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.

Mortoft

Early-attested site in the Parish of Heydon

Historical Forms

  • Mortofft 1086 DB
  • Mortoft 1222 FineR 1226 FF 1250,1286(p) Ass 1329,1335,1348 Ct
  • Mortof (sic) 1242–3 Fees
  • Moretoft 1257 Ass
  • Mertofte 1259 Ass
  • Moortoft 1366 FF
  • Mortofte 1428 FA

Etymology

OE  mōr1 or OScand  mór, probably here in the sense 'marshland', and toft. In 1327 Sir Richard Mortoft lived in Heydon-field and had a small manor here (Blomefield VI244).