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.

Maiden Castle

Other OS name in the Parish of Winterborne St Martin

Historical Forms

  • Mayden Castell 1607 Clegg

Etymology

, 1774 Hutch1 , Mayden Castell 1607 Clegg , cf. (Under ) Castle , Rings 1841TA , and the f. ns . Burlington , Castle Fd , etc . in Dorchester par . supra , v. mægden , castel(l) , hring ; the same name is applied to a number of other prehistoric earthworks besides this Iron Age hill - fort , cf. Cu 255 , R . E . M . Wheeler , Maiden Castle , Dorset , Oxford 1943 , 6 – 14 ; the meaning of the name is probably ' fortification thought never to have been taken , one that looks impregnable ' , but for other suggestions , v. EPN 231 – 2 . Maiden Castle is probably the city of Dunium referred to by Ptolemy ( I , 103 ) ; this is from Brit dūno- ' a fort ' , probably with the Brit suffix -  on or - īon .