The place-name " Coldharbour " has long puzzled antiquaries and
given rise to various conflicting theories. It is discussed anew in the Antiquaries Journal for July by Colonel Kerslake, who adduces very good reasons for believing that a " Cold- harbour " was neither more nor less than a winter shelter for cattle. Outside Silchester, for instance, three cattle-tracks intersect at a " Coldharbour." There, and in numerous other places in South-Eastern England, a " Coldharbour " is found associated with such names as Starveall, Beggar's Bush, Little London, Hundred Acres, Summering or Summertown, and so forth. These groups of place-names would appear to have a common origin in the agricultural practice of the Early Middle Ages. Colonel Kerslake would attribute the foundation of the Coldharbours to the late Belgic (and pre-Roman) invasion, but the philological evidence does not support that part of his theory.
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