-chest, -shire

[peter123]

Hi there,
Why do the names of many cities in UK ended with '-chest' like Manchester, and '-shire' like Yorkshire. Any meaning in '-chester' and '-shire'?

many thanks
pete

[moggy]

Originally Posted by peter123

Hi there,
Why do the names of many cities in UK ended with '-chest' like Manchester, and '-shire' like Yorkshire. Any meaning in '-chester' and '-shire'?

many thanks
pete

Hi Peter...cities or town names that end in -chester (eg Manchester) -caster (Doncaster) -cester (eg Leicester) are towns that were named during the period when Romans ruled in Britain. (54 BC to 410 AD) In some cases the "Caster" is used as a prefix, as in Casterton. All of these suffixes/prefixes mean "Camp" as in military camp. Doncaster for example, means the camp on the River Don.

A shire is a county...Yorkshire, (Of which York is the "county town") Derbyshire (Derby being the county town)

[peter123]

Hi Moggy,
Wow, it is so interesting to know the history of the 'chester'. Then how about '-mouth' like in Plymouth?

thanks
pete

[moggy]

Originally Posted by peter123

Hi Moggy,
Wow, it is so interesting to know the history of the 'chester'. Then how about '-mouth' like in Plymouth?

thanks
pete

Hi Peter. I'm afraid the origins of the name "Plymouth" is nowhere near as interesting. The river that runns through Plymouth is called the river Plym, and the "mouth" is where a river joins a larger body of water. In this case, the English Channel.