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.

Leasybridge

Early-attested site in the Parish of Wheathampstead

Historical Forms

  • Lupsed brugge 1306 WAM
  • Lefsetebregge 1340 Ct
  • Lessebruggemelle 1385 ib
  • Lesebridge 1705 AddCh

Etymology

The forms are late and difficult, but the earliest one (which was kindly checked by Miss D. L. Powell) would seem to point to a compound of OE  hlyp(e) and sæte, the later spellings showing the regular Hertfordshire e for OE  īe . The bridge is at the foot of a steepish slope, so that it is possibly 'bridge of the dwellers by the slope.'