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The Counties of England and Wales: Saxon

Huntingdon was anciently a great deer forest, and therefore much resorted to for hunting. Northampton is a corruption of North-avon-town, alluding to its position north of the river Neu, in olden times known as the Avon. Rutland expresses the Anglo- Saxon for "red land," referring to the colour of its soil. Warwick is the modern description of the Anglo-Saxon Waer-wic, signifying the garrison, or war town. Nottingham is a corruption of Snotingaham, "the place of caves," so called on account of the soft sandstone which so greatly facilitated the formation of caverns during the early history of our country; as e.g., " Mortimer's hole," and the subterranean passage that led thereto from Nottingham Castle in the reign of Edward III. Derby is a contraction of the Saxon Deer-by, or "wild-beast village," doubtless so designated from its frequent invasion by strange animals from the mountainous district of "The Peak" in search of prey. Shropshire denotes the Shire of Scrobbesburgh, the Anglo- Saxon for "shrub-town," modified by the Normans into Sloppesburie (from which the present town of Salop derived its name), and corrupted in modern times into Shrewsbury. Monmouth indicates the county that includes the mouth of the Mon, originally described as the Mynwy, "the border river."

The Counties of England and Wales. 137 Anglesea, properly Anglesey [see CHELSEA, &c.], is one of the three counties of Wales whose names are not essentially Welsh. Thus, Glamorgan signifies the Gwlad-Morgan, or territory of Morgan, a chieftain who lived in the tenth century; Brecknock is the hill of Brecon, or Brychan, a Welsh prince; Radnor is a modern spelling of Rhiadnwr-Gwy, meaning "the Cataract of the Wye"; Montgomery refers to the fortress built on the mont, or height, by Roger de Montgomerie, in 1093; Denbigh was originally Dinbach, the Celtic and Cymric for "a little fort"; Flint was so called from the quantity of quartz found in this county; Carnarvon owes its origin to Car-yu-ar-Fon, the car, or fortress, on the arfon, or water; Carmarthen denotes the fortress erected by Merlin; Merioneth was named after Merion, an early British saint; Cardigan indicates the territory of Ceredig, a Welsh chieftain; while Pembroke signifies the pen, or head of the broc, the Celtic and Cymric for a district, so called because this promontory was virtually the Land's End.

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