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.

The Querns

Early-attested site in the Parish of Cirencester

Historical Forms

  • Crondeles 1292 CirenD
  • Crundeles 1315 Pat 1316 Orig
  • Crondles als. Cronnes 1343 CirenD
  • Cornedes 1543 AOMB 1550 Pat
  • Cornedes als. Cornes 1539 AOMB204
  • Cornedes als. Cornes als. Quernes 1544 LP
  • Quern(e)s 1540 AOMB, MinAcct

Etymology

The name refers to an area to the south-west of the town, where are found the Bull Ring (infra ), a Roman amphitheatre and cemetery, tumuli, heaps of stones and old pits and earthworks (cf. BG ix, 324, xv, 113–15, Rudder 349). It is undoubtedly OE  crundel 'quarry, chalk-pit' or the like (v. EPN i, 116–17). The development of its form is curious, with metathesis and shortening to Corn - and then confusion with quern (v. cweorn 'mill-stone'), an inversion of the development in Cornford (35 supra ), cf. Phonol. §§ 20, 42 (b ), 46.