Robinhood Butts (Wiltshire): Difference between revisions

From International Robin Hood Bibliography
m (Text replacement - "DMStoDecimalDegrees" to "DmsToDecimalDegrees")
 
(30 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
__NOTOC__
__NOTOC__{{PlaceNamesItemTop|Lat=|Lon=|AdministrativeDivision=Wiltshire|Vicinity=?|Type=Prehistoric site|Interest=Robin Hood name|Status=Defunct|Demonym=|Riding=|GreaterLondon=|Year=1649|Aka=|Century=|Cluster1=|Cluster2=|Cluster3=|Image=|Postcards=|ExtraCat1=Places named Robin Hood's Butts|ExtraCat2=Robinhood place-names|ExtraCat3=|ExtraCat4=|ExtraCat5=|ExtraLink1=Robin Hood Ball (Netheravon)|GeopointPrefix=|GeopointSuffix=?|StatusSuffix=|DatePrefix=|DateSuffix=}}
{{Infobox
<!--{{#display_map:{{DmsToDecimalDegrees|0-180|0-60|0-60|N/S}},{{DmsToDecimalDegrees|0-90|0-60|0-60|E/W}}|width=34%|enablefullscreen=yes}}<div class="pnMapLegend">_LEGEND.</div>-->
|header1=Locality
<!--[[File:_FILENAME.jpg|thumb|right|500px|_LEGEND (photo from [_URL _LINKTEXT]).]]--><div class="no-img">
|label2=Coordinates
<p id="byline">By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2017-01-02. Revised by {{#realname:{{REVISIONUSER}}}}, {{REVISIONYEAR}}-{{REVISIONMONTH}}-{{REVISIONDAY2}}.</p>
|data2=[[Geopoint::]]?
|label3=Adm. div.
|data3=[[pnadmdiv::Wiltshire]]
|label4=Vicinity
|data4=[[pnvicinity::]]?
|label5=Type
|data5=[[pntype::Prehistoric site]]
|label6=Interest
|data6=[[pninterest::Robin Hood name]]
|label7=Status
|data7=[[pnstatus::Defunct]]
|label8=First Record
|data8=[[pnfirstrecord::1649]]
}}
<!--{{#display_map:{{DecDeg|0-180|0-60|0-60|N/S}},{{DecDeg|0-90|0-60|0-60|E/W}}|width=34%}}<div class="pnMapLegend">_LEGEND.</div>-->
<!--[[File:_FILENAME.jpg|thumb|right|500px|_LEGEND (photo from [_URL _LINKTEXT]).]]-->
<p id="byline">By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2017-01-02. Revised by {{#realname:{{REVISIONUSER}}}}, {{REVISIONYEAR}}-{{REVISIONMONTH}}-{{REVISIONDAY2}}.</p><div class="no-img">
The authors of the English Place-Name Society volume on Wiltshire, published 1939, note "Robinhood butts" as a field or minor name occurring already in 1649:
The authors of the English Place-Name Society volume on Wiltshire, published 1939, note "Robinhood butts" as a field or minor name occurring already in 1649:
<div class="wide-margin"><blockquote>'''butte''', ME (n) is fairly common in the plural form as in ''Buttes'' (1220), ''Shorte'' and ''Longe buttes'' (1289), ''Brode-'',  ''Letelbuttes'' (1393). It usually has reference to strips of land abutting on a boundary, often at right angles to the other ridges in the field, but in such a name as ''Robinhood butts'' (1649), it clearly has reference to the village archery butts.<ref>{{:Gover, John Eric Bruce 1939a}}, p. 426. Italic and bold type as used there.</ref></blockquote></div>
<div class="wide-margin"><blockquote>'''butte''', ME (n) is fairly common in the plural form as in ''Buttes'' (1220), ''Shorte'' and ''Longe buttes'' (1289), ''Brode-'',  ''Letelbuttes'' (1393). It usually has reference to strips of land abutting on a boundary, often at right angles to the other ridges in the field, but in such a name as ''Robinhood butts'' (1649), it clearly has reference to the village archery butts.<ref>{{:Gover, John Eric Bruce 1939a}}, p. 426. Italic and bold type as used there.</ref></blockquote></div>
Unfortunately there is no hint where "Robinhood butts" were located, and no source is cited. Moreover, I doubt very much whether this place-name "clearly has reference to the village archery butts". As illustrated by the lack of localisation and source attribution of this reference, the English Place-Name Society, established in 1923,<ref>[http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/epns/index.aspx English Place-Name Society] (University of Nottingham).</ref> often treated field and minor names somewhat stepmotherly in the first decades of its existence.<ref>This is also noted on the Society's website: [http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/epns/survey.aspx EPNS: The Survey of English Place-Names.]</ref> It seems unlikely that the writers of the Wiltshire volume should have taken the time to establish the location of the localities to which field-names referred, when this category of names was to be dealt with in such a cursory manner in the printed work. Until evidence to the contrary is presented, I assume the writer in this case did not know where Robinhood Butts were located and so could not decide, based on knowledge of the lay of the land, that this had in fact been a genuine archery grounds. As far as I am aware, all other localities named Robin Hood's Butts (or similar) are ancient mounds or, more rarely, natural hills.<ref>See [[Places named Robin Hood's Butts]].</ref> and Wiltshire, the county in which Stonehenge is situated, is practically littered with them. I believe the name would also in this instance have been explained as referring to a tumulus, if the volume on Wiltshire place-names had been published at a later date, when much more data had been assembled and digested.
Unfortunately there is no hint where "Robinhood butts" were located, and no source is cited. Moreover, I doubt very much whether this place-name "clearly has reference to the village archery butts". As illustrated by the lack of localisation and source attribution of this reference, the English Place-Name Society, established in 1923,<ref>[http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/epns/index.aspx English Place-Name Society] (University of Nottingham).</ref> often treated field and minor names somewhat stepmotherly in the first decades of its existence.<ref>This is also noted on the Society's website: [http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/epns/survey.aspx EPNS: The Survey of English Place-Names.]</ref> It seems unlikely that the writers of the Wiltshire volume should have taken the time to establish the location of the localities to which field-names referred, when this category of names was to be dealt with in such a cursory manner in the printed work. Until evidence to the contrary is presented, I assume the writer in this case did not know where Robinhood Butts were located and so could not decide, based on knowledge of the lay of the land, that this had in fact been a genuine archery grounds. As far as I am aware, all other localities named Robin Hood's Butts (or similar) are ancient mounds or, more rarely, natural hills.<ref>See [[Places named Robin Hood's Butts]].</ref> and Wiltshire, the county in which Stonehenge is situated, is practically littered with them. I believe the name would also in this instance have been explained as referring to a tumulus, if the volume on Wiltshire place-names had been published at a later date, when much more data had been assembled and digested.


With so many tumuli to choose from in Wiltshire it is probably foolhardy to attempt to localise Robinhood Butts. The best suggestion I can come up with is the locality otherwise known as Wood's Butts, a circular clump of trees immediately east of [[Robin Hood Ball (Netheravon)|Robin Hood Ball]]. The latter was also known as Robin Wood Ball, and Wood's Butts may similarly have been a variant of Hood's Butts, but this is of course pure speculation. We do know, however, that there is a tendency for Robin Hood-related place-names to cluster<ref>See [{{SERVER}}/wiki/index.php/Place-names#place-name-clusters list of English place-name clusters.]</ref>,  and the presence of Robin Hood Ball in the immediate vicinity therefore makes Wood's Butts a slightly better candidate than other tumuli in Wiltshire.  
With so many tumuli to choose from in Wiltshire it is probably foolhardy to attempt to localise Robinhood Butts. The best suggestion I can come up with is the locality otherwise known as Wood's Butts, a circular clump of trees immediately east of [[Robin Hood Ball (Netheravon)|Robin Hood Ball]]. The latter was also known as Robin Wood Ball, and Wood's Butts may similarly have been a variant of Hood's Butts, but this is of course pure speculation. We do know, however, that there is a tendency for Robin Hood-related place-names to cluster<ref>See [{{SERVER}}/wiki/index.php/Place-names#place-name-clusters list of English place-name clusters.]</ref>,  and the presence of Robin Hood Ball in the immediate vicinity therefore makes Wood's Butts a slightly better candidate than other tumuli in Wiltshire. {{PlaceNamesItemAllusionsAndRecords}}
<!--=== Allusions ===
== Gazetteers ==
{{#ask:[[Category:Allusions (Robinhood Butts, Wiltshire)]]|format=embedded|embedformat=h4|columns=1|limit=1000|sort=Utitle}}-->
=== Gazetteers ===
* Not included in {{:Dobson, Richard Barrie 1976a}}, pp. 293-311.
* Not included in {{:Dobson, Richard Barrie 1976a}}, pp. 293-311.


=== Sources ===
== Sources ==
* {{:Gover, John Eric Bruce 1939a}}, p. 425.
* {{:Gover, John Eric Bruce 1939a}}, p. 425.


=== Background ===
== Background ==
* [http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/epns/index.aspx English Place-Name Society] (University of Nottingham)
* [http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/epns/index.aspx English Place-Name Society] (University of Nottingham)
* [http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/epns/survey.aspx EPNS: The Survey of English Place-Names.]
* [http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/epns/survey.aspx EPNS: The Survey of English Place-Names.]


=== Also see ===
{{PlaceNamesItemAlsoSee}}
* [[Robin Hood Ball (Netheravon)]]
== Notes ==
* [[Places named Robin Hood's Butts]].
=== Notes ===
<references/>
<references/>




</div>
</div>
<div id="dplcatlinks" class="subcategory"><div id="dplcatarea">
 
{{#ask: [[Category:English place-names]]
 
[[Category:Wiltshire place-names]][[Utitle::<<{{#replace:{{uc:{{PAGENAME}}}}|&#39;|'}}]]|order=descending|searchlabel=|format=template|introtemplate=BeforeNav|template=Nav|outrotemplate=Previous|link=none|limit=1|sort=Utitle}}[[Wiltshire place-names]]{{#ask: [[Category:English place-names]]
 
[[Category:Wiltshire place-names]][[Utitle::>>{{#replace:{{uc:{{PAGENAME}}}}|&#39;|'}}]]|order=ascending|searchlabel=|format=template|introtemplate=BeforeNav|template=Nav|outrotemplate=Next|link=none|limit=1|sort=Utitle}}<br/>
{{PlaceNamesItemNavigation}}
{{#ask: [[Category:English place-names]][[Utitle::<<{{#replace:{{uc:{{PAGENAME}}}}|&#39;|'}}]]|order=descending|searchlabel=|format=template|introtemplate=BeforeNav|template=Nav|outrotemplate=Previous|link=none|limit=1|sort=Utitle}}[[Place-names]]{{#ask: [[Category:English place-names]][[Utitle::>>{{#replace:{{uc:{{PAGENAME}}}}|&#39;|'}}]]|order=ascending|searchlabel=|format=template|introtemplate=BeforeNav|template=Nav|outrotemplate=Next|link=none|limit=1|sort=Utitle}}</div></div>
[[Category:Place-names-topics]]
[[Category:English place-names]]
[[Category:Wiltshire place-names]]
[[Category:17th century]]
[[Category:Places named Robin Hood's Butts]]
[[Category:Robinhood place-names]]
{{#set:century=17th}}
{{#set:Utitle={{#replace:{{uc:{{PAGENAME}}}}|&#39;|'}}}}

Latest revision as of 21:55, 8 January 2021

Locality
Coordinate ?
Adm. div. Wiltshire
Vicinity ?
Type Prehistoric site
Interest Robin Hood name
Status Defunct
First Record 1649

By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2017-01-02. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2021-01-08.

The authors of the English Place-Name Society volume on Wiltshire, published 1939, note "Robinhood butts" as a field or minor name occurring already in 1649:

butte, ME (n) is fairly common in the plural form as in Buttes (1220), Shorte and Longe buttes (1289), Brode-, Letelbuttes (1393). It usually has reference to strips of land abutting on a boundary, often at right angles to the other ridges in the field, but in such a name as Robinhood butts (1649), it clearly has reference to the village archery butts.[1]

Unfortunately there is no hint where "Robinhood butts" were located, and no source is cited. Moreover, I doubt very much whether this place-name "clearly has reference to the village archery butts". As illustrated by the lack of localisation and source attribution of this reference, the English Place-Name Society, established in 1923,[2] often treated field and minor names somewhat stepmotherly in the first decades of its existence.[3] It seems unlikely that the writers of the Wiltshire volume should have taken the time to establish the location of the localities to which field-names referred, when this category of names was to be dealt with in such a cursory manner in the printed work. Until evidence to the contrary is presented, I assume the writer in this case did not know where Robinhood Butts were located and so could not decide, based on knowledge of the lay of the land, that this had in fact been a genuine archery grounds. As far as I am aware, all other localities named Robin Hood's Butts (or similar) are ancient mounds or, more rarely, natural hills.[4] and Wiltshire, the county in which Stonehenge is situated, is practically littered with them. I believe the name would also in this instance have been explained as referring to a tumulus, if the volume on Wiltshire place-names had been published at a later date, when much more data had been assembled and digested.

With so many tumuli to choose from in Wiltshire it is probably foolhardy to attempt to localise Robinhood Butts. The best suggestion I can come up with is the locality otherwise known as Wood's Butts, a circular clump of trees immediately east of Robin Hood Ball. The latter was also known as Robin Wood Ball, and Wood's Butts may similarly have been a variant of Hood's Butts, but this is of course pure speculation. We do know, however, that there is a tendency for Robin Hood-related place-names to cluster[5], and the presence of Robin Hood Ball in the immediate vicinity therefore makes Wood's Butts a slightly better candidate than other tumuli in Wiltshire.

Gazetteers

Sources

Background

Also see

Notes