English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Clubworthy

Early-attested site in the Parish of North Petherwin

Historical Forms

  • Clobiry 1322 Ass 1330 SR
  • Clobury 1333 SR
  • Clowbery 1639 FF
  • Clobbery 1807 Recov

Etymology

This name is clearly a compound of burh. The first element may have reference to the site of the burh on a rounded hill. There is no OE  word clobb with this sense on record, but we may compare Cornish clob , 'clod or lump of earth' and Danish klub , 'knoll,' earlier 'lump of earth.' It is clear that the worthy is a quite recent inverted spelling due to the fact that this terminal element is commonly pronounced [əri] in Devon names.