Beaconsfield
Major Settlement in the Parish of Beaconsfield
Historical Forms
- Bekenesfelde 1184 P 1204 Fines
- Bekenefeld 1223 Bract 1241,1262 Ass
- Becnefeld 1225 Pat
- Bekenfeld 1247 Ass
- Beckenesfeld 1284 FA
- Bekingfeld 1373 IpmR
- Beckonesfelde 1529 LDD
- Bekyngsfeld 1537 LP
Etymology
OE bēacnes -feld , a genitival compound denoting apparently 'open land marked by a beacen .' v. feld . This is our word beacon but its sense here is uncertain. Beaconsfield stands high and a 'beacon' fire may have been lighted here. The vowel has been shortened in the trisyllable.