Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Lodre c.1086 GeldR 1091–1106 MontC 1100–22 Ch 1270 1318 Pat 1349,1401 Cl 1407

• Loder(e) 1244 Ass 1324,1325 Pat 1412 FA

• Lodd(e)re 1244 Ass 1393 Pat

• Loader 1653 ParlSurv

• Lodres 1086 Hy1 Hutch3 1107–20,1142–55,1201 France 1201 FF 1206,1207 P 1212 Fees 1244,1268,1280 Ass 1280 Ipm 1294 Pat 1461 et freq

• Loderes John AddCh 1291 Tax 1347 Ipm

• Loddres 1244 Ass 1327 1332 Cl

• Loders 1352 Pat 1364 Cl 1684 DCMCt

• Lodrez 1442 IpmR

• Lodresse 1461 Pat

• Lodris 1107–1120 CartAnt 1107(1330),1330 Ch

• Loderis 1333 Pat

• Londres (sic for Loudres) 1260 Pap

• Lodres Prioris 1268,1288 Ass

• Londres Priour 1397 FF

• 'Prior's Lodres' 1292 Ipm

• Lod(e)re Prioris 1327 SR 1337 FF 1340 Pat

• Lord(r)es (sic) 1399 Cl 1465 Pat

• Loderey (sic) 1455 Cl 1465 Pat

• Loders Abbiss(e), Lodres Abbiss(e) (sic) 1481–99 Ct

• Lodere Abb'isse 1482 Rent

• Lother 1557 ADVI

• Longlother 1621 Hutch3

• Long Lother 1666 DCMDeed 1771 DCMDeed

• Lothers 1733 DCMDeed 1765 Tayl 1795 Boswell

• Lower Loders 1774 Hutch1 1795 Boswell 1811 OS 1863 Hutch3

Etymology

Origin uncertain. It is taken by Ekwall DEPN (followed by Watts CDEPN) to be probably an old stream-name, possibly from Corn  *loch 'pool' and dour 'water' (v. CoPNE 87, 152). It would then no doubt have been the original name of River Asker, a back-formation from Askerswell, which flows through the village. However Breeze CVEP 95–6 makes the interesting suggestion that the name may be from Brittonic *lo-dre (the ancestor of Welsh  llodre ) 'habitation site, homestead'. In either case the form Lodres would seem to have English plural -s , with reference to the several settlements here (there are six separate DB holdings, one of them called Lodres , four called Lodre and one (ad ) Lodram , v. Matravers and Uploders infra ).

The early affixes Prioris and Abbatisse refer to the medieval Benedictine priory here (site marked 6″, cf. Rob ' Priore de Loderes JohnAddCh , Priore Sancti Johannis 1332 SR, Priorie de Lodres 1423 Hutch3), a cell to the Abbey of Montebourg in Normandy, v. Hutch3 2307–9, VCHDo 2116. The later affix Long - is from the length of the village, and Lower ~ distinguishes it from Uploders infra .