, Staddiscombe, Widdecombe etc. Dun (or don) names are also fairly common in Devon and the South West. The word 'dun' derives from the Celtic element 'din', meaning a fort (or more usually a hill fort). We find such names as Dunkeswell, Dunterton, Dunchideock, Manadon, etc. Most places with 'dun' elements are to be found close to Iron Age hill forts or other earthworks. Anyone familiar with the Dartmoor region of Devon will be familiar with the word 'tor'. It is so typically Devonian, but it has its equivalents in both Wales (twr) and Scotland (torr), and is of course also found extensively in Cornwall (on Bodmin Moor). It does not (as some imagine) refer to the hills of Dartmoor, but to the (often spectacular) granite rock towers, which are often to be found at the tops of the hills. It is not surprising therefore to discover that tor (or twr, or torr) means rock tower. Sometimes the name is fully Celtic, as in Lether Tor, from the Celtic 'lettir', meaning slope. When viewing Lether Tor from the Eastern end of Burrator Reservoir, one can easily see how it acquired this name, as it sits at the top of a very pronounced steep slope. Some tors are not even on hills, such as Vixen Tor, which is located in the Walkham Valley. Tre, Pol and Pen names also exist in Devon, although their numbers are considerably lower than in Cornwall. There are at least thirty 'tre' names, and almost all of these are minor farmsteads, which reflect the original meaning of the word, i.e. farm, before it was later expanded to mean town (usually a small country town). Many other Brythonic Celtic words have found their way into the Devon countryside in the form of the names of both small hamlets and larger towns. Here is just a small sample, together with their derivations and meanings. These have been selected to show the diversity of Celtic placename elements in the South West (and Devon in particular). The following abbreviations are used: (B) generic Brythonic, (C) Cornish, (D) Old Devonian, and (W) Welsh. BERE ALSTON and BERE FERRERS, from 'ber' (W), meaning 'promontory', which reflects their location on the promontory between the Rivers Tamar and Tavy. SOUTH BRENT, from 'brinn' (B), meaning 'hill'. BRENTOR, from 'brinn' (B) and 'torr' (D). meaning 'hill of the rock tower'. Interestingly, there is a farm near Brentor, which is named BRINSABACH, from 'brinn' (B) and 'bach' (W), meaning 'small hill' (named after the Tor). BREADON (near Otterton), from 'bre' (B) and 'din' (B), meaning 'hill (or height) of the fort'. BREAZLE (near Bratton Clovelly), from 'briw' (B) and 'liss' (B), meaning broken (or ruined) court'. CAMEL'S HEAD (Plymouth), from 'comel' (B), meaning 'district' (although 'cam-hayl' (C), meaning 'crooked estuary' has also been suggested). CARLEY (near Lifton), from 'kaer' (D) and 'leh' (D), meaning 'fort place'. CARTLAND (near Awlington), from 'carreg' (B), meaning 'rock'. CHARLES, from 'carn' (B) and 'liss' (B), meaning 'stone heap court'. CHETTISHOLT (near Ottery St. Mary), from 'ced' (B), meaning 'wood'. CHURNDON (near Bridestowe), from 'cern' (B) and 'din' (B), meaning 'side of the hill fort'. CLICKLAND (near Ermington), from 'cleger' (C), meaning 'crag'. Incidentally the 'clitter', found littering the slopes of many of the Dartmoor Tors, is also derived from this word. CLOVELLY, from 'cloh' (B) and 'Feli' (a personal name), meaning 'Feli's dyke'. COARSEWELL (near Ugborough), from 'cors' (B), meaning 'reeds'. CREEK BEACON (near Woodland), CROOK (near Combe Raleigh) and CROOKE (near North Tawton), all from 'crug' (B), meaning 'mound'. CROWDY MILL (near Harberton), from 'crou' (B) and 'ti' (B), meaning 'sty house (or pig sty)'. CROYDE, from 'crud' (B), meaning 'cradle'. DAWLISH, from 'du' (B) and 'gleis' (B), meaning 'dark stream'. DOWRICH (near Sandford), from 'du' (B) and '-ig' (B), meaning 'darkish' (the addition of '-ig' denotes the adjectival form). DUNCHIDEOCK, from 'din' (B), 'ced' (B) and '-jog' (B), meaning 'wooded hill fort' ('-jog' also denotes the adjectival form). Dorset also has CHIDEOCK (wooded hill) DUNTERTON, from 'din' (B) and 'tre' (B), meaning 'hill fort farm' (with added 'ton'). DUVALE BARTON (near Bampton), from 'du' (B) and 'bal' (B), meaning 'dark peak'. GAVERICK (near Ilsington), from 'gavr' (B) and '-ig' (B), meaning 'goat like'. GLENDON (near Okehampton), from 'glinn' (B) and 'din' (B), meaning 'valley of the hill fort'. GREAT HANGMAN and LITTLE HANGMAN (coastal cliffs near Combe Martin), from 'an mein' (D), meaning 'the rock'. HEMYOCK, from 'haf' (B) and '-jog' (B), meaning 'summer like'. KELLY, from 'kelli' (D), meaning 'grove'. KENTISBURY, from 'centel' (B), meaning 'rim'. LANDCROSS, from 'lann' (B) and 'cors' (B), meaning 'church in the reeds' (although the second element may be 'crowz' (C), in which case the meaning would be 'church of the cross'). LANDKEY, from 'lann' (B) and 'Kea' (a Celtic saint's name), meaning 'church of St. Kea). MAINDEA (near Bratton Clovelly), from 'mein' (D) and 'ti' (B), meaning 'stone house'. MAINBOW and MAINSTONE both contain the Celtic element 'mein' (D), meaning 'stone'. MORCHARD BISHOP and CRUWYS MORCHARD, from 'mor' (B) and 'ced' (B), meaning great wood'. (Note that although 'Cruwys' looks Celtic, it is in fact a family name, which may (or may not) be Celtic in origin.) A number of occurrences of NYMET and NYMPTON in mid Devon are from 'nimed' (B), meaning 'sacred grove'. PENLEE (Plymouth), from 'penn' (B) and 'leh' (D), meaning 'head place'. PENHILL (near Fremington), PENN MOOR (Dartmoor), PENNYWELL and numerous other places contain the Celtic element 'penn' (B), meaning 'head (or end)'. POLTIMORE, from 'pol' (B), 'ti' (B) and 'mor' (B), meaning 'pool by the large house'. ROSEDOWN (near Hartland), from 'ros' (B) and 'din' (B), meaning 'moor of the hill fort'. Out of the thirty or so 'Tre' names a few are presented here as they form interesting compounds. TREABLE, from 'tre' (B) and 'ebil' (B), meaning 'farm by a stream called Ebil' (meaning 'auger'). TREBICK and TREBY, from 'tre' (B) and 'bihan' (D), meaning 'small farm'. TRELICK, from 'tre' (B) and 'Lek' (personal name), meaning 'Lek's farm'. TREDOWN, from 'tre' (B) and 'din' (B), meaning 'farm by the hill fort'. TREWYN and TREVENN, from 'tre' (B) and 'winn' (B), meaning 'white farm'. TRUSHAM, from 'dris' (B) and 'ma' (B), meaning 'meadow of brambles'. WHIMPLE, from 'winn' (B) and 'pol' (B), meaning 'white pool'. In some cases, it may appear to the reader that a few of these derivations look improbable, judging by the form of the present day name of a place, but a study of the names as they existed in Norman or Medieval times would reveal the reasons for the chosen derivations. Many place names have evolved considerably since those times. As indicated, the above are simply a sample of Devon's Celtic placenames. There are many others, and a huge number that are still uncertain. In addition there are a number of places which have enjoyed multiple names. As examples EXETER is also known as Isca (Roman) and Kaeresk/Keresk (Celtic), NEWTON ABBOT was known as Penn (an area still is), and BARNSTAPLE is still known to locals as Barum. We suggest you investigate placenames in your own area. Please note that there are often a number of alternative suggestions for the origin of a name, so don't take the first answer you come across at face value. Many of the original researchers were well versed in Anglo-Saxon, but less so in Celtic (eg Ekwall) West Country Brythonic was not only spoken in Devon but across all of the Celtic kingdom of Dumnonia. Somerset (certainly western Somerset) would have once spoken this language, and this is reflected in some of Somerset's placenames which we give a few examples of. return to homepage |