Belstead Hall
Early-attested site in the Parish of Broomfield
Historical Forms
- Belestedam 1086 DB
- Belstede 1325 FF
- Belstedehall(e) 1354 Ipm 1523 MinAcct
- Bestedhall 1504–15 ECP
Etymology
This name is repeated in Belstead (Sf). It is probably one of the triple compounds noted by Ritter 88–90, in which the middle element was dropped. It must be from belhus-stede , 'the site of the bell-house,' the possession of which was one of the qualifications by which a ceorl became a thegn. Cf. Buckhatch infra 263 and EHR xii, 489–92.