Salter (trap)
Structure / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A salter is a structure that enabled deer to leap into an enclosed area but prevented them from leaving. From the Latin saltare, "to jump." Now the word provides understanding in the study of toponymic surnames, and toponymy, or the study of place names.
Salters were used to populate private deer parks. "Salter" may be preferred over "deer-leap", which is ambiguous and does not convey its "one-way" nature.[1] It is a shortening of the term saltatorium.
Historically, salters were prized and highly regulated as gifts from the monarchy.[1] For example, in 1358, Edward III granted "for the king's special affection for Mary de Sancto Paulo, Countess of Pembroke, that for her life she shall have two deer-leaps in her park Fodryngeye."[2]