Chester is a common element in English placenames, derived from Old English , meaning "a city or walled town, originally one that had been a Roman station". This word represents a borrowing of Latin , meaning "camp". Not all chester names occur at sites of Roman activity, however, which suggests that in some cases the meaning was simply "prehistoric fort". The unpalatalised variant caster is found in certain parts of England, namely Cumbria, northern Lancashire, Yorkshire, the East Midlands, and Norfolk. It is unclear whether the absence of palatalisation is due to Scandinavian influence or dialectal variation within Old English.

In certain cases, ceaster developed into cester, pronounced (as in Cirencester) or more often (as in Gloucester, Worcester, Leicester, etc.). This is commonly attributed to Anglo-Norman influence, the theory being that Normans were unable to pronounce the of ceaster and hence substituted , which was later simplified to . In names of the Gloucester type, the medial syllable was then lost through syncope. Dissimilation could also occur, producing forms such as Wroxeter, Exeter, and Mancetter, in which the second has been elided. Some reject the Anglo-Norman theory, arguing that cester names are more likely to be a product of natural processes within English.

Chester and its variants were sometimes replaced by the related word castle, as in Bewcastle, Horncastle, Castleford, etc.

A Acaster Malbis Acaster Selby Alcester Alchester Ancaster

B Bewcastle, formerly Buthcaster (1263) Bicester Binchester Brancaster

C Caister-on-Sea Caistor Caistor St Edmund Casterton, Cumbria Casterton, Great, Rutland Casterton, Little, Rutland Castor, Cambridgeshire Chester Cheshire Chester, Little, Derby Chesterfield Chesterford, Great Chesterford, Little Chester-le-Street Chesterton (disambiguation) Chesterwood Chichester Cirencester Colchester Craster

D Doncaster Dorchester Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire

E Ebchester Exeter

F Frocester

G Gloucester Gloster Hill (near Amble, Northumberland) Godmanchester Grantchester Great Casterton

H Hincaster Horncastle, known in Old English as Hyrnecastre

I Ilchester Irchester

K Kenchester

L Lancaster Lancashire Lanchester Leicester

M Mancetter Manchester Monkchester, modernised form of Munucceaster, the Old English name for Newcastle upon Tyne. Muncaster

P Portchester

R Ribchester Rocester Rochester, Kent Rochester, Northumberland

S Silchester

T Tadcaster Towcester

U Uttoxeter

W Winchester Woodchester Worcester Wroxeter

Notes

References