English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Sundayshill Covert

Early-attested site in the Parish of Almondsbury

Historical Forms

  • Sundaies hill 1654 Knole
  • Sunday Hill Farm 1830 M

Etymology

Sundayshill Covert, Sundaies hill 1654Knole 27, Sunday Hill Farm 1830 M. Cf. also Sunhill (i, 74), Sundayeshill , Sondayeshill i, 34, 180, etc.); many other names contain Monday , such as Monday's Hill (67), the Mondaye (ii, 86), and Mochelmonday (70), Friday , as in Frydayeslande (21), Long Fryday (173), and Saturday in Saturday close (ii, 162); the earliest reference is Monedaieslond (46) in 1322; v. Part iv, and cf. Sr 410–11 for other examples of days of the week in p.ns.Some may contain the surname Monday or Munday ; Mondayland (ii, 111) in view of its combination with þing 'property' and perhaps Mondays croft (ii, 199) are possible examples of this. But in view of the frequency of occurrence it is probable that some may be associated with the days of service to the lord of the manor; a Monday-man had to do manual work for the lord one day a week, presumably on Mondays (GlastonInq 95, RBB 19, VCH ii, 133); the word Monday came into use as an appellative for a piece of land on which such service was given on Mondays; this must be the significance of the reference to 'a munday of land in Elmbridge' in 1614Crav T. 23; possibly the f.n. Mochelmonday (70) was used of a plot on which the amount of Monday work to be done was great, as compared, for example, with Short Saturday (180). Names with Sunday , like some with Friday , may contain surnames, but in some instances (like Long Fryday 172supra , named from Long or Good Friday) they may be associated with the customary activities of those important days in the Christian calendar, Fridayland doubtless being a term used of poor land associated with fasting, Friday Street a road to the gallows; cf. also names like Easter meadow, August leaze, Candlemascroft, Lammas close, etc. (ii, 25 supra ).