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.

The Bittoms

Early-attested site in the Parish of Kingston-on-Thames

Historical Forms

  • la Butine 1357 ADi

Etymology

The Bittoms (6″) is la Butine 1357 AD i, le Betine 1429, le Bytine 1443 AD ii, waste ground called the Byttom , the Bittome , Byttom close 1564, the Byttome 1586Deed . This place (preserved as a street-name) was low-lying ground in an angle between the Thames and the Hogs Mill River and is clearly the OE  bytme (f), 'bottom', found in a Mercian Charter (BCS 229). Cf. further infra 357.