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.

Shaftsey

Early-attested site in the Parish of Cookham

Historical Forms

  • Sefteseya 1220 Fees
  • Shafteseya 1241 Ass
  • Shetefley 1275–6 RH
  • Shaftseys Eight 1899 Darby

Etymology

Shaftsey (?lost), Sceaftesige 911–19 (c. 1025, 1562) Burghal Hidage, Sefteseya 1220 Fees (p), Shafteseya 1241Ass , Shetefley 1275–6 RH, Shaftseys Eight 1899 Darby (v. ēgeð ). For the identification with the place in the Burghal Hidage, and the exact location of the island in the Thames, v. Brooks and Gelling, Medieval Archaeology viii (1964), 74–90. The name means either 'Sceaft's island', or 'island of the pole', v. sceaft , (ī)eg.