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.

Durlston Bay, Durlston Dairy, Durlston Head, Durlston Head Castle

Other OS name in the Parish of Swanage

Historical Forms

  • Durleston Bay 1826 Gre
  • Durlston Head, Durlston Point 1774 Hutch1

Etymology

( 1774 Hutch1 , Durleston Bay 1826 Gre ) ( Durlston Head , Durlston Point 1774 Hutch1 ) [ ˈdɑːrlstən ] , ' rock with a hole in it ' , v. þ rel , stān , with hēafod , point ; there is here , as a result of stone quarrying , a ' dark and steep tunnel cut obliquely through the solid rock ' ( TGuide ) , but the name no doubt refers to some earlier natural coastal feature , cf. Thurlestone D 312 ; for the forms in D - cf. Durdle Door in W Lulworth par . infra , Durlett W 247 .