Survey of English Place-Names

Etymology

Brig Dale (6″) is so named in 1272Warter . 'Valley with a brycg,' v. dæl . The name now refers to the bifurcated head of a small deep valley. The meaning of brycg 'bridge' is not certain, for there is (now at any rate) neither bridge nor stream. The name may well have been applied to the whole valley, now called Lavender Dale. This valley is crossed by an old cart-track from Blanch which runs on an embankment. This meaning of brycg is in some respects similar to its application to a raised causeway or 'hard' from mainland to island in the Battle of Maldon (ed. E. V. Gordon, 3–4). Professor Dickins compares Bridgend (L), the end of a causeway across the Fens.