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.

Bearworth

Early-attested site in the Parish of Swindon

Historical Forms

  • Ber(e)wrþe(broke) c.1250 GlR
  • Bereworth, Beareworthfield 1575 TRMB

Etymology

Bearworth (lost), Ber (e )wrþe (broke )c. 1250 GlR, Bereworth , Beareworthfield 1575TRMB . Possibly 'barley enclosure', v. bere , worð ; the first el. is ambiguous, but two other local -worth names are associated with cultivated crops, Ryeworth and Lynworth (98, 111supra ). It may, however, be identified with Bergworth (supra ), and in that case the first el. is beorg 'hill'.

Places in the same Parish