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.

Graveley

Major Settlement in the Parish of Graveley

Historical Forms

  • Gravelai 1086 DB
  • Gravele 1185 Templars
  • Graveley Street 1735 FF

Etymology

'Thicket-wood' or 'clearing,' v. græfe , leah . The second series of forms suggest a genitival compound grafan-lea , such as we have in BCS 757 for Grovely (W).