Draughton
Major Settlement in the Parish of Draughton
Historical Forms
- Dractone, Bracstone (sic) 1086 DB
- Drahton 1166 P
- Drahtun 1170–4 BM
- Drachton(a) c.1170 BM 1174 P 1189 Ch 1331
- Draiton 1166 P(CR)
- Drayton 12th Survey 1252 Ipm
- Dracton Comitis 1184 P
- Dracton' 1202 Ass 1203 Cur 1220 WellsR 1228 Cl
- Drauchton 1220 Fees
- Drautton 1284 FA
- Drauhton 1287 Ass
- Draughton 1317 Ipm
- Drawton 1715 ParReg
- Dragton 1228 FF
- Draghton 1297 Cl 1316 FA 1381 Cl
Etymology
It is clear that we have here a compound of OScand drag and tun. Draughton lies on the slopes of a hill which rises to over 500 ft. with a well-marked valley to the south and a small one to the north-east. Rygh (Indledning 47) gives various senses for drag in Norwegian place-names, including (a ) place where boats are drawn over a headland to avoid the passage of a river, (b ) place where timber is dragged down, (c ) long island, (d ) long and narrow valley. None of these senses suits the topography of Draughton. Slightly better is the sense of the equivalent Danish word as recorded in Frederiksborgs Amts Stednavne 51, where it has the sense 'small tongue of land,' hence 'farm on the tongue of land.' It is, of course, possible that OScand drag has replaced an earlier OE dræg. The earl (comes ) of Huntingdon held the manor in 1166 (P). v. Addenda lii.