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.

Culliford Tree Hundred

Hundred in the County of Dorset

Historical Forms

  • Cuferdestroue hundret c.1086 GeldR
  • hundredo de Cuiluertestrie 1195 P
  • Culuertestriehundredo 1106 ChancR
  • Culverdestre 1228 Pat 1352
  • Culuerdestre(ue), Queluerdestre 1244 Ass
  • Culuredestre, Coluredestre, Culuestdetre, Cufferestre 1268 ib
  • Culuerdestre, Kuluerdestre 1280 ib
  • Keuerdestre 1265 Misc
  • Cylwardestre 1278 QW
  • Kelfardestr' 1280 Ass
  • Culfordestre 1275 RH 1285 FA 1389 Ipm 1409 Cl 1412 FA
  • Kulfordestorre 1399 Ipm
  • Culvardestre, Culuardestre 1285 FA 1288 Ass 1308 Ipm 1346 FA 1352 Ilch
  • Culfardestre 1288 Ass 1311 Cl 1327 SR 1332 SR
  • Calwardestre 1288 Ass
  • Kuvesdestre [Kynewardestru] 1303 FA
  • Colyfordestre, Colifordestre 1428,1431 FA 1481 MinAcct
  • Culifardestre 1435 Fine
  • Cullifordestrete (sic) 1447 DCM
  • Colyfford' Hundredum 1502 Eton
  • Colyffordystry, Colyffordystree 1530 Weld1
  • Colyffordtre 1539 LP
  • Portland Liberty 1795 Boswell
  • Insula de Portlond 1332 SR
  • Liberty of Portland 1664 HTax
  • Sutton Pointz Liberty 1795 Boswell
  • Liberty of Sutton Points 1664 HTax
  • Wabyhouse Liberty 1795 Boswell
  • Liberty of Wayby House 1664 HTax
  • Liberty of Upwey alias Waybaiouse 1863 Hutch3
  • Wyke Regis and Elwell Liberty 1795 Boswell
  • Wyke et Helewoll 1332 SR
  • Liberty of Weeke Regis and Elwell 1664 HTax

Etymology

Named from the barrow called Culliford Tree in Whitcombe par. infra which was the meeting place of the hundred (Hutch3 2484).The final el. is trēow 'a tree'. The first part of the name is difficult.Feilitzen (215 note 4) suggests a pers.n. *Cylferð < *Cytelferð , an anglicized form of ON  *Ketilfrøðr , ODan  *Ketilfrith . Alternatively Anderson (xi note 1) suggests that the first el. is an OE  *cylfweard 'mace-keeper' (used as a term for one who presided over the sessions of the hundred court), or (op. cit. 119) a pers.n. from the same word *cylfe (corresponding to ON  kylfa 'a club, the prow of a ship' and probably occurring as a p.n. el. with the meaning 'hill' in Kilve and Kilton So, v. EPN s.v. *cylfe, DEPN s.n. Kilve) with -weard or -heard .