Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Rastric, Rastrik, Rastryk 1086 DB 12 Font 13 1200–18 YChviii Hy3 Arm c.1255 YDiv,v 1274–1321 WCR c.1280–90 YDiv 1320 YDiii 1500 Ipm

• Rastrike 1164–70 Font 1349 YDiv 1421 YDiii 1558 WillY

• Rastrick(e) 1180–1202 YChviii a.1202 YDiv 1309 Ext 1534 YDi 1641 Rates

• Rasterik 1358 YDiii 1379 PT

• Rastryg 1401 Calv

• Restricke 1584 FF

• Raystrake 1540 WillY

• Raistrick 1579,1590 ib

Etymology

Rastrick is probably a compound of ON  rǫst 'resting-place' and OE  ric 'a narrow strip, a narrow track' and denotes 'a road with a resting-place'. The village is on the main road from Brighouse to Rochdale which follows the line of the Roman road to Lancashire (cf. Slack ii, 303, Roads V) and climbs up the steep hill-side from the R. Calder. ON  rǫst meant 'resting-place' and came to be used of 'the distance between resting-places'; ON  ǽvangr (as in the Norw  p.n. Evang , NG iv, 79) was similarly used of 'a resting-place where the horses were allowed to feed' (Fritzner, Ordbok s.v. áivangr ). The later spellings with Raist - are probably analogical, influenced by the pronunciation of such words as haste from OFr. Cf. Lindrick i, 54.