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.

Turnham Green

Early-attested site in the Parish of Chiswick

Historical Forms

  • (campum de) Turneham 1229–37,1239 StPaulsCh
  • Turnham 1294 Ass c.1394 Works
  • Turnhamgrene 1396 Pat 1429 Ct
  • Turnehamgrene 1470 ib
  • Turnhamfeld 1437,1456 Ct
  • Turnham lane t.Hy6 ib

Etymology

This name should be compared with Turnham Hall (PN ERY 259–60) which is interpreted 'homestead by the river bend,' the first element being an unrecorded OE  word *trun , *turn , 'circular, circular place,' possibly by extension 'bend, bight.'Turnham Green was a hamlet on the Great West Road just below which the Thames makes a big sweep south between Chiswick and Kew Bridge. Possibly the name had reference to this bend and in that case it would be better to take the second element to be hamm rather than ham . Cf. Fulham infra 101.

Places in the same Parish