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.

Hartslock Wood, Hartslock Cottage and Hart's Lock

Early-attested site in the Parish of Goring

Etymology

Hartslock Wood, Hartslock Cottage and Hart's Lock (all 6″). Cf. Locstigle 1181 Gor, Locstiele c. 1310 Gor, Locstyle 1331 Gor, Locstieleweye 1355 Gor, Locstilweye 1362 Gor, Locstilforlong 1363 Gor, Lokstile 1377 Gor. This means 'stile by the lock,' v. stigel , to which 'way' and 'furlong' have been added. A family named Hurt , (le ) Herth owning land in this neighbourhood is mentioned 1337et freq to early 15th Gor, and is probably responsible for the first element of the modern name. The 1181 form is more than a century earlier than the first example of the word lock in the sense 'barrier on a river' in the NED.