Wilton
Major Settlement in the Parish of Thornton Dale
Historical Forms
- Wiltun(e) 1086 DB 1247 Dugdiv.276 1247 Ch
- Wilton(am), Wylton(am) 1167 P 1180 YCh
- Willeton 1301 LS
Etymology
There is another Wilton in LangW 159 infra , which is found in DB as Wiltuna and Widtuna . Bishop's Wilton in YER also has a form Widtone in DB. These forms suggest that the true form of the name at the time of DB was Wildetuna , in which presumably the first element is the common adj. wild , referring to the original state of the site. Cf. Wildon (193infra ) and the use of Wildbrook (twice in Sussex) to describe marshy uncultivated land, a name going back to medieval times.