Market Overton
Major Settlement in the Parish of Market Overton
Historical Forms
- Overtune 1086 DB
- Ouerton(e), Overton(e) 1200 Cur 1202 Ass 1286 Ass 1610 Speed
- Orton 1535 LP 1642 Recov
- Market(t)es -, Market(t)is - 1200 Cur 1280 OSut 1339 Deed 1372 Ipm
- Market - 1267 Ch 1286 Ass 1388 Pat
Etymology
'The village on the ridge', v. ofer 2 , tūn . The settlement's market function is recorded as early as 1200 Cur, v. market . The flat-topped ridge is formed by the Northampton Sands ironstone which enters Rutland from the north. The Romano-British settlement on the parish boundary with neighbouring Thistleton, with its temple dedicated to the god Veteris, was no doubt the market site which preceded Market Overton's. Hundreds of Roman coins have been found here, as well as some British, suggesting a market location on this upland in the Iron Age also. The temple enclosure on Market Overton's boundary would have offered a site for periodic markets where the honesty of traders could be guaranteed by the god. Overton's market seems only to represent a movement of the market site one mile further south-west, possibly to the protection of the fortified precinct within which the parish church now stands.