Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Stipelwinterburn' 1199 CurR

• Stepelton 1219 FF 1326 Ipm

• Stupelton(') 1288 Ass 1291 Tax 1444 MinAcct

• Stipelton 1291 Tax

• Steepleton 1664 HTax 1811 OS

• Winterburn' 1235–6 Fees

• Wynterburn' Stepelton', Wynterburn' Stepilton', Wynterburn' Stupelton' 1244 Ass

• Wynterburn' Stupilton 1260 FF

• Wynterborn(e) Stupelton(e) 1268 Ass 1438 ADII

• Wyntreborn Stupeltun 1285 FA

• Winterburn(e) Stepelton 1276 FF 1429 Fine

• Winterborn Steepleton 1686 DCMCt

• Wynterbourn(e) Stipelton(') 1280 Ass 1559 Fry

• Winterborn Staple (sic) 1653 ParlSurv

• Stepelton in 1219 FF

Etymology

One of the several places named from the R. South Winterborne, v. Winterborne Came 1261 and RNs. infra . It is probable that the meaning of Steepleton is 'village (v. tūn) with a church tower or steeple' rather than 'village at a steep place' (although this could refer to its situation between North Hill and Lambert's Hill to the N, and the hill-spurs of Black Down to the S), v. stēpel (WSax  stīepel), cf. Steeple par. 1 95, Steepleton Iwerne par. 2 115, Hutch1 1 564. ThornDB (note to 56, 10 etc.) does not consider this Winterborne can be safely identified with any of the DB manors called Wintreburne , cf. Eyton 121–2, DBGeography 74 ff, VCHDo 3110–11. Fägersten 253 note 1 is mistaken in thinking the lost Winterborne Belet was an alternative name for Winterborne Steepleton (no doubt because Ralph Belet held Stepelton in 1219 FF), v. under Winterborne Came par. 1 262.