Hag Pits
Early-attested site in the Parish of Eye and Dunsden
Historical Forms
- Hagpitt 1603–4 Survey
- Hackpittes early17th Survey
Etymology
Hag Pits (6″) is Hagpitt 1603–4Survey , Hackpittes early 17thSurvey .This compound is found four times in the county, the other occurrences being in the field-names of Goring, Kencott (1634) and Pishill with Stonor. There is also a Hag Pit on the 6″ map in Beenham Berks.The first element is perhaps the word meaning 'a cutting or felling,' mostly north-country, but the EDD gives a number of quotations from southern counties in which it refers to timber which is allotted for felling, or brushwood which has been cut for firewood. A meaning 'pits where peat is cut,' cf. hag EDD sb 3 'a moss or bog from which peats have been cut,' might be suggested, but the topography does not support it in all the five cases. v. Addenda lii.