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Question
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What is the meaning/origin of the name Quidhampton?
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Question asked on
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18 December 2003
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Answer
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Quidhampton comes from two Old English words, cwead meaning dirt or dung, and hamtun indicating a farm. The possible meaning is a stock farm that had valuable quantities of manure for pasture and arable land. The early form is Quedhampton, from 1249, which the linguistic experts feel makes it likely that the first element of the name comes from cwead instead of cwidu (cud). There are two Quidhamptons in Wiltshire, the village near Salisbury and an area in the west of Wroughton parish.
Although residents of Quidhampton may not appreciate the meaning of the name at least its origins are hidden in the modern name, unlike the hamlet of Dunge, in western Wiltshire.
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Bibliography
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The place-names of Wiltshire, by J.E.B. Gover, Allen Mawer and F.M. Stenton. CUP 1939
