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Place Names |
| Place Name | Etymology |
| Westminster | West Monastery |
| Thames | The oldest place name in Britain. From the ancient
TAMESIS |
| Kent | An ancient Celtic name, first recorded in 51 BC in the Latinised form of Cantium. The most likely interpretation is probably ‘coastal region’, although ‘land of the armies’ has also been suggested. |
| Canterbury | Known as Cantwaraburg from at least as long ago as 900 and recorded in the Domesday Book as Canterburie, the name of this cathedral seat is a mixture of Celtic and Old English and means, fittingly, ‘stronghold of the people of Kent’.The first element of the place-name is etymologically the same word as ‘Kent’, while the last represents the Old English burh ‘stronghold or fortified town’. Between them was the ‘-wara-’ seen in its earliest spelling, now almost disappeared, which came from the Old English –ware and indicated ‘inhabitants’. |
| Hackney |
The name Hackney originally referred solely to a 5th or 6th century Saxon settlement known as Haca’s eoth meaning well-watered land belonging to Haca, in effect an ‘island’ in the marshes to the east of London. This was probably situated in the area around the later church of St. Augustine (only the tower now remains), in the angle made by the River Lea and Hackney Brook. |
| Bethnal Green |
Name derived from Blithehale or Blythenhale, from the Anglo-Saxon healh, 'angle, nook, or corner' and blithe, 'happy, blithe', or a personal name Blitha. |
| Lilleshall | Linleshelle (Domesday Book) Church of St Al(k)mund and Godebold the priest from the church. Abbey named after Lilleshall Wood. |
| Telford | Telford was originally a 1970's new town, and was named after the engineer Thomas Telford, one of the principal architects of the Industrial Revolution. Telford was conceived and created by the Telford Development Corporation, which was wound up in 1991 when its work was complete. |
