Hounster Lane
Early-attested site in the Parish of Udimore
Historical Forms
- Hundest'e 1288 Ass
- Hundestorr(e) 1296,1327 SR
- Houndestorre 1309 Ipm
- Houndestorresfeld 1413 Ct
- Houndhurst al. Hounster 1620 SRS14,65
Etymology
Hounster Lane (6″) is Hundest 'e 1288Ass (p), Hundestorr (e )1296, 1327 SR (p), Houndestorre 1309 Ipm, Houndestorresfeld 1413Ct , Houndhurst al. Hounster 1620 SRS 14, 65. This name is difficult.The first element may be either OE hund , 'dog,' or possibly that word used as a pers. name (cf. MLR xiv. 241). The second would seem to be the word torr found once elsewhere in the county, v. Torberry supra 37. “The lane is a sunk road and in places the hard sandstone which is a feature of the subsoil would formerly have been quite conspicuous.” One can only suppose that some such prominent piece of sandstone was called a 'tor.'