Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Thicles 1170–85 YCh 1185–1210 ib

• Es Thichels in bosco de Heton 1175–85 ib

• Esthichels 1195–1211 ib

• Chichels 1180–90 ib

• Ticlas deversus le suh usque burganes lapidum 1190–1210 ib

• Thikles inter Gatebrigge-cloh et Westhaucloh 1195–1211 ib

• Thicclis, Thideles (sic) 1195–1211 ib

• Hetonethicles 13 Font

• Kerder 1170–85 YCh1692

Etymology

Thickles (lost), Thicles 1170–85 YCh 1792, 1185–1210 ib 1704, Es Thichels in bosco de Heton 1175–85 ib 1698, Esthichels 1195–1211 ib 1701, Chichels 1180–90 ib 1703, Ticlas deversus le suh usque burganes lapidum 1190–1210 ib 1700, Thikles inter Gatebrigge-cloh et Westhaucloh 1195–1211 ib 1702, Thicclis , Thideles (sic)1195–1211 ib 1710–11 (all from Font), Hetonethicles 13 Font; in the same district there is a sichet or stream called Ecclesdo which falls into Kerder (the R. Calder) 1170–85 YCh 1692, but this may have no connexion with Thicles (v. f.ns. infra ). There is an Ickles Ho (212supra ) in the adjacent township of Thornhill and it would be tempting to identify the two. But Thicles is clearly in 'the wood of Heaton', a woodland area now probably represented by Tib Netherend Wood and Heaton Hill Wood, both between Woodside and Wood Lane. The other places associated with it, burganes , Gatebrigge-cloh and Westhau-cloh , have not been identified, but v. f.ns. infra ; other property owned by Fountains Abbey was nearer Colne Bridge (296infra ) to the west of the township. The vowel -i - in all the spellings rules out any connexion with OE  ēcels (as in Ickles 186supra ) and the initial Th - is certainly original and not due to a wrong analysis of Esthichels ('east hichels '). The name would appear to go back to an OE  *þiccels , for which there is no other evidence so far. It would be a noun formation related to OE  þicce1 'a thicket, dense undergrowth' or þicce 2 'thick, dense', with the suffix -els (cf. EPN i, 150). Its meaning would be something like that of þicce 1 or the derivative þiccett , 'thicket, dense bushes or undergrowth', which is appropriate for a place located in woodland, v. Addenda.