Cox's Cross
Early-attested site in the Parish of Hermitage
Historical Forms
- coccuscruch Ed1 ForReg 15
- Cockescruche 1338–40 Glast
- Cope vel Cockes crosse 1615 DuCo
Etymology
Cox's Cross (local, ST 643068), coccuscruch Ed 1 (15) ForReg , Cockescruche 1338–40 Glast, Cope vel Cockes crosse 1615DuCo , probably 'Cocc's cross', from crūc 3 'a cross', replaced later by cros , and a pers.n. or surname Cocc , Cock (Cope in the 17th-cent. form is probably also a surname), cf. Geoffrey Cok of Hertleye 1314 Pat (= Hartley Fm just ⅓ mile SE from here in Minterne M. par. infra ). The place lies on the par. bdy with Hillfield where Hermitage Lane forms a cross-roads with Clay St. and Stonerush Drove all infra . The two early forms cited occur in the bounds of Blackmoor Forest (3 274–5, v. Roscoe 34), the third is a point in the bounds of Hermitage par. itself.