Farmery
Early-attested site in the Parish of St Bridget Beckermet
Historical Forms
- Furmery, del Fermerie 1279 Ass
- Furmery 1307 Cl
- Farmery 1754 LowtherW
Etymology
Formally, this could be OFr fermerie , 'fortified place.' But the situation of Farmery, within two miles of Calder Abbey, strongly suggests that the name represents OFr (en )fermerie , '(monastic) infirmary.' The earliest example of this word in NED comes from the 14th-century Prompt Parv ('fermerye, infirmaria , infirmitorium '). It is known from other cases that a house for sick monks might be at a considerable distance from the main buildings of a monastery. Cf. Fermery Hill (348).