English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Knighton Fm

Early-attested site in the Parish of Figheldean

Historical Forms

  • Wenistetone (sic) 1086 DB
  • Knytheton t.Hy2 Ch 1270
  • Knyghteton 1332 SR
  • Knyghteton juxta Ambresbury 1337 FF

Etymology

Knighton Fm is Wenistetone (sic)1086 DB, Knytheton t. Hy 2 (1270) Ch, Knyghteton 1332SR , Knyghteton juxta Ambresbury 1337FF .'Farm of the “knights” or serving men,' v. cniht , tun . The initial w in the DB form must be a scribal blunder. The s is a common Norman-French representation of the OE h sound.