I’m not sure whether it was a bridge over the River Bourne or the River Avon, since the Bourne joins the Avon in this area.

The bridge seems . . . → Read More: Mutton Bridge, Milford]]> Mutton Bridge is, as far as I know, a name that is no longer used. Mutton Bridge was close to the Southampton Road, to the South East of Salisbury.

I’m not sure whether it was a bridge over the River Bourne or the River Avon, since the Bourne joins the Avon in this area.

The bridge seems to be alternatively know as ‘Dairyhouse Bridge’. A Salisbury District Council Document has a reference to ‘A quantity of coarse hand-made pottery including a grass tempered ware bowl was found at a point to the south of Dairyhouse Bridge (Muttons Bridge) in 1860

Visiting Salisbury?

For accommodation, see the Hotels in Salisbury page.

All three roads are named after the River Nadder, which starts near Shaftesbury then joins the . . . → Read More: Nadder Terrace, Salisbury, Nadder Terrace, Wilton and Nadder Lane, Quidhampton]]> There is a Nadder Terrace in Churchfields, to the west of Salisbury, and another in Wilton which is a small town about three miles from Salisbury city centre. Nadder Lane is in Quidhampton, close to where the Nadder meets the Wylye.

All three roads are named after the River Nadder, which starts near Shaftesbury then joins the Wylye near Nadder Lane at Quidhampton, and then joins the Avon in Salisbury.

According to Rex Sawyer in his book ‘Nadder – Tales of a Wiltshire Valley’:

The Nadder derives its name from the Saxon naedre meaning a snake.¹

Etymology of the word ‘Nadder’

Nadder is, actually, an older version of today’s ‘adder’.

The ‘n‘ in the phrase ‘a nadder’ migrated from the start of the word ‘nadder’ to the end of the word ‘an’.

This process seems to be much discussed by linguists. Mervin R. Barnes calls it the ‘nasal shift’ in a paper called ‘A nadder/An adder: The nasal shift’ ².

As Mr Barnes notes, the ‘n’ can shift in either direction:

An ewt –> a newt
A napron –> an apron
An otch –> a notch
An ekename –> a nickname ³

Other examples include:

A numpire –> an umpire
a neilond –> an island
a narawe –> an arrow
a noke –> an oak
a nappyle –> an apple⁴

Why is the river called ‘The Nadder’?

The obvious reason for the river being named the ‘Nadder’ is that it twists about like a snake.

I’m sure this is true – I think it’s mentioned in Rex Sawyer’s book – but I don’t find it entirely satisfying. This sits alongside the derivation of ‘ham‘ to mean a bend in the river, as in ‘Harnham’. My problem with these definitions are they aren’t, in a sense, very definitive. All rivers are a bit like snakes – they are longer than they are wide and they tend to twist and turn. At any given point you aren’t far from a bend in the river.

I would be interested to know whether any other rivers have names which are derived from words for snake.

The adder

The adder is the only poisonous snake in the UK.

Deaths from adder bites are rare – at the time of writing nobody has died from an adder bite in Britain for 20 years ⁵. However, it can take up to a year to fully recover from an adder bite ⁶

They eat small rodents, lizards and frogs – annually they eat ‘the equivalent of 9 voles each year’⁷

The adder’s lifespan is probably up to 20 years.

The biblical snake in the Garden of Eden is described as an adder in old English versions of the bible. ⁸

Going to stay in Salisbury

For accommodation, see the Hotels in Salisbury page.

Footnotes

1. Nadder. Tales of a Wiltshire Valley Rex Sawyer, Hobnob Press, 2006. Page 2
2. SpringerLink – Journal Article
3. SpringerLink – Journal Article
4. Online Etymology Dictionary
5. Forestry Commission – Adder
6. Vipera berus – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
7. Forestry Commission – Adder
8. 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Adder – Wikisource

The names of the roads on the estate have a rural theme – the other roads are Silverwood Drive, Westfield Close, and Woodland Way.

The word ‘paddock’ usually means: A small enclosure or field of grassland, especially for horses.1

…but it is also an . . . → Read More: Paddock Way, Laverstock]]> Paddock Way is on a small estate in Laverstock, a village to the East of Salisbury.

The names of the roads on the estate have a rural theme – the other roads are Silverwood Drive, Westfield Close, and Woodland Way.

The word ‘paddock’ usually means:

A small enclosure or field of grassland, especially for horses.¹

…but it is also an Old English word for frog or toad ², as at the start of Shakespeare’s Macbeth ³, where one of the witch’s familiars is a toad called ‘Paddock’⁴.

Visiting Salisbury?

For accommodation, see the Hotels in Salisbury page.

Footnotes

1. paddock – Wiktionary
2. Online Etymology Dictionary
3. Macbeth: Entire Play
4. In “Macbeth,” who are Greymalkin and Paddock? – Macbeth – Questions & Answers

The Countryside Access Forum identifies it as being:

Piggy Lane, starting north east end of Laverstock and Ford 27 and continuing north . . . → Read More: Piggy Lane, Milford]]> Piggy Lane in Laverstock is referred to in a Salisbury District Council document on the development of Duck Lane ¹ and in a list of public rights of way created by the Countryside Access Forum ².

The Countryside Access Forum identifies it as being:

Piggy Lane, starting north east end of Laverstock and Ford 27 and continuing north east to the road 012010 opposite Midford Farm at grid reference SU 159 296
Approximate length 45m.
Width minimum of 5 m.

…whereas the Council report notes its omission from a map

between Milford Mill Road and Southampton Road

I think Piggy Lane is a track which connects Petersfinger Road to the Southampton Road. This doesn’t quite square with the two descriptions above – next time I’m in the area I’ll investigate.

Footnotes

1. duck-lane-db-consultation.pdf (application/pdf Object)
2. Rights of Way in the parish of Laverstock