Part 10

=Dalston= is properly _Daleston_, or Vale-town. This was a quiet suburban village situated in a valley during the days when the northern districts of the Metropolis were more or less wooded--as witness =Stoke Newington=, or the new town in the meadow by the wood. The word _Stoke_ comes from the Anglo-Saxon _stoc_, a wood or stockade; _ton_ is the Old English for town, and _ing_ the Anglo-Saxon for a meadow, also a family settlement. =Southgate= is expressive of the southern entrance to the enclosure, anciently known as Enfield Chase; and =Kingsland= the royal domain adjacent to it. =Abney Park= owes its name to ABNEY HOUSE, recently converted into a Conservative Club, but originally the residence of Sir Thomas Abney (born 1639, died 1722), Lord Mayor and a distinguished Nonconformist, knighted by William III. Dr. Isaac Watts died at Abney House in 1748. =Green Lanes= indicates the rural character of this neighbourhood in bygone times. =Edmonton= is properly _Edmond’s-town_. The name of =Ball’s Pond= is all that remains to remind us of the one-time existence of “The Salutation” house of call which had a pond for dog and duck sports, kept by John Ball. =Mildmay Park= is so called after MILDMAY HOUSE, the family seat of Sir Henry Mildmay, who came into possession of the estate by his marriage with the daughter of William Halliday, an Alderman of the City in the time of Charles I. =Muswell Hill= is a slight corruption of _Mustwell Hill_, derived from the Latin _mustus_, new, fresh; because on this hill there was anciently discovered a well of clear, fresh water by the friars of St. John’s Priory, Clerkenwell, who had a dairy hereabouts. That portion of the hill which has been cut through for the construction of the line of railway to Enfield, Barnet, and the north, bears the name of =The Hog’s Back=, in allusion to its shape. The name of =Wood Green= is self-explanatory. =Hornsey= is a corruption of “Harringe,” or meadow of hares. =Canonbury= received its title from the residence of the Prior of the Canons of St. Bartholomew, built in this neighbourhood soon after the Conquest. _Bury_ is Saxon for a town or enclosed habitation, equivalent to the Celtic _don_, and Old English _ton_. In days of old, =Highbury= contained a Priory of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, built in 1271. The establishment was called _High-bury_, because it stood upon higher ground than their previous residence which had borne the name of _Tolentone_, or lower town. =Holloway= reminds us that this was once a miry hollow between Highgate and Islington. =Barnsbury= is a corruption of _Berners-bury_, originally a manor belonging to Lady Juliana Berners, Abbess of St. Albans. =Islington= has always been a favourite suburb in modern times, and even our mediæval ancestors must have been delighted with its situation, lying high and dry beyond the fens and the sloughy neighbourhood of the “old bourne.” Its name signifies “the settlement of the Islings.”

=King’s Cross= derived its name from a wretched statue of George IV., set up in honour of his accession in 1820, and demolished to make way for the London terminus of the Great Northern Railway in 1842. The parish of =St. Pancras= is so called after the church dedicated to the boy-saint who was martyred by Diocletian in the early days of Christianity. =Agar Town=, now entirely swept away by modern improvements, was designated after William Agar, a miserly lawyer who acquired the lease of the land for building purposes in 1840. =Somers Town= is the property of Lord Somers, and =Camden Town=, of the Earl of Camden. =Kentish Town= was formerly written “Kestestown”; but even that was a corruption of “Kantelowes Town,” erected upon the Manor of Kantelowes. The modern spelling of this family name is _Cantlowes_. =Primrose Hill= is still a pleasant eminence whereon primroses grow, despite the encroachments of bricks and mortar all around. =Highgate= is a title expressive of the elevated situation of the village that sprang up around the toll-gate established on the common highway from Barnet to Gray’s Inn Road about the year 1400. =Holly Village=, Highgate, was so called by its foundress, the Baroness Burdett-Coutts-Bartlett, after her residence, Holly Lodge, hard by. =Hampstead= signifies a farmhouse or homestead. The word is Saxon: _ham_, a home, and _stede_, a place. In its wider sense, _ham_ denotes a town. The western slope of Hampstead bears the name of =Frognal=, after Frognal Priory, an ambitious edifice built here by Memory-Corner Thompson (born 1757, died 1843), in imitation of Horace Walpole’s toy village on Strawberry Hill. =Bishop’s Wood=, Hampstead, comprised the private estate of the Bishop of London, at the time when that ecclesiastic resided at Highgate. =Gospel Oak= received its designation from the oak that marked the boundaries of Hampstead and St. Pancras, and under which, in accordance with an ancient custom, the Gospel was read once a year. John Whitfield is said to have preached under this oak. =Chalk Farm= is a corruption of “Chalcot Farm,” a picturesque farmhouse in whose vicinity duels were usually fought during the century gone by. =St. John’s Wood= was anciently a thickly wooded district sheltering an “Abbey of the Holy Virgins of St. John the Baptist.” =Kilburn= owes its name to the _Kil_, the Celtic word for a cell, occupied by “one Godwyne, a holy hermit,” beside the _bourne_, or brook. =Maida Vale= was so called in commemoration of the Battle of Maida, in which the English defeated the French, July 4, 1806. =Marylebone= does not signify “Mary the Good,” as the majority of Londoners imagine, but “St. Mary of the Bourne,” alluding to the church of St. Mary within sight of the bourne that ran from the hermit’s cell at _Kilbourne_ down to =Tyburn=, or rather _Twa-burne_; so called because two different bournes, or streams, met in the neighbourhood where the Marble Arch now stands.

The name of =Bayswater= has undergone considerable change from the original. Not so very long ago the whole of this district was known as =Bayswater Fields=; during the last century it bore the name of “Bear’s Watering,” and previously that of _Baynard’s Watering_. By the last was meant the land dotted with pools held from the Manor of Westminster, by Ralph Baynard, the favourite of William the Conqueror, who resided at BAYNARD’S CASTLE, at Blackfriars, on the north bank of the Thames. These pools, together with the Tyburn were converted into what is now styled the SERPENTINE, owing to its form, in 1733. =Paddington=, originally written _Padynton_, was the settlement or town of the Pædings, a branch of the family who originally established themselves at, and gave their name to, _Padendene_, in Surrey. =Westbourne Park= derived its name from the west bourne, or stream, that wended its way from the hermit’s cell at “Kilbourne,” in the direction of the “Baynard’s Watering,” and thence, after passing under Fulham (or Knights’) Bridge, emptied itself into the Thames. =Notting Hill= is a corruption of _Knolton Barn (Hill)_, a manor held by the De Veres, and subsequently by Robert Fenroper, an Alderman of the City, in the reign of Henry VIII. The name of =Shepherd’s Bush= once more puts us in mind of the pastoral character of the environs of London in the days gone by. =Acton= is an Anglo-Saxon name for “Oak town,” signifying the town built in the vicinity of the large Oak Forest. =Gunnersbury= denotes the town, or enclosed habitation, named after Gunylda, the niece of King Canute, who resided here during the Danish occupation of England. =Kew= was anciently described in documents as _Kay-hoo_, meaning a quay situated on a _hoo_, or _hoe_, the Scandinavian for a spit of land. =Brentford= signifies the ford over the Brent, a tributary of the Thames that takes its rise near Hendon. =Isleworth= means a manor beside the water. The first portion of the word comes from the Celtic, _Isis_, water; the second is Anglo-Saxon for a manor. =Staines= owes its name to the boundary stone (Saxon _stane_, a stone) by the river, which displays the words “God preserve the City of London.” The date of this stone is 1280. =Kingston= was designated after the King’s stone, now preserved within railings near the Town Hall, upon which the Saxon monarchs sat to be anointed. =Shepperton= is Old English for _Shepherd’s Town_, or the abode of shepherds. The name of =Twickenham= denotes a hamlet situated between two tributaries of the Thames. =Richmond= was anciently known as =Sheen=, a Saxon term for “resplendent,” in allusion to the palace erected by Edward I. When Henry VII. rebuilt the palace, after its destruction by fire in 1479, he changed the name of the village to Richmond, in perpetuation of his title of Earl of Richmond prior to ascending the throne. This king died here in 1509.

=Chiswick= is a corruption of “Cheoselwick,” derived from the Anglo-Saxon _ceosel_, sand, gravel, and the Teutonic _wick_, a reach, from the root waes, a moist meadow. =Hammersmith= was originally _Hammersmeide_, a Saxon village distinguished for the number of its smithies. The forename, _Hammer_, is Scandinavian for a village or small town. =Kensington= derived its name, or rather that of _Kynsington_, the Saxon for King’s meadow, with the Old English suffix _ton_, a town, from a royal residence erected here in very early times. =Brompton= was so called from the broom-trees that grew in the neighbourhood of this healthy _ton_ or town. =Chelsea= is described in old documents as “Chevelsey,” meaning shingle island. The first portion of the word claims the same etymology as Chiswick, viz., _ceosel_, sand, gravel; while the suffix _ey_, or _ea_, is also Anglo-Saxon, derived from _oe_, the Scandinavian for running water. These terminals always indicate water, and not unfrequently an island, properly so called; as, for example, Anglesey, the Isle of the Angles. In the case of Hackney the terminal is expressive of a well-watered pasture, as has already been seen; whereas in the cases of Chelsea and Battersea the allusion is not merely to their proximity to the Thames, but to their partial isolation in ancient times from the adjacent land on account of the creeks and inlets of the river. =Battersea=, we may here remark, is described in Domesday Book as “the Manor of Patricesy”; but even this early name was a corruption of Petersey, or St. Peter’s-ey, because it had belonged to the Abbey of St. Peter’s, Westminster, from time out of mind. To return: =Walham Green= denotes a settlement of foreigners; _wal_, being a modification of _wahl_, the Celtic for foreign, and _ham_, the Old English for a home. =Fulham= was formerly written “Fullenhame,” the Anglo-Saxon for a habitation of water-fowl. =Parson’s Green= received its name from the parsonage in connection with Fulham Church that stood here previous to 1740. =Percy Cross=, Fulham, is a corruption of “Parson’s Cross,” referring to a cross on the roof of the parsonage on Parson’s Green. =Putney= was originally “Puttaney,” the Saxon for Putta’s Isle; whereas =Wimbledon= was _Wibbandun_, a Celtic term signifying the _dun_, or hill-fort, belonging to one Wibba. The name of =Wandsworth= denotes a manor watered by the Wandle. =Lambeth= is a corruption of “Loamhithe,” the Anglo-Saxon for haven of the loamy soil. =Vauxhall= is described in a document dated 1282 as the Manor of Faukeshall. As, however, this manor was originally held by Fulke de Breante soon after the Conquest, it is highly probable that the designation was more correctly _Fulke’s Hall_, afterwards corrupted into _Faukeshall_. The present spelling of the name may be traced back to the year 1615, when the Hall, or Manor House, was occupied by Jane Vaux.

=Southwark= is a modification of the Anglo-Saxon “Suthwerk,” and the Danish _Sydrike_, literally the south fortification. During the Danish occupation of England this was a very strong position. =Bermondsey= was anciently written _Beormundsey_, signifying that the _ey_, or strip of land intersected by creeks [_see_ CHELSEA, &c.], belonged to Beormund, a prominent Anglo-Saxon lord. =Horselydown= is properly _Horsadown_, so called because this district was originally a down used for grazing horses. =Walworth= was named in honour of Sir William Walworth, Lord Mayor in 1380, who resided here. The =Borough= recalls the fact that the inhabitants of London south of the Thames were _Burghers_, and, therefore, entitled to the rights and privileges of Corporation.

=Rotherhithe= is Saxon for red haven, alluding to the colour of the soil. The name of =Deptford= indicates the deep ford over the Ravensbourne, which is now spanned by a bridge. =Greenwich= means the green town, or, more precisely, the verdant settlement beside the _wick_, or reach of the river [_see_ CHISWICK]; whereas =Woolwich= was originally _Hylwich_, _i.e._, hill town. The =Isle of Dogs= is a corruption of “Isle of Ducks,” so described in ancient documents on account of the number of wild-fowl always to be found there. =New Cross= derived its name from “The Golden Cross,” a famous old coaching-house, rebuilt and renamed “The New Cross.” =Lewisham= is properly _Leawreham_, or meadow-home. =Blackheath= is a corruption of _Bleakheath_. =Eltham= was formerly written “Ealdham,” the Anglo-Saxon for the old home or dwelling, referring to the palace occupied by the English kings down to the time of James I. =Catford= is a contraction of _Cattleford_, signifying a shallow portion of the Ravensbourne easily forded by cattle. [The University town on the Isis received its present name of OXFORD for a similar reason.] =Beckenham= denotes a home beside the beck or brook. Here again the Ravensbourne comes into notice. =Sydenham= means the home or habitation in the south. The names of =Forest Hill=, =Norwood=, a contraction of Northwood, and =Westwood= remind us that the whole of this district was formerly a large tract of wooded land. =Dulwich= is a corruption of _Dalewich_, the town in the dale. =Honor Oak= owes its designation to the boundary oak, under whose umbrageous shade Queen Elizabeth is said to have dined. =Nunhead= derived its name from “The Nuns’ Head,” a place of holiday resort for Londoners, dating back more than two hundred years. =Peckham= was originally _Beckham_, a home distinguished for its becks or brooks. =Brixton= is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon “Brigestan,” the bridge of stone. =Camberwell= derived its name from a miraculous well discovered close by the parish church dedicated to St. Giles, the patron of cripples. _Cam_ is Celtic for crooked. In this instance the word applies to the cripples, or rather to their patron saint. [On the other hand, the University town of CAMBRIDGE was so called from the bridge over the CAM, a river distinguished for its winding course.] =Stockwell= is in allusion to the well found in the _stoc_, or wooded place, in Anglo-Saxon times. =Kennington= means a settlement in the King’s meadow. One of the palaces of Henry VIII. stood here. =Newington= denotes the new town in the meadow. Finally, the name of =St. George’s Fields= was derived from the neighbouring church of St. George the Martyr.

_BATTLES._

=The Tearless Victory= was the name given by Plutarch to the victory won by Archimadus, King of Sparta, over the Argives and Arcadians in the year 367 B.C. without the loss of a single Spartan soldier. =The Thundering Legion= is the historical designation given to the Roman legion that overthrew the Alemanni in the year 179 A.D., during a thunderstorm, which was supposed to have been sent in answer to the prayers offered up by the Christians. Not only did the storm strike terror into the minds of their enemies, but it also enabled the Romans to relieve their long-protracted thirst. =The Hallelujah Victory= received its name from the battle-cry of the newly-baptized Bretons, who were led to the attack by Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, in the year 429.

=The Battle of the Standard=, fought between the English and the Scots at Northallerton, August 29, 1138, was so called because the standard of the former consisted of a tall crucifix borne upon a wagon. From the crucifix itself there was suspended the Consecrated Host enclosed in a pyx, while floating beneath were the bannerets of SS. Peter, Wilfrid, and John of Beverley. =The Battle of the Herrings= (February 12, 1429) obtained its title from the defeat suffered by the Duc de Bourbon when attempting to intercept a convoy of salted herrings on their way to the English besieging Orleans. =The Battle of Spurs= is the more familiar designation of the Battle of Guinnegate, in which Henry VIII. defeated the Duc de Longueville (August 16, 1513), because the French were said to have used their spurs more than their swords. This event, however, must not be confounded with =The Battle of the Spurs of Gold=, which took place between the French and the Flemish at Courtray, in Belgium, July 11, 1302. In this engagement the French were completely routed, and the spurs of upwards of eight thousand of the vanquished knights were left upon the field. These were collected and preserved as trophies of war in the Church of Notre Dame de Courtray.

The Battle of Marignano (September 13, 1515) also bears the name of =The Battle of the Giants=, owing to the defeat by Francis I., King of France, of 1,200 Swiss Guards, the allies of the Milanese. The Battle of Leipsic (October 16-18, 1813) is known as =The Battle of All the Nations=, because, in addition to signalizing the overthrow of Napoleon and the deliverance of Germany, it was the champion battle of the nations of Europe.

_NOTABLE DAYS AND FESTIVALS._

That =New Year’s Day= is the first day of the recurring year goes without saying. Previous to 1752, when the year commenced on the 25th of March, its four recognized quarters were Whitsuntide, Lammastide, Martinmastide, and Candlemastide; at the present time they are Lady Day, Midsummer, Michaelmas, and Christmas. Let us at once consider the meaning of these terms.

=Whitsuntide= is the season ushered in by =Whit Sunday=, a corruption of =White Sunday=, because, during the primitive ages of the Church, all newly-baptized persons were required to attend Mass in white garments on this day. As every one knows, Whit Sunday commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues. It is highly probable, therefore, that the true meaning of Whit, or White, Sunday remains to be sought in connection with the wisdom symbolized by these fiery tongues. After all, the original spelling of this festival-name may have been Witan Sunday, the Anglo-Saxon for Wisdom Sunday; just as the earliest English parliaments were styled WITANAGEMOTES, or “meetings of the wise men.” But to proceed. =Lammastide= literally signified the season of First Fruits; since on =Lammas Day=, a term compounded out of the Anglo-Saxon _hlaf_, a loaf, and _mœsse_, a feast, (Aug. 1st), it was formerly the custom to offer bread made of new wheat in the churches. =Martinmas Day= (Nov. 4th), latterly corrupted into =Martlemas Day=, denotes the Feast of St. Martin, Bishop of Tours in the fourth century. =Candlemas Day=, or the =Feast of the Purification= (Feb. 2nd), which commemorates the presentation of the Infant in the Temple in accordance with the Jewish Law instituted 1490 B.C., because the early Christians walked in procession to Mass with lighted candles in their hands on this day. This religious observance was introduced by Pope Gelasius in the fifth century, as a literal bearing out of the words spoken by Holy Simeon when he took the child Jesus in his arms: “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people: _A light to lighten the Gentiles_, and the glory of Thy people Israel” (_Luke_ ii. 29-32). It is still the practice in the Roman Catholic Church to make offerings of candles for the use of the altar on this day. =Lady Day= (Mar. 25th) is but another name for the =Feast of the Annunciation=, or the day upon which “the angel of the Lord appeared unto Mary,” and announced that she was to become the Mother of the Son of God. =Midsummer Day= (June 24th) expresses the midday of the year; while =Michaelmas Day= (Sept. 29th) is the Feast of St. Michael, the patron saint of the Roman Catholic Church. As the latter feast falls upon the first day of autumn, the hiring of labourers and domestics in the rural districts takes place at this time. =Christmas Day= is, to put it literally, the Feast Day of Christ, being the anniversary of the Nativity of the Blessed Redeemer.

=Innocents’ Day=, formerly known as =Childermas Day= (Dec. 28th), commemorates the Massacre of the Innocents by Herod. =Twelfth Day= (Jan. 6th), signifying the twelfth day after Christmas Day, bears the ecclesiastical name of the =Epiphany=, from the Greek _Epiphaneia_, a showing or appearance, because on this day the Infant manifested Himself to the Three Wise Men from the East who came to adore Him. In olden times the Feast of the Epiphany was kept with great solemnity in the churches during the day, followed by a festival of a more social character in the evening, thus accounting for the old-fashioned appellation of =Twelfth Night=. The 7th of January was formerly called =Distaff’s Day=, because the Christmas festivities having come to an end with Twelfth Night, the women were expected to return to their distaffs and other regular occupations on this day. Another name for the same occasion was =Rock Day=, _rock_ being the Anglo-Saxon term for a distaff. Similarly, the first Monday after the Epiphany bore the designation of =Plough Monday=, on account of the men returning to the plough and the ordinary labours of the field on this day. =Handsel Monday=, the first Monday in the New Year, was so called by the Anglo-Saxons because then it was that _handsels_, or presents, were bestowed upon domestics and children. To the best of our knowledge the custom no longer exists in any portion of this country; or perhaps it may be more correct to say that its observance has been universally transferred to =Boxing Day= (Dec. 26th), originally so styled from the opening of the various alms-boxes in the churches, and the distribution of their contents, which bore the name of a =Christmas Dole=, to the poor by the clergy on this day. Moreover, since heads of families usually gave their children and domestics small sums of money to drop into the boxes for the latter purpose on Christmas morning, we here trace the origin of the term =Christmas Box=, which nowadays applies to a present received by servants and others during the Christmas season.