Parkhall
Early-attested site in the Parish of Somersham
Historical Forms
- Parkale 1252 Rams c.1350
- Parchalemuth 1279 RH
Etymology
Here, as throughout the fen-country, one is faced with the uncertainty of the original features of the countryside. On the face of it it looks as if Parchale were a river-name and Parchalemuth the name given to some spot where it debouched into a larger stream, but we know nothing as to whether this was the case in actual fact. Apart from this we might take the name to be from OE pearroc and healh , and the whole name to mean 'nook of land marked by an enclosure.' Professor Ekwall calls attention to a La Parrok used of an arm of the sea in the Colne estuary in Essex and Parrokflete (Pat 1362), and for the interpretation of these passages notes the use of park in the sense 'enclosure for fish' (NED).