Snower Hill
Early-attested site in the Parish of Betchworth
Historical Forms
- Snorehill t.Hy8 MinAcct
- Snower Hill 1749 B
Etymology
Snower Hill is Snorehill t. Hy 8MinAcct , Snower Hill 1749 B.The name is clearly identical with Snow Hill infra 323, Snow Hill (London), Snore Hylle t. Hy 3 St Bartholomew Deeds (A. B.), Snowr Hill 1504, Snowrehille 1507 Pat, Snourehilstreete 1545 LP.Cf. also Snower Hill (1845TA ), a field-name in Chipstead and Snorhull (1308Rental ) in Farnham. These names should probably be linked with Snoring, Snower Hall in Fordham, and possibly with Snarehill, all in Norfolk. For Snoring, Ekwall (PN in -ing 81) notes that the DB form Snaringes makes it necessary to take the a as long. He would connect the name with an OE cognate of Norw snaar , Swed snår , 'brushwood.' These go back to a root snarha - (v. Torp and Hellquist s. v .) which, with loss of h , would give OE snār -. Snoring may therefore denote 'dwellers among the brushwood.' Snower already appears as Snora in DB. If this is the same word, then we have a very early example of OE ā > ME ō . Snarehill can only be connected with this word if we take the s of DB Snareshella and Snareshul and some later forms as inorganic. If there was an OE word snār denoting 'brushwood,' it might well be frequently compounded with hyll . Cf. the numerous examples of fearn compounded with hyll and dun .