Customer Rating:  
Summary: A unique reference for place-names across the British Isles
Comment: "A Dictionary of British Place-Names", compiled by A.D. Mills, is a unique resource for understanding the origins of place-names across the British Isles. Whereas many other place-name books are restricted to England or particular regions, Mills' scope is broad, extending to the whole of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man and also the Channel Islands.
The book is organised alphabetically rather than by county or region, making it easily navigable, and includes more than 17,000 entries. It is not comprehensive, occasionally neglecting a few of the very smallest settlements, but for most practical purposes it will be sufficient. (Sadly many places which are now subsumed within Greater London have been omitted; these are detailed in the companion volume, "A Dictionary of London Place-names", also by A.D. Mills.) At the back is a glossary of common elements in place-names - an interesting addition - and there is also an extensive bibliography, covering particular regions or specialisations within place-name studies, as well as broader surveys on the interpretation and significance of place-names. This makes the book ideal as a foundation for delving into the subject in more detail.
Typically there are about 25 entries to every page, which means that not a lot of space is afforded to each one. Unfortunately this means that in many cases only the earliest attestation of a location is given. For example, in the case of London only its Roman name, 'Londinium', is given; the changes in spelling and meaning throughout the Anglo-Saxon period and beyond are not charted. This means that it is sometimes difficult to find the name relating to a particular period. In these cases it might be necessary to resort to a more detailed guide such as "The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names". However, where a number of origins have been postulated for a particular place, it should be noted that Mills is careful to record them all.
Everything considered, "A Dictionary of British Place-Names" is an excellent reference, despite a few flaws. As someone currently writing a historical novel set in medieval England, I have found it tremendously useful.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Well worth the money!
Comment: Reading the other reviews for this title, I was led to believe that it wasn't as good as it could be however I bought it regardless, because in comparison to the other titles available, it still seemed the best. I have found it to be informative, easy to use and extremely interesting. It doesn't contain every single place name in the British Isles but it contains all the main ones including many references to the main gaelic place names too.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Republic of Ireland IS in the British Isles
Comment: You idiot. If you're going to spend half your review moaning about an error, at least make it a real one. The British Isles comprises Great Britain, Ireland and the small islands (such as the Isles of Scilly, Isle of Wight) surrounding them.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Apparently the Republic of Ireland is once more under British rule
Comment: I picked this up shortly after having been asked by my travelling companion where the name Weston Super Mare came from. I didn't know - hadn't really thought about it before. But I wanted to find out, and this book had the (with hindsight, easy) answer*.
While interesting for dipping into for a sample of some of our wonderfully unusual place names or to see how your town's name came about, the relatively mundane origins of even many of the most eccentric and bizarre sounding names makes this book a little disappointing.
The title is also misleading for two reasons. The first, a minor quibble perhaps, but if I bought an English dictionary I'd reasonably expect to find every word in current useage in the English language. But in this 'dictionary' there is only a selection of place names. That said, it's still a vast and exhaustive selection.
More worrying, however, is the inclusion of the settlement names of a whole other country!
Last time I looked, the Republic of Ireland wasn't part of the British Isles. To get something so basic so fundamentally wrong undermines what is a throughly researched book choc-full of otherwise reliable information. Perhaps the publisher might argue that some of these Irish place names are anglicised or British by origin. Whatever. It's still unacceptable for British books published in the 21st century to be making this 'mistake'. Thinking about it, it's laughable.
How ironic that a book about names should foul up with its own title.
*Weston, for those who care, means farm or village to the west. Super Mare is Latin for 'on sea' - easy when you know.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A bit boring and useless!
Comment: Probably an ok book if you live in Southern England or that is the area you are interested in,however for Scotland and the North it is not all helpful!
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