One links Bishopdown to to the Portway, running through Ford. The Bishopdown Green Lane is covered in the previous post.

The other Green Lane is a track that on the hill between Odstock and Salisbury. To be honest, I’m . . . → Read More: Green Lane, Odstock]]> There have been two paths known as ‘Green Lane’ in the Salisbury area.

One links Bishopdown to to the Portway, running through Ford. The Bishopdown Green Lane is covered in the previous post.

The other Green Lane is a track that on the hill between Odstock and Salisbury. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure of the location – I thought it ran along the top of the hill, but that path seems to be called ‘The Avon Valley Path’.

Also, a webpage featuring a walk that starts from the hospital intructs walkers to:

Turn left to run parallel with the hospital before entering a tree lined path that curves downhill to join Green Lane and Drovers Road at the bottom of the hill. ¹

To add further confusion, I’m not entirely sure that the Odstock track is actually called ‘Green Lane’.

I first heard it referred to as Green Lane when it was occupied by about 70 ‘New Age Travellers’ in the early 1980s. I’m not sure whether ‘Green Lane’ was a name bestowed by the travellers or whether it was always called Green Lane²

Anyhow, there’s a nice page about the Travellers’ community with some really good photos at:

• Green Lane Photo Archive – By David Stooke

Footnotes

1. Door Step Walk 6
2. It’s not an easy thing to google, because of the use of ‘green lane’ as a verb to describe driving 4x4s along country tracks

Green Lane Close and Green Lane are to the north of Salisbury. Green Lane runs from Bishopdown, near the London Road . . . → Read More: Green Lane, Salisbury]]> There have been two paths known as ‘Green Lane’ in the Salisbury area. One is the track on the hill between Odstock and Salisbury, near the Hospital. I’ll cover that in the next post.

Green Lane Close and Green Lane are to the north of Salisbury. Green Lane runs from Bishopdown, near the London Road to the Portway.

At the Bishopdown end, Green Lane is a path, but it turns into a road after it crosses the road between Old Sarum and Ford.

I would guess Green Lane here is a reference to the old path being rural, or perhaps grassy, but I don’t know.

‘Green-laning‘ as a verb seems to mean driving over rough lanes in ‘Land Rover’ type vehicles.

I would guess that ‘Greens’ refers to a previous or current owner of the land. It should perhaps be spelt Green’s Court. However I’m afraid I don’t know who Mr or Mrs or Ms Green was. The name rings no bells at . . . → Read More: Greens Court, Salisbury]]> Greens Court is off from St Ann Street, in the centre of Salisbury.

I would guess that ‘Greens’ refers to a previous or current owner of the land. It should perhaps be spelt Green’s Court. However I’m afraid I don’t know who Mr or Mrs or Ms Green was. The name rings no bells at all for me in what little I know of Salisbury history, and because of the nature of the name it’s not easy to search for effectively.

I grew up on the pebble-dashed estate, so it’s particularly frustrating that I don’t know why any of the roads have the names that they do.

‘Greenwood’ could be a surname. Alternatively it . . . → Read More: Greenwood Avenue, Laverstock]]> Greenwood Avenue is in Laverstock, on the ‘pebble-dashed’ estate. The estate is to the right as you come into Laverstock from Salisbury.

I grew up on the pebble-dashed estate, so it’s particularly frustrating that I don’t know why any of the roads have the names that they do.

‘Greenwood’ could be a surname. Alternatively it could follow a theme of trees – an adjacent road is called Linden Close, ‘Linden’ being a word meaning for ‘lime tree’, or ‘made from the wood of a lime-tree’ ¹.

The word ‘Avenue’ fits with ‘Greenwood’, in that ‘Avenue’ traditionally means a road lined with trees. However Greenwood Avenue doesn’t have trees, other than in peoples’ gardens.

Footnotes

1. Online Etymology Dictionary

It’s called Greyfriars Close in reference to the monks that lived in that area from 1229 until their land and property was seized by Henry VIII2

There are three roads named after specific groups of monks in this area of . . . → Read More: Greyfriars Close, Salisbury]]> Greyfriars Close is in the centre of Salisbury, between the Cathedral Close and Churchill Gardens¹.

It’s called Greyfriars Close in reference to the monks that lived in that area from 1229 until their land and property was seized by Henry VIII²

There are three roads named after specific groups of monks in this area of Salisbury:

• Whitefriars Road – the ‘White Friars’ were and are the Carmelites. The Carmelites were a group of monks that formed on Mont Carmel in Isreal in or before the 13th Century. They arrived in England in 1241-2. The monks were known as ‘White Friars’ because they wore white habits

• Blackfriars Road – the ‘Black Friars’ are the Dominicans. The order was founded by Saint Dominic of Caleruega, Spain and Saint Jordan of Saxony, in what is now Germany. I think it’s fair to say that the Dominicans emerged in opposition to the Cathar heresy – they are therefore sometimes known as ‘the friars preachers’.

• Greyfriars Close- the ‘Grey Friars’ are the Franciscans³. The order was founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. The Franciscans came to England in 1224⁴

The last of the four most significant orders of monks is the Augustinian, founded by Saint Augustine of Hippo. As far as I’m aware, the Augustinians never had a colour attached to their name, and nor is there any reference to the Augustinians in Salisbury’s road names⁵.

The Franciscans in Salisbury

As noted above the Franciscans came to England in 1224. They arrived in Salisbury in late 1229 or early 1230⁶.

They were aided by King Henry III. He may have given them the land for the Friary, and he certainly ordered that various people supply them with building materials – typically oak trees.

The initial phase of building seems to have been complete by 1252, because most of the donations thereafter were wood for fencing.

Edward I allowed them to take stones from Old Sarum in 1290 – presumably by then they were re-building or extending the Friary.

The Salisbury Franciscans were seen as relatively important within the English order – in the 1250s Salisbury was referred to as one of of the six English ‘Custodies’⁷, and the English Provincial Chapter met twice in the Salisbury Friary, in 1393 and in 1510.

There seem to have been good relations between the Friars and the mainstream Church – in 1475, nine of the twenty sermons preached in the Cathedral were given by friars⁸.

Thomas of Ecclston wrote:

‘In the Custody of Salisbury, over which Brother Stephen presided, the feeling of mutual affection was the distinguishing note. He himself was of such sweetness, such a geniality and such an exceeding charity and compassion that, in so far as he could he would allow no one to be made sad.’⁹

The Friary and its work came to an abrupt end with Henry VIII¹⁰. Despite the monks declaring their recognition of Henry as head of the English church in 1534, their friary was abolished.

The Friary and it’s contents were given up to the Crown on 2 October 1538.

The Salisbury Friary – Archaeology

The Friary building were on in the corner formed by the current Friary Lane and St Ann Street. A building is labelled as ‘Friers’ on the 18th Century ‘Naish Map’.

In 1966 an excavation by Salisbury Museum found a couple of walls which may have been part of the friary. One of them contained material dated to around 1300 – this could tie in with the use of stones from Old Sarum¹¹.

The Salisbury Friary and the Duke of Buckingham

While ‘researching’ the Friary, I found this from ‘The Chronicle of the Grey ‘Friars’, which is on the British History website:

Thys yere the duke of Buckyngham was be-heddyd at Salsbery, and is burryd at the Gray freres. (fn. 1) . And many lordes [and] knygttes with dyvers other flede into France at that tyme ¹²

It’s often said that the Duke was buried at the Chough in Blue Boar Row, but I don’t think anyone knows for sure.

Saint Ann Street Plaque

I found this plaque in Saint Ann Street, the text says:

Acquired by William Windover, Merchant, in 16th century.
Richard II and Queen Ann feasted the Franciscan Friars Minor here in 1393.

Plaque presented by Salisbury Chamber of Commerce

Footnotes

1. The area is usually known as ‘The Friary’
2. ‘Salisbury: St Martin’s parish’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 79-81. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41784 Date accessed: 24 November 2011.
3. Who were the Franciscans?
4. ‘Houses of Franciscan friars: Salisbury’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 3 (1956), pp. 329-330. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36549 Date accessed: 09 December 2011.
5. This is something of a pity – I wrote an essay about Saint Augustine once. It would be one of the few overlaps between Salisbury’s road names and something I’ve actually formally studied and had to write essays about and such. Whether I could remember any of it with any accuracy is another matter.
6. ‘Houses of Franciscan friars: Salisbury’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 3 (1956), pp. 329-330. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36549
7. A Custody, I presume, would be the equivalent of a diocese
8. The Friary
9. Quoted in ‘Houses of Franciscan friars: Salisbury’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 3 (1956), pp. 329-330. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36549
10. Coincidentally I read a tweet by a man called Philip Blond this morning. Philip Blond is the writer of a book called ‘Red Tory’, and is the originator of the ‘Big Society’ stuff. Anyway, he (re)tweeted the following question
    

    Dinner with @Phillip_Blond discussing worst criminals in English history. We agree. 1. Henry viii 2. Cromwell. Who is number 3?

11. Pastscape – Detailed Result: SALISBURY GREYFRIARS
12. ‘The Chronicle of the Grey Friars: Richard III’, Chronicle of the Grey Friars of London: Camden Society old series, volume 53 (1852), pp. 23-24. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51585 Date accessed: 09 December 2011.

It’s probably named after the Greyhound pub which is close by, in the Market Place.

In times gone by, when many people couldn’t read, pubs were often named after things that could be visually depicted in a distinctive way – for example ‘Cross Keys’, ‘Red . . . → Read More: Greyhound Lane, Wilton]]> Greyhound Lane is in the centre of Wilton.

It’s probably named after the Greyhound pub which is close by, in the Market Place.

In times gone by, when many people couldn’t read, pubs were often named after things that could be visually depicted in a distinctive way – for example ‘Cross Keys’, ‘Red Lion’ or ‘The Dolphin’. I think ‘The Greyhound’ perhaps fits into this category – it’s one of the most easily recognizable of dogs.

Origin of the word ‘Greyhound’

The etymology of ‘greyhound’ doesn’t seem to be entirely certain – but there is a consensus that it has nothing to do with the colour ‘grey’. Wikipedia, for example¹.

Its origin does not appear to have any common root with the modern word “grey” for color, and indeed the Greyhound is seen with a wide variety of coat colors.²

Wikipedia suggests that:

“Hund” is the antecedent of the modern “hound”, but the meaning of “grig” is undetermined, other than in reference to dogs in Old English and Old Norse. ³

The Online Etymology Dictionary gives ‘grig‘ as meaning bitch, specifically

O.E. grighund, from grig- “bitch” + hund “dog” (see hound). ⁴

I like one of the suggestions on the Greyhound Expressions website. The greyhound is a ‘sight hound’ – the dog has very well developed eyesight, and uses sight rather than smell for hunting. The suggestion is that:

Some believe it stems from the word “gazehound”, which is another word for sighthound. ⁵

Footnotes

1. The other sites mentioned on this page say something similar – see History of the greyhound and Online Etymology Dictionary – Greyhound
2. Greyhound – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
3. Greyhound – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
4. Online Etymology Dictionary
5. History of the greyhound

The origin of the name is clear. The Victoria County History says that there were two timber yards in Fisherton Street in 1842. One belonged to Walter Morrice, then a Mr Futcher:

The other timber yard was occupied by John and James Griffin and was . . . → Read More: Griffins Court, Salisbury]]> Griffins Court is the small passageway off from Fisherton Street.

The origin of the name is clear. The Victoria County History says that there were two timber yards in Fisherton Street in 1842. One belonged to Walter Morrice, then a Mr Futcher:

The other timber yard was occupied by John and James Griffin and was beside the malt houses. (fn. 269) Griffins, whose business had become a steam saw mill by 1879, were still occupiers in 1903. (fn. 270) The business passed into the hands of The Building Material Co., who still owned it in 1956.¹

In a footnote, the VCH relates that:

In 1880 the lane to the saw mills was called Griffin’s Court: O.S. Map 1/500 Wilts. LXVI. 11. 23.²

Footnotes

1. ‘Fisherton Anger’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 180-194. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41809
   
   
   
   
   
   Date accessed: 22 November 2011.
2. ‘Fisherton Anger’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 180-194. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41809
   
   
   
   
   
   Date accessed: 22 November 2011.

Grovely View is named after Grovely Wood which is nearby.

Grovely Woods cover an area of several square miles.

According to the ‘Historic Landscapes’ website:

The underlying geology is chalk but the woodlands are found on the clay with flints which lies above the . . . → Read More: Grovely View, Wilton]]> Grovely View is in Wilton, close to South Street.

Grovely Woods

Grovely View is named after Grovely Wood which is nearby.

Grovely Woods cover an area of several square miles.

According to the ‘Historic Landscapes’ website:

The underlying geology is chalk but the woodlands are found on the clay with flints which lies above the chalk and caps the ridgeline. Both Grovely Wood and Great Ridge are a mosaic of deciduous, coniferous and mixed woodland.¹

There is a Roman road running through it, and Iron Age and Anglo-Roman earthworks at the edge of the forest.

Etymology of Grovely

In ‘Wiltshire Place Names’, Richard Tomkins relates how the word Grovely has eveolved from the A.D. 986 ‘grafan lea’ to ‘foresta de Gravelinges’ in 1086 to ‘Graveninge’ in 1155 to ‘Grauelea’ in 1155 to ‘Gravelinch’ in 1255 to ‘Graveley in 1320 to ‘Grovelegh’ in 1402².

He says that the name derives either from ‘groefan-leah‘ meaning ‘brushwood clearing’ or ‘graf-leah‘ meaning ‘clearing by the grove’.

Martin Whittock in ‘Wiltshire Place Names’ gives an third alternative meaning. Mr Whittock notes that ‘grafan lea’ is found as far back as AD 940, and suggests that Grovely could be from the:

Saxon ‘grafa’ (ditch) and ‘leah’ (wood)³.

…so Grovely would mean ‘ditch wood’ – wood in the sense of ‘the woods’ rather than in the sense of timber. The word ‘grafa’ is the root of the word ‘grave’. Mr Whittock suggests that the ‘ditch’ could be a reference to the ditches either side of the Roman road that passes through the forest.

The word ‘grove’ itself comes from the Old English ‘graf‘⁴.

Grovely Wood and Oak Apple Day

Grovely Woods are known for ‘Oak Apple Day‘. Oak Apple Day is celebrated in Great Wishford on May 29th.

It’s an odd and interesting festival. The oak apple itself is:

a gall (an abnormal growth on a plant) caused by a wingless insect.⁵

According to a BBC website:

Early in the morning of 29th May, residents [at Great Wishford] are woken by an excited crowd making its way to forest, where an oak bough is removed, decorated and then hanged from the tower of St Giles’ Church.

In order to maintain their charter, the villagers must proclaim their right at a special ceremony in Salisbury Cathedral, where they repeat the ancient refrain: “Grovely, Grovely and all Grovely”⁶.

Ostensibly, the Grovely Oak Apple Day re-asserts the right of estover – the right of the villagers to gather wood in the forest. In 1604, a court in the forest noted that the villagers had had rights to collect fire wood and graze animals at certain times of the year⁷ since ‘time out of mind’⁸.

I’ve not found precise details, but it seems that the villagers rights within the woods have been threatened over the years by landowners – presumably the Earls of Pembroke. The village Oak Apple banner proclaims ‘Unity is Strength’ – the banner and the slogan seemingly influenced by the Trade Union movement.

A village website says that:

The acorn and oak tree motifs were part of the socialist and anarchist movements’ defence of liberties.⁹

But the Oak Apple Day celebrated in other parts of the country isn’t socialist, anarchist or a defence of people’s rights – it’s a celebration of the restoration of the monarchy. Oak Apple Day seems to have been widely celebrated as a monarchist festival in Dorset – there is a very good web page in on the ‘Dark Dorset’ site at: Oak Apple Day.

The 29th of May, Oak Apple Day, was the day when Charles II entered London to restore the monarchy and the date of his birthday. Samuel Pepys wrote at the time:

At night Mr. Cooke comes from London with letters, leaving all things there very gallant and joyful. And brought us word that the Parliament had ordered the 29th of May, the King’s birthday, to be for ever kept as a day of thanksgiving for our redemption from tyranny, and the King’s return to his Government, he entering London that day.¹⁰

The link between the monarch and the oak is that:

King Charles II hid in an oak tree to escape the Roundheads after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. ¹¹

It’s also celebrated in Castleton in Derbyshire. The picture below is the Castleton Oak Appple Day ‘Garlanded Man’¹². The Garlanded Man is dressed in Stuart clothes, but he clearly recalls various nature symbols – the Green Man and Jack in the Green ¹³

There is an element of ‘this sort of stuff’ in Great Wishford too. A ‘marriage bough’ is taken from the forest and hung over the church. The Wiltshire Council website says that this is ‘to bring good luck to couples marrying there in the coming year’¹⁴.

The Great Wishford website¹⁵ mentioned above goes so far as to use the phrase ‘Oak Apple day pagan celebrations’¹⁶.

Footnotes

1. Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB Historic Landscape Wesbite: HLCA 06
2. ‘Wiltshire Place Names’, Richard Tomkins, Red Brick Publishing 1983, p57
3. Wiltshire Place-names: Their Origins and Meanings (Amazon Link), Martyn J. Whittock, Countryside Books (23 Oct 1997) ISBN-10: 1853064866 ISBN-13: 978-1853064869
4. Online Etymology Dictionary
5. Oak Apple Day Celebrations in Barkby | Syston Town News
6. BBC – Wiltshire – Moonraking – Oak Apple Day
7. In the past, largely I think before the agricultural revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries, land was sometimes seen as private for some parts of the year and open to common usage at others – the local place name ‘Petersfinger‘ is derived from this custom as it applied in the area.
8. Wiltshire Council – Wiltshire Community History Get Community Information
9. great wishford, wiltshire, community website – history of the village, oak apple day, local events and activities, business directory
10. Friday 1 June 1660 (Pepys’ Diary)
11. Oak Apple Day Celebrations in Barkby | Syston Town News
12. The picture is a scan of a photo by Simon Garbutt. His Wikpedia name is ‘SiGarb’ and his Wikipedia contributor page is User:SiGarb – Wikipedia. I’m really grateful to people like Mr Garbutt who post great stuff on Wikipedia and allow people like me to re-use it.
13. The same photographer that captured the Garlanded Man has a picture of a Jack in the Green at File:Kingston Jack in the Green.jpg – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jack In the Green is not connected with Kingship or Oak Apples, as far as I’m aware.
14. Wiltshire Council – Wiltshire Community History Get Community Information
15. great wishford, wiltshire, community website – history of the village, oak apple day, local events and activities, business directory
16. While I understand what the author is getting at, I personally don’t think it’s quite right to use the word ‘pagan’ in this context. I think a reverence for nature and fertility is part of many religions

I had assumed Guilder Lane’s name was a reference to the Guilds that played a big part in Salisbury’s life up until the 20th Century.

However, the Victoria . . . → Read More: Guilder Lane, Salisbury]]> Guilder Lane is in the centre of Salisbury – it’s the road that runs between Milford Hill and Winchester Street, just inside the ring road.

I had assumed Guilder Lane’s name was a reference to the Guilds that played a big part in Salisbury’s life up until the 20th Century.

However, the Victoria County History of Wiltshire says that:

Guilder Lane was known as Gelderland in the 16th and 17th centuries; (fn. 4) the street includes a group of 16th-century timberframed cottages with overhanging first floors (nos. 2–14), and a brick warehouse or workshop of the 18th century. ¹

Gelderland is a province of the Netherlands. The main town in Gelderland is Arnhem, most famous in this country for the Battle of Arnhem in World War II.

The name Gelderland itself was named after the German town of Geldern² – it was part of the Duchy of Geldern³.

So, why would a road in Salisbury have the same name as a Dutch province?

To be honest, I have no idea. I’m not aware of any significant Dutch community in Salisbury at any time. The VCH has references to a Dutch tailor occupying the Bishop’s Palace under Cromwell’s rule and to Dutch prisoners being kept in the Cloisters in 1653, but apart from that there’s no mention of people from Holland.

Perhaps, the name ‘Gelderland’ was a reference to something else?

Footnotes

1. ‘Salisbury: St Edmund’s parish’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 83-85. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41786 Date accessed: 18 November 2011
2. Gelderland (province, Netherlands) — Britannica Online Encyclopedia
3. English – Provincie Gelderland

It’s taken almost . . . → Read More: H is for….]]> For the past three or four years, I’ve been trying to work out the reason for each of Salisbury’s road names. I’ve just finished writing up all the roads which begin with the letter ‘H’ – I’m going in reverse alphabetic order, for reasons that are lost in the mists of time.

It’s taken almost 9 months, and 20580 words. The subjects have varied from Bishops, to trees and birds, to an American University to London.

• Hampton Court, Quidhampton – references both Quidhampton and Hampton Court Palace. And the Two Ronnies more…
• Harcourt Terrace and Harcourt Bridge Road, Salisbury – probably named after the 18th Century gentleman, William Harcourt. Not the 18th politician William Harcourt. more…
• Hare Warren Close, Wilton – mentioned by Daniel Defoe more…
• Harnham Road, Harnham – ‘Harnham’ means either hares, or meadows or a bend in the river, or an armoury more…
• Harnwood Road, Harnham – derived from Harnham. Harnwood House was built by John Wordsworth, and became a TB hospital more…
• Harper Road, Salisbury – could be named after Sir George Montague Harper more…
• Hartington Road, Salisbury – no idea more…
• Hartley Way, Salisbury – still no idea more…
• Harvard Close, Harnham – on the site of the American WW2 hospital set up by Harvard University, which became the Common Cold Research Unit more…
• Hastings Court, Salisbury – don’t know more…
• Hatches Lane, Salisbury – ‘hatches’ could be ‘gates’ or something to do with managing the rivers more…
• Hathaway Close, Stratford-sub-Castle – Shakespeare’s wife. more…
• Hawks Ridge, Harnham – the Ridings Mead estate has a theme of birds more…
• Hawthorn Close, Salisbury – I don’t know whether there are Hawthorns in Hawthorn Close more…
• Hazel Close, Salisbury – fits in with the local theme of trees and plants more…
• Heath Road, Salisbury – either leading to, or a part of Bemerton Heath more…
• Helena Terrace, Salisbury – who was Helena? I don’t know. more…
• Hedley Davis Court, Salisbury – nor have I been able to find out who Hedley Davis was more…
• Herbert Road, Salisbury – either named after the Herbert family of Wilton House or the Bemerton poet George Herbert more…
• Heronswood, Harnham – another Ridings Mead road named after a bird more…
• Highbury Avenue, Salisbury – named after Highbury in London more…
• Highfield Road, Salisbury – possibly a description of the location. It’s high up Devizes Road more…
• Highlands Road, Harnham – Highlands Road is ‘high’ on Harnham Hill more…
• High Street, Salisbury – Salisbury’s most important road? more…
• Hill Road, Laverstock – on Burroughs Hill more…
• Hilltop Way, Salisbury – on top of the hill that separates the Avon and the Bourne valleys. Old Sarum and Hudsons field on one side, Bishopdown on the other more…
• Hillview Road, Salisbury – on Milford Hill more…
• Hoadley Garden, Salisbury – named after Bishop Hoadley, the radical ‘anti-prelatical prelate’ more…
• Hog Lane, Salisbury – old name for part of Salt Lane more…
• Hollows Close, Wilton – unsure about Hollows Close more…
• Homington Road, Salisbury – the road to Homington more…
• Hudson Road, Salisbury – named after John Hudson, Mayor of Salisbury 1926-1927 more…
• Hulse Road, Salisbury – named after the Hulses of Breamore. Edith Hulse was Salisbury’s first woman Mayor more…