Mould-on-the-Wold

[Debi]

> > zanooda:
> > 
> > IIRC, she (it was a woman:-)) translated "wilt-" into Russian and used the root of the Russian word, and she had "-shire" attached to it :-).
> 
> bboyminn: 
> 
> Unless I'm mistaken, Wiltshire is where Stonehenge, and several other 'henges', are. Yes, there is actually more than one 'henge'. Woodhenge comes to mind. Also the location of many giant Chalk drawings, such as the Cherhill White Horse. 
> 

That's true, there's the Westbury White Horse too (according to HPL there are a further seven in the county!) and Avebury which is yet another henge in the area. I can speak for quite a lot of the south of the county but I don't know so much.

On the etymology the county derives its name from the town of Wilton and thusly from the River Wylye. Wilton was the capital of the region of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex known as "Wiltunscire". It was very prosperous - until somebody built a new cathedral down the road and all the traders bypassed the town!

Incidentally, does the book every give clues about where the Malfoys' house may be in Wiltshire? I imagine it's quite remote but not necessarily - I see it as being slightly off the beaten path, maybe in the south of the county on or by Salisbury Plain. Presumably it'd have to legally have defences or some kind of ward to prevent muggle walkers stumbling on albino peacocks or the like?

~Debi who seems to have wandered so far off the path she might have ended up in Albania...