Page:EB1911 - Volume 09.djvu/445

PLACE-NAMES] 29.94 in., and normally diminishes from south-west to north-east at all seasons, the mean pressure on the south coast being 29.97 and that on the northern border 29.88. The pressure at any given latitude is normally highest in the centre of the country and on the east coast, and lowest on the west coast. The direction of the mean annual isobars shows that the normal wind in all parts of England and Wales must be from the south-west on the west coast, curving gradually until in the centre of the country, and on the east coast it is westerly, without a southerly component. The normal seasonal march of pressure-change produces a maximum gradient in December and January, and a minimum gradient in April; but for every month in the year the mean gradient is for winds from southerly and westerly quarters. In April the gradient is so slight that any temporary fall of pressure to the south of England or any temporary rise of pressure to the north, which would suffice in other months merely to reduce the velocity of the south-westerly wind, is sufficient in that month to reverse the gradient and produce an east wind over the whole country. The liability to east wind in spring is one of the most marked features of the English climate, the effect being naturally most felt on the east coast. The southerly component in the wind is as a rule most marked in the winter months, the westerly component predominating in summer. The west end of a town receives the wind as it blows in fresh from the country at all seasons, and consequently the west end of an English town is with few exceptions the residential quarter, while smoke-producing industries are usually relegated to the east end.

Storms.—On account of the great frequency of cyclonic disturbances passing in from the Atlantic, the average conditions of wind over the British Islands give no idea of the frequency of change in direction and force. The chief paths of depressions are from south-west to north-east across England; one track runs across the south-east and eastern counties, and is that followed by a large proportion of the summer and autumn storms, thereby perhaps helping to explain the peculiar liability of the east of England to damage from hail accompanying thunderstorms. A second track crosses central England, entering by the Severn estuary and leaving by the Humber or the Wash; while a third crosses the north of England from the neighbourhood of Morecambe Bay to the Tyne. While these are tracks frequently followed by the centres of barometric depressions, individual cyclones may and do cross the country in all directions, though very rarely indeed from east to west or from north to south.

Rainfall.—The rainfall of England, being largely due to passing cyclones, can hardly be expected to show a very close relation to the physical features of the country, yet looked at in a general way the relation between prevailing winds and orographic structure is not obscure. The western or mountainous division is the wettest at all seasons, each orographic group forming a centre of heavy precipitation. There are few places in the Western Division where the rainfall is less than 35 in., while in Wales, the Cornwall-Devon peninsula, the Lake District and the southern part of the Pennine Region the precipitation exceeds 40 in., and in Wales and the Lake District considerable areas have a rainfall of over 60 in. In the Eastern Division, on the other hand, an annual rainfall exceeding 30 in. is rare, and in the low ground about the mouth of the Thames estuary and around the Wash the mean annual rainfall is less than 25 in. In the Western Division and along the south coast the driest month is usually April or May, while in the Eastern Division it is February or March. The wettest month for most parts of England is October, the most noticeable exception being in East Anglia, where, on account of the frequency of summer thunderstorms, July is the month in which most rain falls, although October is not far behind. In the Western Division there is a tendency for the annual maximum of rainfall to occur later than October. It may be stated generally that the Western Division is mild and wet in winter, and cool and less wet in summer; while the Eastern Division is cold and dry in winter and spring, and hot and less dry in summer and autumn. The south coast occupies an intermediate position between the two as regards climate. Attention has been called to the fact that the bare rocks and steep gradients which are common in the Western Division allow of the heavy rainfall running off the surface rapidly, while the flat and often clayey lands of the Eastern Division retain the scantier rainfall in the soil for a longer time, so that for agricultural purposes the effect of the rainfall is not very dissimilar throughout the country.

Sunshine.—The distribution of sunshine is not yet fully investigated, but it appears that the sunniest part is the extreme south coast, where alone the total number of hours of bright sunshine reaches an average of more than 1600 per annum. The north-east, including the Pennine Region and the whole of Yorkshire, has less than 1300 hours of sunshine, and a portion of North Wales is equally cloudy. Although little more than a guess, 1375 hours may be put down as approximately the average duration of bright sunshine for England as a whole, which may be compared with 2600 hours for Italy, and probably about 1200 hours for Norway.

For the purpose of forecasting the weather, the meteorological office divides England into six districts, which are known as England N.E., Midland Counties, England East, London and Channel, England N.W. and North Wales, and England S.W. and South Wales.

English place-names are of diverse origin and often extremely corrupt in their modern form, so that the real etymology of the names can often be discovered only by a careful comparison of the modern form with such ancient forms as are to be found in charters, ancient histories, and other early documents. By the aid of these a certain amount of work has been done in the subject, but it is still largely an unworked field. The most satisfactory method of characterizing English place-nomenclature is to deal with it historically and chronologically, showing the influence of the successive nations who have borne sway in this island. The Celtic influence is to be found scattered evenly up and down the country so far as names of rivers and mountains are concerned; in names of towns it is chiefly confined to the west. Roman influence is slight but evenly distributed. English influence is all-pervading, though in the northern and north-midland counties this influence has been encroached upon by Scandinavian influence. Norman influence is not confined to any particular district.

Celtic.—Though scattered notices of towns, cities and rivers in Britain are to be found in various early Roman writers, it is not till the time of Ptolemy (2nd century), who constructed a map of the island, and of the itinerary of Antonine (beginning of the 3rd century) that we have much information as to the cities and towns of Britain. We there learn that the following place-names are ultimately of Celtic origin:—Brougham, Catterick, York, Lincoln (Lindum), Manchester (Mancunium), Doncaster (Danum), Wroxeter (Viroconium), Lichfield (Letocetum), Gloucester (Glevum), Cirencester (Corinium), Colchester (Camulodunum), London, Reculver, Richborough (Rutupiae), Dover, Lymne, Isle of Wight, Dorchester (Durnovaria), Sarum, Exeter (Isca), Brancaster (Branodunum), Thanet. We also have the names of the following rivers:—Eden, Dee, Trent, Yare, Colne, Thames, Kennet, Churne, Exe, Severn, Tamar. Gildas, writing in the 6th century, speaks of the twenty-eight cities of the Britons. Nennius’ Historia Britonum gives what purports to be a list of these cities. Of these, excluding Welsh ones, we may with some certainty identify Canterbury (Caint), Caerleon-on-Usk, Leicester (Lerion), Penzelwood, Carlisle, Colchester, Grantchester (Granth), London, Worcester (Guveirangon), Doncaster (Daun), Wroxeter (Guoricon), Chester (Legion—this is Roman), Lichfield (Licitcsith) and Gloucester (Gloui). Others less certain are Preston-on-Humber and Manchester (Manchguid).

In modern place-names the suffix don often goes back to the Celtic dun, a hill, e.g. Bredon, Everdon, but the suffix was still a living one in Saxon times. Of river-names the vast majority are Celtic (possible exceptions will be named later), and the same is true of mountains and hills. The forests of Wyre, Elmet and Sel (wood), and the districts of the Wrekin and the Peak are probably Celtic.

Roman.—We do not owe entire place-names to Roman influence, with the exception of a few such as Chester, Chester-le-Street (L. strata [via], a road) and Caistor, but Roman influence is to be found in many names compounded of Celtic and Roman elements. The chief of these is the element chester—(L. castrum, a fort), e.g. Ebchester, Silchester, Grantchester. Porchester is entirely Latin, but may not have been formed till Saxon times. The form caster is found in the north and east, under Scandinavian influence, e.g. Tadcaster, Lancaster; and in the south-west and in the midlands we have a group of towns with the form cester:—Bicester, Gloucester, Cirencester, Worcester, Alcester, Leicester, Towcester. Exeter, Wroxeter and perhaps Uttoxeter show the suffix in slightly different form. In names like Chesterton, Chesterford, Chesterholm, Woodchester, the second element shows that the names are of later English or Scandinavian formation. In Lincoln we have a compound of the Celtic Lindum and the Latin colonia.

Saxon.—The chief suffixes of Saxon origin to be found in English place-names are as follows (some of them being also used independently): -burgh, -borough, -bury (O.E. burh, fortified town), e.g. Burgh, Bamborough, Aylesbury, Bury; -bourne, -borne, -burn (O.E. burne, -a, a stream), e.g. Ashbourne, Sherborne, Sockburn; -bridge, e.g. Weybridge, Bridge; -church, e.g. Pucklechurch; -den, -dean (O.E. denu, a valley), e.g. Gaddesden, Rottingdean; -down, -don, -ton (O.E. d&#363;n [Celtic], a hill), e.g. Huntingdon, Seckington, Edington; -ey, -ea, -y (O.E. &#299;g, an island), e.g. Thorney, Mersea, Ely; -fleet (O.E. fleot, an estuary) e.g. Benfleet; -field, e.g. Lichfield; -ford, e.g. Bradford; -ham (O.E. h&#257;m, a home, and hamm, an enclosure); these are not distinguished in modern English, e.g. Bosham, Ham; -hall (O.E. healh, a corner), e.g. Riccall, Tettenhall; -head, e.g. Gateshead; -hill, e.g. Tickhill; -hurst (O.E. hyrst, copse, wood), e.g. Deerhurst; -ing (patronymic suffix, plural form in O.E.), e.g. Basing, Reading; -leigh, -ley, -lea (O.E. l&#275;ah, meadow), e.g. Leigh, Stoneleigh, Whalley; -lade (O.E. l&#257;d, path, course), e.g. Cricklade; -land, e.g. Crowland; -lock (O.E. loca, enclosure), e.g. Porlock; -minster (O.E. mynster, L. monasterium), e.g. Axminster, Minster; -mouth, e.g. Exmouth; -port (O.E. port, market-town, a word of Latin