Bexhill
Major Settlement in the Parish of Bexhill
Historical Forms
- bexlea, bixlea, bæxwarena land 772 BCS208 c.1300
- Bexelei 1086 DB
- Bixla' 1166 RBE 1180 Ch 1338 Ch 1227–33 QW 1279
- Byxle, Bixle 1186 P 15th ECP
- Bealsa 1174 P
- Beause 1226 SAC58,183 1227 SAC3
- Biause 1227–33 Ch
- Bease 1248 Ass
- Bewes 1257 FF
- Bause 1289 Ipm
- Beksela 12th ADiii
- Bexle 1235 FF late15th ECP
- Bixel 1278 Ass
- Bixele 1279 QW
- Buxle 1278 Misc 1350 Pat
- Bouxle 1341 Lewes
- Buxhull 1399,1424 IpmR
- Byxyll 1406 Cicestr
- Byxhell 1496 AsM
- Bexsyll 1504 Ipm
- Bexill, Bexhill 1535 VE
- Bexle al. Bexill 1538 Recov
- Bexhill al. Bexlie 1628 Recov
- Bexill 1672 MarL
- Bexhill or Becksley 1827 Recov
Etymology
'Box-tree clearing,' v. byxe , leah . In bæxwarena land we have OE -ware , 'inhabitants of,' added to the first element of a place- name in arbitrary fashion to denote the inhabitants of that place.Bixla is a Latinised form of the name, the series Bealsa , Beause etc. are Normanised forms (cf. Zachrisson in Vising Mélanges 188–9). The l of the second element became syllabic and then the suffix was changed by a piece of popular etymology.