Sywell
Major Settlement in the Parish of Sywell
Historical Forms
- Snewelle 1086 DB
- Siwell(a) 1086 DB 1155–8 Ch 1329
- Seywell 1287 Ass
Etymology
Professor Ekwall takes this name to be identical with Seawell supra 40, Sewell (PN BedsHu 129, and O). He also notes Seuewelledale (Db) in the Darley Charters (Derbys. Arch. Soc. xxii, 24), and takes all to be from OE seofon willan , 'seven springs,' while in Sywell we have OE syfan (which is on record) in place of the normal seofon , the DB form for Sywell being presumably an error for Suewelle . As parallels he notes further seofan wyllan broc (KCD 450) in Staffordshire and Sevenewelles in Leicestershire (AD ii) and the German Siebenbrünnen , of which Förstemann (ON ii, 712) gives three examples.