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.

Burleston

Major Settlement in the Parish of Burleston

Historical Forms

  • (at) Burdalueston 843 ASCharters
  • Bordelestone 843 BCS739
  • Pidele 1086 DB(f.78a)
  • Pidela Exon
  • Burdeleston 1212 Fees 1280 Winch 1405 AddRoll 1535 VE 1546 Hutch3
  • Burdalston 1285 FA
  • Burdleston 1383 AddRoll
  • Burdellaston 1386 Hutch3
  • Burdelston 1405 AddRoll 1539 AOMB
  • Burdelleston 1431 ChrP 15
  • Burdefueston 1280 Ass
  • Burdolveston 1292 Banco
  • Burdolfston 1332 SR
  • Borde(s)leston 1310 Inqaqd 1311 Pat
  • Bardalston 1327 SR
  • Bardolston 1340 NI
  • Bourdelston 1354 FF
  • Burleston 1535 VE
  • Burston 1575 Saxton

Etymology

v. tūn 'farm, estate'; the first el. is a pers.n., possibly Burdel ; the early form in -alues - (in a late copy), as well as the three later forms in -efues - (probably for -elues -), -olves - and -olfs -, may be due to confusion of this name with Bardolfeston in Puddletown par. infra which lies only ⅔ mile NW. The pers.n. Burdel , found in OE  only on coins of Athelstan, is taken to be a mistranscription of Bardel by Forssner 42, but Mrs V. Smart points out that on the coins in question, four mint-signed coins of Norwich all from different dies, there are three dies BVRDEL to one BARDEL (with unbarred A , perhaps an erroneous inversion), and Mr C. E. Blunt also considers BVRDEL the correct form. The pers.n. Burdel should perhaps be associated with the pers.n. Burde recorded once in DB as the name of the TRE tenant of Rushton in E Stoke par. supra , thought by Feilitzen 211 to be possibly from OFr  Burdel with AN loss of final l , cf. Bush-head Gdn in Wareham par. supra . Dr von Feilitzen notes: 'The first el. certainly looks like a pers.n. Burdel of obscure origin; it is too early for OFr  Burdel which, on the other hand, may be the etymon of the name on the coins, since moneyers were of course so often foreigners.' However, if the forms from the OE charters (in late copies) are only ME substitutions for OE  Pidele , Burleston may also contain OFr  Burdel . Like Athelhampton par. supra , Burleston is on R. Piddle or Trent, hence the DB form; for the identification, v. Eyton 135–6, VCHDo 378, 130.

Places in the same Parish