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.

Gossipgate

Early-attested site in the Parish of Alston

Historical Forms

  • Gossipesgate 1279 Ass

Etymology

'Gossip's gata,' or possibly 'gate,' v. supra 173. Gossip is used here in the sense of 'person with whom one has contracted spiritual affinity, according to canon law.'

Places in the same Parish

Early-attested site

Other OS name

Major Settlement