MENTION Homme, Bradanuuege or Bisantune and most people could be forgiven for thinking you were talking about far off foreign lands, but these place names are a little closer to home.

Homme is in fact the old name for Evesham as it appears in records dating back to 817. This is just one of the fascinating trinkets of information featured in a new book Worcestershire Place-Names by Anthony Poulton-Smith. The book is a comprehensive dictionary of the county's districts, farms, villages and hamlets, creating a rich and colourful account of Worcestershire's history across the centuries.

Mr Poulton-Smith is now a full-time writer, following a career in engineering. He is an accomplished author, having written two other books about place-names in Staffordshire and Warwickshire, and he has also had more than 300 magazine articles published.

By 1017 the name of Evesham had changed to Eoueshamme and in the Domesday entry the town is referred to exactly as it appears in modern form. The second element of the name is believed to be derived from the Saxon word hamm, used to describe a water meadow or land alongside a meandering stream. So the literal meaning of Evesham translates as 'place at the land in the river bend of a man called Eof."

Slightly more removed from its modern name is Bisantune, the Domesday name for Bishampton. The great survey records the area as a thriving community prior to the Norman Conquest. It lists the village as being part of the extensive lands own by Worcester Cathedral, with its major asset being a watermill.

The village's connection with the church adds weight to the name's literal translation as 'the settlement or homestead belonging to the bishop'. But this meaning has been disputed by some in recent times, with many now believing the definition is derived from 'homestead of a man called Bisa'.

The village begins to be referred in more familiar terms by the 14th century, when it is known as Bishamtone and Bisshopeshamton, according to 14th century records.

Bradanuuege or Bradeweia is the are the ninth and 10th century terms for Broadway, and its meaning really is as straightforward as it appears. The Domesday entry shows the village to be under the control of the church at Pershore and the area itself was settled long before the Romans arrived.

The only means of crossing nearby woodland would be by trackways, which would most likely be narrow, single-tracks. There was no need for anything larger as the population of the country at that time would have been little more than a medium-sized town in modern terms. So a 'broad way' would have been the exception rather than the norm, hence the village becoming known as Broadway.

Brian Barry, chairman of the Vale of Evesham Civic Society, believes the book will be a great boost for local residents and visitors alike. He said: "I think Worcestershire Place-Names will make for very interesting reading and it will also be a great addition to the material currently available on the history of the Vale."

Mr Barry added: "The book will increase the availability of knowledge for visitors, and obviously increase the interest in the area from outsiders. It will hopefully serve as a very good advert for what the town of Evesham and its surrounding villages have to offer."

Worcestershire Place-Names is published by Sutton Publishing and is priced £8.99. The publisher's website can be accessed on www.suttonpublishing.co.uk.