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.

Sillins

Early-attested site in the Parish of Feckenham

Historical Forms

  • Sulyen 1262 For
  • Le Sulyon 1464 Pat

Etymology

The identification is not certain and the forms are scanty, but this may be OE  sulh , dat. sylh , 'plough,' and later 'plough-land' in the dat. pl. In the NED s. v. sullow we have a quotation from Layamon, twenti sulhene (or solʒene ) lond . There is a Sullyon Hylle in the demesne-land of Bordesley (VE) and a dike called le Sulyon near to Bridley Moor in Tardebigge which must refer to the same land. This would be some three miles from Sillins, but as there is a continuous rise in ground, which may be the 'hill ,' it is possible that all three names should be linked together.