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.

Hemley Copse

Early-attested site in the Parish of Brightwalton

Historical Forms

  • bosco de Hemele 1224 Sar
  • (wood called) Hemele 1294 Maitland
  • Copp' called Hemley 1557 RentSur

Etymology

Hemley Copse, bosco de Hemele 1224 (copy) Sar, (wood called ) Hemele 1294 Maitland, Copp ' called Hemley 1557RentSur . The second el. is (a)h 'wood'. The first is found in a number of names in O, v. O 451, where it is suggested that there was a ME  heme , related to OE  and modern hem , meaning 'boundary'. This copse is very near the parish boundary.