 The name, first recorded in the Domesday Book as "Coletone", is from the Old Norse personal name "Kolr" (genitive "Kols"), and the Old English "tūn" "farm or village", so means "Kolr's farm or village".The suffix Bassett is from the holder of the estate in the 12th century, Ralph Bassett, a judge appointed by Henry I.The village dairy, which opened in 1913, is one of only five that are permitted to name their blue cheese Stilton cheese.