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.

Vastern Manor

Early-attested site in the Parish of Wootton Bassett

Historical Forms

  • Fetstern 1229 Cl 1230
  • Fosterne 1235 ADii
  • la Fasterne 1267 Pat 1268 ADvi 1281
  • la Vasterne 1300 ADiv 1322 Cl
  • Vasterne c.1300 Boarstall

Etymology

This is probably the OE  fæstærn , 'stronghold,' the earliest spellings being corrupt. Cf. Vasterne Road outside the defensible area of medieval Reading. See also Holdfast PN Wo 140 and Buckfastleigh (PN D 293).