Barrow Hill, Berrow Fm
Early-attested site in the Parish of Ashleworth
Historical Forms
- Borrowhill, le Berrowe 1540 MinAcct
- Barrow field 1798 EnclA
- on beorgwillan and on beorg lægen, of barlegen 11 Finb 14
Etymology
Barrow Hill, Berrow Fm, 1830 M, Borrowhill , le Berrowe 1540MinAcct , Barrow field 1798EnclA , v. beorg 'hill', hyll ; it is a prominent round hill at grid 143–822269 on the Hasfield boundary, and Berrow Fm (infra ), which is named from it, is half a mile west where this boundary makes a sharp bend. It seems probable that these two places, Barrow Hill and Berrow Fm, represent on beorgwillan and on beorg lægen , of barlegen in 11 (14) Finb 187, which Dr Finberg locates further north on the Tirley-Hasfield boundary at grid points 143–827285 and 817283 respectively. The OE document is a survey of properties over which Westminster claimed rights and which amounted to 66 hides; DB reckons the Westminster properties at 59 hides including the distant manors of Todenham, etc. (cf. Finb 187 notes). If Hasfield, which was in the later Westminster Hundred, were included it would somewhat reduce the difference in the OE and DB assessments of the Westminster estates. A further point in locating the southern bounds of the property on the Hasfield- Ashleworth boundary is the association of two other points bracburne and puddanbroc with later Ashleworth documents. The boundary would then begin at a stream outlet (bracburne ) at grid 143–824251 and proceed by one or another of the streams (puddan broc ) to beorgwillan , a spring (v. beorg 'hill', wella ) 1½ furlongs south of Barrow Hill at 820265, then to beorg lægen or Barrow Fm at 814270, through æscmor to widancumb , the wide valley at 814272 running north-west and then along the Corse boundary round the west side of forstricge , now Foscombe Hill at 800270. It may be added that, if not errors for lēah 'clearing', the lægen in beorg lægen and lind lægen (ii, 81 supra ), may be from an OE *(ge )legen , an earlier form of ME leyne 'arable strip' and related to OE (ge )legu as in Meosgelegeo (i, 171 supra ), cf. Löfvenberg 115–16.