BS: UK town names: --caster

Subject: BS: OK town names: --caster
From: michaelr
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 03:24 PM

On my custom Telecaster, I had "Tadcaster" put on the headstock in honor of Samuel Smith's ales. What other places end in --caster?

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: BS: OK town names: --caster
From: michaelr
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 03:25 PM

Sorry, that should be UK, not OK...

Subject: RE: BS: OK town names: --caster
From: greg stephens
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 03:43 PM

Time-honoured Lancaster (Wm Shakespeare).

Subject: RE: BS: OK town names: --caster
From: Mr Sooz
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 03:50 PM

Doncaster

Subject: RE: BS: OK town names: --caster
From: Mr Red
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 03:51 PM

Just about any Roman conurbation

including Caerleon
Worcester Caister ? Chester Uttoxeter pronounced Uchester by locals apparently and............

any more?

Subject: RE: BS: OK town names: --caster
From: Emma B
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 06:46 PM

It was the term for the site of a Roman camp Old English "ceaster" - and don't forget Chesterfield (Derbys) Chester-le-Street (Durham) Manchester and Towcester (pronounced Toaster!)

Subject: RE: BS: OK town names: --caster
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 07:28 PM

Also Welsh Caer so Caerwent, near the Severn Bridge actually translates as Winchester.

Subject: RE: BS: OK town names: --caster
From: John Routledge
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 08:30 PM

Ancaster Malbis ( in Yorkshire)?

Subject: RE: BS: OK town names: --caster
From: michaelr
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 09:29 PM

Well, since it's a play on Fender's guitars, it should be spelled --caster.

Any places with two syllables before the --caster?

Subject: RE: BS: OK town names: --caster
From: Auggie
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 10:08 PM

Surely Cynthia Plaster Caster should have one named after her.

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: MBSLynne
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 02:47 AM

Leicester! (Pronounced Lester, for the Yoosers)

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: GUEST,Raggytash
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 02:54 AM

I find it a "tad" ironic that you have put this on your Guitar when Humphrey Smith, chairman of Sam Smiths is so opposed to live music in his pubs

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 04:09 AM

The Archaeology UK place names search is a good place to try - search on *caster and you get 63 entries (although some are rather similar).

LFF

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 04:10 AM

That last post was me, sans cookie.

LFF

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: greg stephens
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 04:59 AM

Muncaster Castle, just by Ravenglass(Cumbria) is a very fine place.
By the way, I dont speak Welsh but is Caer really a direct translation of Caster/Chester? I didn't know that. I mean, I think all Caster/Chesters are Roman encampments. Does that apply to all Caers?

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: Splott Man
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 11:05 AM

Sian, West Wales will probably have more to say, but these examples seem to fit the bill.

Caerphilly
Caerdydd (Cardiff)
Caerleon
Caerwent
Caernarvon

All have Roman pasts

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: greg stephens
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 11:24 AM

Maybe you're right. I must look at a map.How about Caerlaverock? Was that a Roman place? Could well have been.

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 11:28 AM

Hullcaster.

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: Snuffy
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 11:58 AM

I don't think Caeredin (Welsh for Edinburgh) was a Roman settlement, nor was Cahir in Ireland

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: Tannywheeler
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 12:00 PM

That's "camp", as in a militarily fortified position. A "castle" was a fort first, and a dwelling second. And the person who lived there (was given the place by his superiors) was one who had proved himself a GOOD soldier. In high school English class, during our MacBeth unit, I was assigned the task of looking this stuff up. That was back in 1961. I feel much better now.         Tw

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: Paul Burke
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 12:03 PM

Stratocaster, Sugarcaster...

Worcester is an interesting one- Wicwaraceastre (near enough) is an early version. The Wic bit refers to the Wicca tribe of Anglos Saxons- they gave their name to Wychwood. "wara" just means "inhabitants" or just "people", so the origin is "the chester of the people of the Wicca".

I've often wondered if the Wicca themselves were actually relabelled Britons, because apparently the Gwic- root means "woods" in British, and Wychwood apparently originally covered much of the Midlands, so perhaps the name just means "people of the woods".

And I wonder what was the process by which some became "caster", others "chester" and others still "cester", "cetter" etc., often several forms occurring in the same area.

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: michaelr
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 03:21 PM

Humphrey Smith, chairman of Sam Smiths is so opposed to live music in his pubs.

I did not know that. But I like his beer.

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 01:18 PM

What about caster sugar, the casters on furniture and caster oil? Do they count?

:D (tG)

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: GUEST,Joe_F
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 01:30 PM

The -caster town names (from "castrum") are prominent among the rare examples of Latin words that were brought over to England by the Roman invaders & survived in English. Another one is "street" (from "via strata", paved way -- "stratum" is a much later importation of the same word).

How the k sound of Latin c mutated to ch & then to s in various dialects, I don't know, but it has happened quite a lot, and in a lot of languages (look at Italian & French). In "church", from Greek "kyriakon", it has happened twice.

--- Joe Fineman    [e-mail]

||: I reckon there's more things told than are true, And more things true than are told. :||

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 02:04 PM

I used to live in Lancaster, it was nice.

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: billybob
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 02:20 PM

Colchester(oldest recorded town in Britain)?

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: GUEST,DB
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 11:25 AM

Castor - a village near Peterborough - not far from the site of the Roman settlement of Durobrevae (spelling looks wrong but can't be bothered to look it up!) in the Nene Valley.

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 01:11 AM

Joe, the way I learned it in 9th grade Latin class was that the word for a military fort was castra, which is the plural form. The reason was that a Roman fort was built with four towers at the corners. Each tower was called a castrum, so the fort itself was called the castra, or "towers." I believe our word "castle" comes from castellum, meaning "little tower." Of course, my memory might be incorrect; after all, that was XXXIX years ago...

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: Paul Burke
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 04:02 AM

Castra (pl. castrae) was a fort long before Roman forts had towers. The later form was castrum (plural castri), which also meant a fortified town.

The classic fort was playing- card shaped, with rounded corners, and a big (ish) gatehouse at the front gate (in the middle of one short side), three smaller gates in the middle of the back (the dreaded decuman gate, hrough which criminals were taken to execution), and a third to half way down the long sides. This plan held for forts of almost all sizes. Around the start of the 3rd century, they started to add round towers projecting a bit from the corners, and in larger forts and towns, midway along the walls too. These were probably for mounting heavy artillery (ballista etc.), the projection allowing them to cover the walls inbetween.

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 01:43 AM

Sounds good to me. But Paul, wouldn't the plural of castrum be castra rather than castri? I think that's 2nd declension neuter. Or am I misrememberating again?

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: GUEST,DB
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 05:46 AM

Beavers belong to the genus 'Castor' - funny that! They gnaw down trees and dam streams and stuff. I've never seen a beaver in the wild but I've seen plenty of pictures and never are they depicted with a tower at each corner. I'm assuming that the generic name is Latin, by the way.

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: Paul Burke
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 06:02 AM

Beavers have a tower in each corner, the pictures are wrong, and if you see one that's wrong too and many English cities are named after them. And they sit on Davy Crockett's head. They also gnaw their testicles off if attacked.

Castrum pl. castra is right OF COURSE.

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: GUEST,Geoff the Duck
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 09:09 AM

Is the plural for beavers with the gnawed off testicles "Castrati"...?
Dave the Gnome - by "caster oil" do you mean the lubricant which stops your furniture squeaking when you push it across the floor (e.g. 3 in 1 or WD40)?
Alternatively did you mean "castor oil" the stuff which loosens the bowels, and is made from the same plant as is ricin.
- Just like to be clear about these things!
Quack!
Geoff the Duck.

Subject: RE: BS: UK town names: --caster
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 08:15 PM

Brilliant, Geoff!

The important thing to remember about beavers is that they don't have thumbs.
That's why there's Castor and Pollux.
The other thing is that they use Ipana.

Thread creep aside, my medical school was in Hershey, which is near Lancaster. And then my first job after residency was in Chester. And those two towns are in the same state. Coincidence? I think not.

Aloha,
Mark