Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• ?Blaneford 1086 DB

• Blaneford(e) 1182–1186 P 1199 FF 1205,1214 P 1216 1219 Fees 1226 Cur 1458 AddCh

• Burgus de Blaneford(e) 1244 Ass 1280 Ass 1288 Ass

• Blanford(e) 1348 Pat 1547 Ct

• Blandeford 1377 Pat

• Beneford (sic) 1189 France 1200 HarlCh 1280

• Bleneford(e) 1191–1195 P 1222 ClR 1278 QW

• Bleinefort 1201 AddCh 1231

• Blaneford super Stur 1279 Pat

• 'Blaneford upon Stures' 1279 Fine

• Blaneford(e) Forum 1297 Pat 1470 Rawl

• Blanford Forum 1340 NI 1501 DLCt

• Blanforth Forum 1441 EL

• Blandford Forum 1506 Pat

• Blanneford Forum 1512 Pars

• Cheping Blaneford 1288 FF

• Chuping Blaneford, Chupyng Blaneford 1310,1344 FF

• Blanford Chepyng 1311 Pat

• Chepingblan(e)ford, Chepyngblan(e)ford 1319,1330 FF 1429 EgCh

• Chepyngblan(e)ford al. Blanford Forum 1466 FF

• Chapynblanford' alias dict' Blanford' Forum 1466 Weld1

• Blaneford forinc' 1327 SR

• Blaneford' in 1244 Ass

Etymology

Possibly 'ford where gudgeon are found', from blǣge (gen.pl. blǣgna ) 'the blay, the gudgeon' (a small fresh-water fish) and ford , as suggested by Ekwall Studies1 62. For other early forms of the name, v. Blandford St M. par. supra , Bryanston par. and Langton Long B. par. both infra . The DB form Blaneford (f. 79b, second entry) is tentatively placed here by VCHDo 3 87, but identified with Bryanston par. infra by Eyton 131–2, DBGazetteer 117. According to Drew, the probably corrupt form 'the church of Blendfort ' 1101–1118 (e17 copy) France (identified with Blandford in the index to France, and cited under Blandford F. by Fägersten 50) belongs under Blynfield in Cann. The affixes allude to the situation of Blandford F. on R. Stour (v. RNs.infra ) and to its early importance as a market town (v. Lat  forum, OE  cēping (WSax  cī(e)ping), cf. Fair Fd, Market Place infra ). If the affix –forinc ' in 1327 is not a scribal error but denotes Lat  forinsecus , it must refer to the part of the town outside the hundred of Pimperne, i.e. the old borough (burgus from 1244) which lay to the E of Salisbury St.; the bounds of The Borough of Blandforde are given in 1591DLMB (Vol. 116, f. 48). The area of the town to the W, within the hundred, was referred to as the Warnership (p ) of Pimperne , the Warnership (p ) of Pymperne 1636 NED, 1664 HTax, 1774 Hutch1, from warrenership 'the office of warrener or gamekeeper', v. warener , cf. chace of Pymperne 1316 Fine, 1317 Cl, Warennarius 'the warrener (of the hundred)' 1547Ct , v. chace . There is mention of Hund ' de ('the hundred of') Blaneford ' in 1244Ass .