Winchester

settlement, city
parish:
county:
coords:
coords:
Winchester
Hampshire
SU478293
51.04N 1.19W : lat'n'long
refce: HANTSLOC.t
includes Winchester (19th century)
includes Winchester (18th century)
includes Winchester (17th century)
includes Winchester (16th century)
includes Winchester (11th-15th century)

old map: 25inch County Series map -- Hants XLI.13

Winchester
otherwise: Ouenta, 100-199?; Uenta Belgarum, 300-399?; Uenta; Uintan caestir, 730; wintancestre; wentancestre, 731-10; wintanceastre, 855-10; wenta, 961-12

refce: Coates 1989
WINCHESTER
About 730 'a civitate Uenta quae a gente Saxonum Uintan caestir appellatur There is no difficulty about this name as an English name. It represents the Romano British name 'Uenta' inflected and compounded with Old English 'ceaster'='Roman fort, station, town'. The Romano British form appears in the Antonine Itinerary: 'Uenta Belgarum' was the chief place of the Belgae, the immigrant bearers (aristocrats) of the Iron Age C culture to parts of S Britain.
'Uenta' is a greater problem. It was also the name of Caister-by-Norwich and Caerwent ('Venta Icinorum, Venta Silurum') and appears,for instance, in the name of the fort 'Glannaventa' identified with Ravenglass (Cu). The element in question is not British and may predate the P-Celtic languages in Britain. It has Indo European parallels like 'vend'='place' in Albanian. All we can safely say is that 'Uenta' is a name coined in some Indo European language, probably meaning '(chief) place (of a tribe)'. This is discussed in greater detail by Coates (1984a).
The form of the place name current in medieval documents is the latinized form 'Wintonia' or 'civitas Wintonia/Wintonie'.

Venta Belgarum
otherwise: Venta Velgarum; Venta
- roman town, town
refce: Roman Place Names
Ptolemy lists the 'polis' of the Belgae at:-
VENTA
The Antonine Itineraries list:-
VENTA BELGARUM
VENTA VELGARUM
Listed in itinerary VII at x roman miles from Clausentum, xxii to Calleva (NB you must understand the system of measuring and the size of roman miles); in itinerary XV at xxi from Vindonium, xi to Brige; and in itinerary XII as a copyist's error
The Ravenna Cosmography lists:-
VENTA VELGAROM
VELAGRONI
The Nititia Dignitaum refers to:-
Procurator gynaecii in Britannis Ventensis
ie the manager of the state weaving works of Venta in Britain.
The name means the market of the Belgae, and the first syllable survives in the present place name, Winchester.

coat of arms

refce: Moule 1830 (image)
HMCMS:FA1998.49.1
blazon - gules, five castles triple towered in saltire argent masoned proper, the portcullis of each part raised or, on either side the castle in fess point a lion passant guardant, that to the dexter contourne, or
(MLS2ARM5.jpg)

   Old Hampshire Gazetteer - JandMN: 2001