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.

Botterley Hill

Early-attested site in the Parish of Acton

Historical Forms

  • Botterley Hill 1831 Bry
  • Bottylegh 1314 Chol
  • campus qui vocatur Bottyleye 1324 ib
  • The Botterley 1841 TA

Etymology

Botterley Hill (109–590517) [ˈbɔtəli], Botterley Hill 1831 Bry, Bottylegh 1314Chol , campus qui vocatur Bottyleye 1324ib , The Botterley 1841TA , cf. Botteley 's tenement given by John Botteley 1724 NotCestr, 'Botta's wood or clearing', from the OE  pers.n. Bot (t )a and lēah . The -y - spellings may represent a reduced form of -ing-, as in Baddiley 124supra , Faddiley supra . Other reductions of -ing in compounds to -i -, -y - may be seen in Fallibroome 1197 and possibly Ettiley 2270.But it must be observed that ME and ModE -i -, -y - spellings and ModE [-i-] pronunciations appear for the reduced forms and unstressed positions of OE  -an inflexion (wk.dat.sg. or gen.sg.; ME  -en , -yn ) in Romiley 1292, Baguley 212, Tabley 260, Checkley 56supra , Hankelow 89supra and possibly Ettiley loc. cit.; for OE -a inflexion (gen.pl.) in Gatley 1244, Bulkeley 325infra , Calveley 307infra ; possibly for OE  -en suffix in Ettiley loc. cit.; and for the unstressed second syllable of stapol in Stapeley 71supra ; and it does not seem likely that these p.ns. would have had an alternative -ing- form.

Places in the same Parish

Other OS name

Early-attested site