Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 3.djvu/320

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. m. APML 22, m

vises Esing, Esa wses Inguing, Ingui Angen- witing," from 'A.-S. Chron.,' A.D. 547. The fantastical changes which such a constituent of a place-name may pass into can be seen in the variations of Bermingaham, as it appears in a charter of Henry VIII., ' Monast. Ang.,' i. 442, in the name of a witness : ' An His- torical Curiosity. One Hundred and Forty- one Ways of spelling Birmingham ' (Lond., 1880). ED. MAESHALL.

The querist should read CANON TAYLOR'S termination -ington and -ingham. In North- umberland, by the way, as the late Alex- ander J. Ellis once told me, the latter of these allied endings is always pronounced with g soft ; thus Bellingham, Ovingham, Whitting- ham, are called Bellinjam, Ovinjam, Whittin- jam. May not this explain why Brummagem and Birmingham exist side by side as alter- natives 1 We must suppose that when the ancients wrote Birmingham they intended to represent the sound Birminjam.
 * Words and Places ' for a full account of the

JAS. PLATT, Jun.

Surely the derivation should not be far to seek. I have always understood that such family names originated from the home of those who first assumed them. Nothing- seems more natural ; and the names of fami- lies such as Wellington, Ermington, Bensing- ton, Kensington, &c., appear to have had this origin. And the late J. R, Green, in the first chapter of his ' Short History,' explains how the places obtained their names : " Harling abocfe by Harling, arid Billing by Billing ; and each ' wick,' or ' ham,' or ' stead,' or ' tun ' took its name from the kinsmen who dwelt together in it. The home or 'ham' of the Billings would be Billingham, and the ' tun ' or township of the Harlings would be Harl- ington." So in early days were many places named ; and conversely in later centuries, when men began to adopt surnames, family names becoming necessary for purposes of distinc- tion, men took their names from the towns or villages in which they dwelt or from which they had migrated. MR. FOSTER would do well to peruse the Rev. C. W. Bardsley's nifications ' (Chatto & Windus).
 * English Surnames : their Sources and Sig-

FRED. C. FROST, F.S.I.

Teignmouth.

The English place-names in -ton, -ington, and sixty other endings are tabulated in Phil. Soc. Trans., 1880, p. 8G, in a paper by W. R. Browne. WALTER W. SKEAT.

ST. GLAIRS OF HERDMANSTOUN (9 th S. iii. 89). O. M. will find an account of the above

family in the peerages of Burke, Foster, and Douglas, under Sinclair, Lord Sinclair. John St. Glair the younger of Herdmanstoun married in 1659 Catherine, sole heiress of John, sixth Lord Sinclair, and their son Henry, in consideration of the antiquity, fidelity, and singular services of the family, and the loss suffered by the sixth earl in the late civil war, was allowed to succeed to the title. JOHN RADCLIFFK

RELICS OF CHARLES I. (8 th S. vi. 226, 315 ; 9 th S. ii. 513 ; iii. 130). By way of addition to my notes at the last reference, may I be allowed to add that I presume the following paragraph refers to No. 444 in the Catalogue of the Stuart Exhibition ?

" Yesterday, at Sotheby's, Messrs. Spink & Son bought a coin for the record price of 770/. The value of the coin lies in the fact that it was pre- sented by Charles I. to Bishop Juxoii during the last scene in the eventful life of the unfortunate monarch." Daily Mail, 17 Nov., 1896.

Amongst the information given in the Stuart Exhibition Catalogue concerning No. 375, the " silver alarum clock," it is said that it bears the maker's name, " Edwardus East, Londini." I judge, therefore, that in the following extract from the Exchequer Rolls in the Public Record Office (see 1 N. & Q.,' 2 nd S. vii. 162) this article is referred to :

"Paid unto Edward East, Watchmaker, for a watch going thirty hours, with two gold cases and a cheque, 28Z. ; and for a great silver clock, striking the hours and quarters upon several bells, 26/. by order 4 Decem., 1647. 54?."

Since the above was written a friend has sent me a copy of the Rambler of 10 Dec., 1898. On p. 127 is a very good illustration of the " sky-coloured vest " from a photograph " taken by Mr. Stevens just before the sale." JOHN T. PAGE.

West Haddon, Northamptonshire.

At the last reference it is said 'The Secret) History of Whitehall ' is bound up and paged, with ' The Tragical History of the Stuarts. | My copy (London, R, Baldwin, 1697) consistH of two volumes, the first devoted wholly tc| ' The Secret History ' and preface, the otl a continuation of ' The Secret History ' ale with ' The Tragical History of the Stuai but not paged with the second part of ' T Secret History.' I find some difficulty making a satisfactory deduction from what said by KILLIGREW," in which he points want of faith on his part in ' The Seer History,' arid yet indicates a certain relianc on ' Th'e Tragical History of the Stuarts,' an ? then seemingly casts a doubt on the author':, statement with respect to the "wastcoat., We are further told that there is nothing t<!