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.

Bassell's Fm

Early-attested site in the Parish of West Grinstead

Historical Forms

  • Badeshele 1288 Ass

Etymology

Bassell's Fm (6″) probably takes its name from Thomas de Badeshele (1288Ass ). The forms are insufficient for any suggestion to be made about this name unless it be that Badeshele is really the beaddan syla of BCS 961, in which case it was a swine-pasture of Annington infra 222 and we have another example of syle , 'wallowing place,' as in Selham supra 28. This compound might appear with inorganic h in ME , The first element would then be a pers. name Beadda , presumably a pet- form of one of the numerous OE  names in Beadu -.