Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Spolspiche 1316 Pat

• Spolwspich

• Polyspycche 1511 SAC40,121

• Pollespeche 1545 DeedsEnrolled

• Pollyspeche 1552 Ipm

• Poulspetch 1628 SRS14,125

Etymology

This is a difficult name. The second part is clearly the word found in holanspic , the name of a swine-pasture in Kent, in Mispies infra 487, in a marsh-name Spichespiche , Spikespiche in Broomhill (c. 1220 Pens), an unidentified Spicheford (1210Ct ), in Berdespich in Bockingfold (K) (1331 Ipm), and in the pers. name ate Spiche in Dartford (K) (SR 1327). Poles Pitch lies in a gently sloping valley. Possibly it is connected with LGer  spike 'brushwood causeway,' Westphalian spik , 'fish-weir' (Jellinghaus, Die Westfälischen ON 157). It is impossible with the data so far collected to determine the meaning of spic . Equally difficult is the first element. Professor Ekwall suggests that it may go back to an OE  spald , 'valley' (cf. PN BedsHu 247). The initial s was probably lost owing to the difficulty of pronouncing sp-sp .Cf. also Cotescue (PN NRY 255), from earlier Scotescough , but addition and loss of s is a common dialectal phenomenon, cf. Ritter in Herrig's Archiv 116, 43 ff., and Scarfax for Carfax infra 225.