Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Bel(l)haye 1567 SheffMan 1569 Cust

• Bell Hagg(e) 1589 WillY 1618 SheffMan 1771 M

Etymology

Bell Hagg, Bel (l )haye 1567 SheffMan, 1569 Cust, Bell Hagg (e )1589 WillY, 1618 SheffMan, 1771 M. This would appear to be a variant of the OE  compound bēl -haga 'beacon enclosure', but with (ge)hæg 'enclosure' instead of haga (as in Bella Wood 81supra ). The first el. may well be OE  bēl 'fire, beacon', as Bell Hagg is in a prominent place high on a hillside. The more recent forms of the name have been influenced by the common word bell , and -haye has been replaced by dial. hagg 'a copse' (v. hǫgg ).