Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Botterley Hill 1831 Bry

• Bottylegh 1314 Chol

• campus qui vocatur Bottyleye 1324 ib

• The Botterley 1841 TA

Etymology

Botterley Hill (109–590517) [ˈbɔtəli], Botterley Hill 1831 Bry, Bottylegh 1314Chol , campus qui vocatur Bottyleye 1324ib , The Botterley 1841TA , cf. Botteley 's tenement … given by John Botteley 1724 NotCestr, 'Botta's wood or clearing', from the OE  pers.n. Bot (t )a and lēah . The -y - spellings may represent a reduced form of -ing-, as in Baddiley 124supra , Faddiley supra . Other reductions of -ing in compounds to -i -, -y - may be seen in Fallibroome 1197 and possibly Ettiley 2270.But it must be observed that ME and ModE -i -, -y - spellings and ModE [-i-] pronunciations appear for the reduced forms and unstressed positions of OE  -an inflexion (wk.dat.sg. or gen.sg.; ME  -en , -yn ) in Romiley 1292, Baguley 212, Tabley 260, Checkley 56supra , Hankelow 89supra and possibly Ettiley loc. cit.; for OE -a inflexion (gen.pl.) in Gatley 1244, Bulkeley 325infra , Calveley 307infra ; possibly for OE  -en suffix in Ettiley loc. cit.; and for the unstressed second syllable of stapol in Stapeley 71supra ; and it does not seem likely that these p.ns. would have had an alternative -ing- form.