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.

Peek

Early-attested site in the Parish of Ugborough

Historical Forms

  • Pech 1086 DB
  • Pek' 1242 Fees796 1336 Ass
  • Westpek 1306 Ass
  • Peck 1303 FA
  • Pyek 1333 SR
  • Est Pyk 1382 FF
  • Pykedon 1498 Ct
  • Pigedone c.1580 DA

Etymology

East Peek and West Peek are two farms adjacent to the hills now called Eastern and Western Beacon. In both cases we have probably an old hill-name from OE  pēac , for which v. PN BedsHu s. n. Pegsdon, and Mawer, Problems of PN Study 71.According to Crossing (77) the old people still talk of Picken Hill. This may be a corruption of earlier Peak Down Hill and have itself given rise to the present-day Beacon .