Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Sterte 1086 DB

• Sterta Exon

• Stertes 1227 FF

• Stertel(') 1212 Fees m13 Brid 1267 Drew 1274 Ipm 1280 Ch 1285 FA 1288 Ass 1341 Ipm

• Stertill 1383 IpmR

• Stertull 1515 HarlCh

• Upstertel 1285,1303 FA

• Upstertyl 1341–6 Ipm

• Upperstertull 1515 HarlCh

• Sturtel 1250 FF 1276 Banco 1299 Ipm 1303 FA 1332 SR 1340 NI

• Sturtul 1275 Ipm

• Sturtell 1276 Banco 1428 FA

• Sturtil(l) 1276 Banco

• Sturcul (sic for Sturtul) 1276 Cl

• Sturtyl 1291 Tax

• Scurtil (sic for Sturtil) 1316 FF

• Middle Sturtell Farm 1841 TA

• Upsturtel 1311 Drew 1332 SR

• Vpsteortel 1268 Ass

• Stirtel 1288 Ass

• Stirtell 1431 FA

• Sterc(h)el (sic for Stert(h)el) 1288 Ass

• Sturstel (sic) 1346 FA

• Sterthull 1397 Pat 1481

• Sterthill 1428 FA 1661 DCMRent

• Up Sterthill 1486 Ipm

• Upstirthill or Overstirthill 1483 Hutch3

• Stirthill 1664 HTax

• Higher Stirthill Farm 1841 TA

• Middle Stirthill 1863 Hutch3

• Storthill 1653 ParlSurv

• Higher Sturthill, Middle Sturthill 1795 Boswell 1811 OS

• Broad Sturthill 1811 ib

• Upper Sturthill 1863 Hutch3

• Sterte 1086 DB

Etymology

From an OE  *steortel 'projecting or pointed piece of land': this el. is steort 'tail or tongue of land' with -el suffix, as first proposed by Tengstrand MN 102 (cf. Fägersten 260, followed by EPN 2 151, who suggests a compound of steort with hyll , but note that the earliest -hull spelling is from 1397). The name may well refer, as supposed by Hutch3 2 284–5, to Shipton Hill infra which lies just W of Hr Sturthill and is there described as 'a remarkable long hill…a vast barrow-like eminence …which at a distance looks like a large boat or hull of a ship turned keel upwards'. Higher ~ (earlier Up ~, Over ~, Upper ~), Broad ~ and Middle ~ distinguish these places from Lower Sturthill in Burton Bradstock par. supra , note however that Broad Sturthill in 1930 (6″) is Lower Sturthill Fm in 1960 (1″). There was a mill at Sterte in 1086 DB (VCHDo 3105).