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.

Bolsover

Major Settlement in the Parish of Bolsover

Historical Forms

  • Belesovre 1086 DB
  • Belesovere 1270 Pat
  • Bellesores 1199 ChR
  • Bellessov' 1535 Val
  • Bol(l)is(h)ou(e)r(e), Bol(l)es(h)ou(e)r(e), Bol(l)es(h)ov(e)r(e), Bol(l)es(h)oura, Bol(l)es(h)or(e), Bol(l)es(h)ores, Bol(l)esoures 1149–53,1154–9 Darley 1165,1167,1168,1169 P
  • Bules(h)o(u)res 1197,1198,1199,1200,1201,1202 P 1209 PatR
  • Bullesoure 1372 Fine 1373 Orig
  • Balisoura 1175 P
  • Ballesoure 1374 IpmR
  • Bouesovre 1212 RBE
  • Boldesore 1376 Pat
  • Boulsouer 1577 Saxton 1610 Speed 1675 Ogilby

Etymology

This is a difficult name, the first element of which appears to be identical with that of Boulsdon Gl as Ekwall (DEPN) suggests.His tentative etymology 'edge or slope near the bullock pasture', with a first element OE  bulan -lǣs 'bullock pasture', is far from convincing. The first element would appear to be a strong pers.n., perhaps an unrecorded OE  pers.n. Bul (l ) or Bol (l ), the weak forms of which are either on record or have been adduced from p.n. evidence.Perhaps it is therefore 'Bul(l)'s or Bol(l)'s slope', v. ofer 2 . The Be - spellings are presumably errors for Bo -; in view of the overwhelming evidence of the Bo - and Bu - forms the two isolated Ba - spellings can safely be disregarded. For the modern pronunciation v. supra lii.