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.

Howhill Fm

Early-attested site in the Parish of Girton

Historical Forms

  • le Howeshil 1300 Misc
  • le Borowfeld, litill Barowfelde 1475 StJohn's

Etymology

Howhill Fm (6″) is so named in 1900 (Trinity ). The name is to be associated with le Howeshil (1300 Misc), 'the hill to Howes ,' surviving in Howe Ho infra 178. Cf. Hoes 1219 Cur, (le ) Ho (o )wes ib.et freq to 1480CTerr , Houwes 1227 FF, Hoghes 1260 Ass, le Houis 13thCCC , Hoses 1480CTerr , House (s )1533 Pat, 1535 VE.Cf. also Howescroftesande t. John Township, Howseshedge 1432Ct , le Howescroft 1480CTerr . Howes was a hamlet which Gray (Merton 20) located 'in a corner in the north-west end of Grithow Field' in Cambridge. Cf. Gretthawe c. 1225 Rad, (le ) Grethowe (hil )1240 FF, c. 1250StJohn 'sH , Crethowe 1293 ib., Grythowefelde 1453StJohn 's , 'gravel ridge,' v. grēot , and cf. Girton and Gravel Hill Fm supra 176, 41. For Crethowe , v. Cambridge supra 37. Dr Helen M. Cam notes that the Enclosure maps for St Giles parish, Cambridge (1803) and Girton (1814) show the hamlet extending from Girton Corner to the Cambridge borough boundary, partly in Impington, partly in Girton. The Huntingdon Rd was Hows Lane .It is always difficult to distinguish between ME  howe from OE  hōh, dat. hōge , and howe from ON  haugr 'barrow.' The topography does suggest a possible derivation from hōh , but the invariable plural form is a difficulty. Lysons (44) records the destruction of a barrow (probably near Bunker's Hill) in making the present turnpike road. In Impington, too, we have a field called le Borowfeld , litill Barowfelde (1475StJohn 's ), whilst Mr T. C. Lethbridge suggests that there may once have been many barrows here. Whilst certainty is impossible, Howes (hil ) is probably from haugr , and Grithow from hōh . Dr Cam suggests that the site may have been occupied from British times and may have been connected with the cemetery in the grounds of Girton College.

Places in the same Parish

Major Settlement