Place name origins only have little relation to the Roman names (e.g. Chester - 'Deva', Winchester - 'Venta Belgarum' etc.). Many English places derive part of their name from the river upon which they were built, but in the 16th century many English rivers were renamed with back-formations from towns on their banks. Cambridge, perhaps uniquely, illustrates both effects: originally "Grontabricc", a bridge on the Granta, the name became "Cantebruge" and then "Cambrugge", from which the river was renamed Cam. The vast majority of place names in Wales are Welsh by origin, containing elements such as Llan-, Aber-, Pen- etc. Along the south
Ancaster Roman Town Ancaster Roman Town Ancaster Roman Town was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. It is sited on the Roman road known as the Ermine Street and is situated in the county of Lincolnshire. Its name in Latin is unknown, although it has traditionally been identified with "Causennis" or Causennæ, a name which occurs as a town on the route of "Iter V" recorded in the Antonine Itinerary. Rivet and Smith questioned this identification in 1979 and suggested that a more likely identification would be either the Roman settlement at Salters ford, near Grantham in Lincolnshire, or at