The river at Mill Lane, Stratford

There seem to have been a number of mills, at different times, in the Stratford . . . → Read More: Mill Lane and Millers Close, Stratford]]>

The river at Mill Lane, Stratford

There seem to have been a number of mills, at different times, in the Stratford area.

In Stratford in the 13th Century there were at least two mills, one belonging to the bishop and the other belonging to the Prior of St Deny.

In 1353, there was a mill called ‘Colemans Mill’ in an area called ‘Newton Westgate’¹. As far as I can tell, ‘Newton Westgate’ was Stratford. It is believed to have been a name for the ‘Western suburbs of Old Sarum’². Given that you need the water to power a mill, my guess is that the suburbs must have been Stratford.

In 1549 the mills were leased by William Herbert, who was to become Earl of Pembroke

Between 1709 and 1716, the mills were leased by Robert Pitt.

In 1773, there was a single ‘Stratford Mill’

In 1637, there was a fulling mill and a grist mill.

In 1920 the mill was owned and used by the Stonehenge Woollen Industry. After that it was run as a ‘bone mill’, possibly linked to the abbatoir that gave Stink Pot Alley its name, until it was shut down in 1933.

Visiting Salisbury?

For accommodation, see the Hotels in Salisbury page.

Footnotes

1. ‘Salisbury: Bridges, bars, gates and mills’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 87-90. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41788 Date accessed: 14 September 2009.
2. Wiltshire County Council – Wiltshire and Swindon Sites and Monument Record Information

Rather pleasingly, in a perverse sort . . . → Read More: Mill Stream Approach, Salisbury]]> There are five mill-related road names in the Salisbury area, ¹

• Millbrook which skirts the northern bit of the Godolphin school
• Mill Road which is the road that loops from the train station around past Queen Elizabeth Gardens to Crane Bridge Road.
• Mill Lane and the adjacent Millers Close, in Stratford and
• Mill Stream Approach

Rather pleasingly, in a perverse sort of way, none of these I think, relate to the existing ‘mills’ in the city.

Mill Stream Approach

The Mill Stream, Salisbury

It crosses both the Avon and a smaller stream which branches off from the Avon itself, just upstream from Mill Stream Approach. The stream runs down by the car park, before ‘disappearing’ under the shops near Sainsburys. It re-appears next to the Maundrel Hall (now the Slug and Lettuce), but it’s not very easy to see.

The Town Mills

There are references to various mills in the Victoria County History of Wiltshire.

In the Domesday Book ² the Bishop of Salisbury’s estate contained four and a half mills

There are references to various mills in the 13th and 14th centuries. The VCH says that there were mills ‘above Fisherton Bridge’, known as the Bishop’s Mills or Town Mills.

In the 18th Century there were two mills – a grist mill near Fisherton Bridge, and a tucking mill to the North of that. A grist mill is a mill that crushes grain ³. A tucking, or fulling, mill is a cloth mill – felt was pounded with hammers to increase its thickness ⁴.

I would assume the grist mill is the building which now hosts the ‘Bishops Mill’ pub. In 1865, the grist mill was used for the processing of tobacco, but was converted into a power station by ‘the Salisbury Electric Light and Supply Company’ in 1899. The pub opened at some time in the 1990s.

The tucking mill of Mill Stream Approach

Mill Stream Approach, location of old tucking mill and swimming pool

This implies that the tucking mill is the derivation of the name of Mill Stream Approach – Mill Stream Approach is to the North of the current Bishops Mill, and it crosses a stream which is to the west of the Avon (assuming the Avon is the main stream).

Further to this, though, according to the Victoria County History, the tucking mill was still there in 1860, but was demolished when a swimming pool was built in 1874. I’m just about old enough to have used that swimming pool in the 1960s, and that was in Mill Stream Approach. It was the opposite the coach station, on the left as you look towards Castle Street.

Visiting Salisbury?

For accommodation, see the Hotels in Salisbury page.

Footnotes

1. excluding ‘Milford’
2. ‘Salisbury: Bridges, bars, gates and mills’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 87-90. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41788 Date accessed: 14 September 2009.
3. grist – definition of grist by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
4. Fulling – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
5. ‘Salisbury: Bridges, bars, gates and mills’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 87-90. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41788 Date accessed: 14 September 2009.

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 derivation of the word ‘Netheravon’ in itself is fairly clear. ‘Nether’ is derived from the Old English ‘neotherra‘, meaning ‘lower’, as in ‘Netherlands’, or ‘nether . . . → Read More: Netheravon Road and Netheravon Close, Salisbury]]> Netheravon Close and Netheravon Road are both in the northern part of Salisbury. They are at the southern end of the ridge that runs from Salisbury itself to Old Sarum.

Netheravon Etymology

The derivation of the word ‘Netheravon’ in itself is fairly clear. ‘Nether’ is derived from the Old English ‘neotherra‘, meaning ‘lower’, as in ‘Netherlands’, or ‘nether regions’. ‘Avon’ is a reference to the River Avon, ‘Avon’ being a Celtic word for ‘river’. ¹

Netheravon Road does not lead to Netheravon

The slight puzzle with the name of Netheravon Road, is that you would expect it to lead in the direction of Netheravon village, but it doesn’t. As you should be able to see if you zoom around on the embedded map, Netheravon Road runs roughly East to West. Netheravon village is roughly north of Salisbury, and of Netheravon Road.

Most roads which are named after relatively local places tend to lead in their general direction. The Wilton Road runs towards Wilton, the Old Shaftesbury Drove runs towards Shaftesbury, and the Odstock Road goes to Odstock.

Whichever end of the Netheravon Road you stand, the quickest way to walk to Netheravon probably wouldn’t be to walk along Netheravon Road.

So why is it called Netheravon Road?

It could be a reference to the fact that the road is in the direction of the lower Avon – ‘lower’ here would be in comparison to anywhere up river, such as, Amesbury, or indeed the village of Netheravon.

This doesn’t quite ring true though. Netheravon Road looks to me as if it was created in the 1950s. A reference to the ‘lower Avon’ would seem a bit obscure. On the other hand, it seems confusing to name a road after a place that it does not lead to.

I don’t know why the Netheravon Road is so named. Perhaps it’s a surname? If you know the answer please leave a comment.

View Larger Map

Netheravon village

Netheravon village itself is, as mentioned, to the North of Salisbury. It is about 5 miles further North than Stonehenge. It stands in distinction to Upavon, which is, obviously enough, further up river.

It is probably best known today for the parachuting at RAF Netheravon ², for the Dovecote, which is now owned by English Heritage ³, and the fact Sydney Smith was the vicar of Netheravon in the 18th century.

Sydney Smith

Sydney Smith was vicar of Netheravon from 1794 to 1797. He was known as an essayist and wit. He is very quotable.

Here are some of his thoughts.

Sydney Smith on getting things done

Heaven never helps the men who will not act.

It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little – do what you can.

There is one piece of advice, in a life of study, which I think no one will object to; and that is, every now and then to be completely idle – to do nothing at all.

Whatever you are by nature, keep to it; never desert your line of talent. Be what nature intended you for and you will succeed.

A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men whose timidity prevented them from making a first effort.

Sydney Smith on reading and writing

Live always in the best company when you read.

In composing, as a general rule, run your pen through every other word you have written; you have no idea what vigor it will give your style.

Sydney Smith on knowledge

Errors to be dangerous must have a great deal of truth mingled with them. It is only from this alliance that they can ever obtain an extensive circulation.

Never try to reason the prejudice out of a man. It was not reasoned into him, and cannot be reasoned out.

What you don’t know would make a great book.

Have the courage to be ignorant of a great number of things, in order to avoid the calamity of being ignorant of everything.

Sydney Smith on behaviour

Manners are like the shadows of virtues, they are the momentary display of those qualities which our fellow creatures love and respect.

Never give way to melancholy; resist it steadily, for the habit will encroach.

Never talk for half a minute without pausing and giving others a chance to join in.

You must not think me necessarily foolish because I am facetious, nor will I consider you necessarily wise because you are grave.

He had occasional flashes of silence, that made his conversation perfectly delightful.

Find fault when you must find fault in private, and if possible sometime after the offense, rather than at the time.

Sydney Smith’s salad poem

Sydney Smith also composed this poem for a recipe for salad, which was widely reproduced:

Two boiled potatoes strained through a kitchen sieve,
Softness and smoothness to the salad give;
Of mordant mustard take a single spoon,
Distrust the condiment that bites too soon!
Yet deem it not, thou man of taste, a fault
To add a double quantity of salt.
Four times the spoon with oil of Lucca crown,
And twice with vinegar procured from town;
True taste requires it and your poet begs
The pounded yellow of two well-boiled eggs.
Let onion’s atoms lurk within the bowl
And, scarce suspected, animate the whole,
And lastly in the flavoured compound toss
A magic spoonful of anchovy sauce.
Oh, great and glorious! Oh, herbaceous meat!
‘Twould tempt the dying Anchorite to eat,
Back to the world he’d turn his weary soul
And plunge his fingers in the salad bowl.

Visiting Salisbury?

For accommodation, see the Hotels in Salisbury page.

Footnotes

1. A. D. MILLS. “Netheravon.” A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 8 Jun. 2009 .
2. Reference to come
3. Reference to come

I don’t know whether the mechanism that controls the flow of the water from the Avon into the Summerlock stream would be called a . . . → Read More: Summerlock Approach SP2]]> Summerlock is the name of the stream that runs from the Avon at the Meadows (near Ashley Road¹), alongside the Waitrose and Central car parks then alongside Waters Road into Queen Elizabeth Gardens².

I don’t know whether the mechanism that controls the flow of the water from the Avon into the Summerlock stream would be called a ‘Lock’. The word ‘lock’ would typically bring to mind the more elaborate systems that are used on canals, but it could be that the ‘lock’ in Summerlock refers to the ‘gate’ which is at the Meadows (the park near the Fire Station), near the children’s play area.

I’d be interested to know how long the Summerlock Stream has been there and whether it is natural or artificial. If you have any idea, please leave a comment.

Footnotes

1. 00240415_Officer_Report.pdf (application/pdf Object)
2. 8792204-03-12 – Engineered or not? A case study of Summerlock Stream Salisbury.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Oak The oak is seen as a tree of great strength – with ‘Hearts of Oak’, which is literally the middle of the oak tree, symbolizing the bravery. The oak is seen as the national tree of England [1], and . . . → Read More: The Oakbournes SP1]]> ‘Oakbournes’ is an invented word, as far as I can tell, made from concatenating ‘oak and ‘bourne’.

Oak
The oak is seen as a tree of great strength – with ‘Hearts of Oak’, which is literally the middle of the oak tree, symbolizing the bravery. The oak is seen as the national tree of England [¹], and famously Charles II is supposed to have hidden in an oak tree at Boscobel, near Wolverhampton.

Bourne
The Oakbournes is on the Bishopdown Farm estate, and therefore in the Bourne valley – Bourne derives from the Saxon word for river – ‘burna’.

Footnotes

1. Icons - A portrait of England

Wilton is famous for the following:

. . . → Read More: Wilton Road SP2]]> The Wilton Road leads to Wilton, obviously enough. The name Wilton itself derives from the river Wylye.

Wilton is famous for the following:

• carpets. The pub sign below shows somebody har at work on a carpet loom
• being the ancient capital of Wessex.
  It was an important place before the rise of Salisbury
• being the home of the Earls of Pembroke

The Wilton pub sign