Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Spehtesberie 1086 DB

• Spestesberia Exon

• Spestesbyry 1301 Ipm

• Spectesb'i 1162 P

• Spectesbury 1294 Pat 1385 IpmR 1386 Cl

• Spettesbury 1349–1372 Pat 1598 Drax

• Speghtesbury 1399,1401 FF

• Speytesburi, Speytesbury 1435 FF 1469 Ilch

• Speytisbury 1472 MinAcct 1540 Hutch3

• Spytesbury 1497 Ilch

• Spetisbury 1535 VE 1692 Weld1

• Spetsbury 1664 HTax

• Speytysbery 1558–79 ChancP

• Spettesborough als. Spettesbury 1599 Drax

• Spittesburye, Spittesburie 1571 HarlCh 1608 Lansd

• Spetesbury 1700 Fort

• Spesteberie 1086 DB

• Spetteberi 1242 Ch

• Spettebury 1291 Tax 1294 Pat 1460 Hutch3

• Spectebur' 1268 Ass 1288 ib

• Spectebyr' 1288 ib

• Spectebury 1291 Tax 1297 Pat 1461 et freq

• Spittebir 1280 Ch

• Speyhtebir' 1280 Ass

• Spetebir', Spetebur' 1288 ib

• Espeghtebury 1312 Inqaqd

• Spe(y)ghtebury 1312 Pat 1313 1390 FF

• Spe(y)ghtebyry 1378 Pat

• Speghtibury 1313 ib

• Speghtbury 1341 ib

• Spehtebury 1341 Cl

• Spectbury 1346 FF

• Speccebury 1388 Cl

• Speightebury 1391 Pat

• Poststeberia 1087–1100 France

• Posteberies 1099 ib

• Postebere 1166–87 ib

• Posteberi 1187 ib

• Postebyr' 1188 AD

• Poste(r)biri 1219 Sarum

• Spactebir' 1205 Hutch3

• Speburg 1221 Cur

• Spesbury 1575 Saxton

• Septisbury 1692 Weld1

Etymology

The second el. is burh (dat.sg. byrig ), here in the sense 'pre-English earthwork' with reference to the Iron Age hill-fort of Crawford Castle or Spettisbury Rings infra . The first el. is an unrecorded OE  speoht, speht 'the green woodpecker', as first proposed by Fägersten 76; the word corresponds to OHG  speht , MLG  specht , it occurs as ME  specht from c. 1450 (NED s.v. speight ), and it is also the first el. of Spexhall Sf (DEPN).It is probably used as a pers.n. here, although the name could be taken to suggest that the abandoned fortification was frequented by this bird, cf. EPN 161 for other instances of burh with words denoting birds. For the AN spellings with prosthetic E - (Espeghte -) and with loss of S - (Poste -, etc), v. ANInfl 55, 67. In 1327SR this tithing in Loosebarrow hundred is called [C ]rauford (v. Gt Crawford infra ) and in 1332 SR it is called Lousebergh , v. the hundred name supra .