handbook of the origin of place-names in wales and monmouthshire

Gellyswick. — Another hybrid. Gelly, a grove; wick, a creek or bay. English name— Groveham.Gresholm. — A compound of grass and holm, signifying a grassy island. English name — Grassey.Gomfreston. — So called in honour of Gorm or Gomfre, a Norse settler.Glynderwen. — A compound of clyn, a place covered with brakes, and derwen, oak. English name —Oakton.Goodwick. — Some say it is a corrupted form of the Welsh cotdwig, a forest; but we are inclined to think it isa hybrid name, made up of good, and the Norse wick, a creek or bay. Isaac Taylor is of opinion that theVikings, or " creekers," derived their name from the wics or creeks in which they anchored. In the ninth andtenth centuries the creeks and islands along the Welsh coast, especially those of Pembrokeshire, wereinfested with these marauders. The Anglo-Saxon verb wician means to run a ship on shore, to take up astation, and finally it became to mean a village.Haverfordwest. — The Welsh is Hwlffordd, from hwyl, a sail, and ffordd, a way, a striking appellation to aplace where the sea makes its way into it. Edmunds derives the English name from Gafr-ffordd-gwest, theinn on the goat's road. Haver is rather perplexing. It may be a modification either of the Norse hofn or of thewelsh aber; ford, perhaps, from fjord; and west is probably a differentia added to distinguish it from HerefordEast.Hakin. — Also called Hagin, which is probably a modification of the Danish kagen, a port. CompareCopenhagen. English name — Port.Harroldston. — So called in honour of Harold, a Norse settler, who became the lord of the manor.Henllan. — The name signifies an old church, so called from the supposition that an old chapel of easestood here in ancient times, but whose ruins are not now discernible. English name— Oldchurch.Henry's Moat. — There is a mound called Castell Hendref, the castle of the old town, in the parish,surrounded by a moat, and when the English settled here they attempted a translation of the name, reducingHendref to Henry, and Castell to moat ; hence Henry's Moat. English name — Old Castleton.Harburston. — From Herbrandt, the name of a Fleming, who, soon after the Conquest, fixed his abode atthat place.Honeyborough. — Honey is probably a corruption of Hogni, the name of a Viking, who settled here soonafter the Conquest; or, perhaps, it is from Hunna, a chiefs name. We find Honeybourne, Hunna's Brook, inWorcestershire. Some think it was so called because honey was so largely made here in olden times.Hearston. — So called in honour of Hearn, a Norse settler.Hodgeston. — A modification of Oggeston or Hoggeston probably from some Norse chief called Ugga.Hubberston. — So called in honour of Rubber, or Hubba, a Norman warrior, who, with his brother Hingua,led the Norsemen in that great invasion of 866. His name is also preserved in Hubberst, Derbyshire; andprobably in Ubbeston, Somerset.Hungerston. — From Hingwar,' the companion of Ubba, 866.Jameston. — So named in honour of James, a Fleming who took refuge here after the submersion ofFlanders in the year 1110.Jeffreston. — From Jeffrey, another of the settlersof Anglia Transwallia. Jeffrey or Geoffrey is probablya Norman corruption of God fred, the good peace, or God's peace.Johnstown. — Named in honour of John, an English nobleman, it is supposed, of the twelfth century.Keston. — Probably from Kessa or Cissa, a Norman.Origin of Place-names in Wales & Monmouthshire Page 90