English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Spruisty Hill, Spruisty Hall

Early-attested site in the Parish of Ripley

Historical Forms

  • Sprotesby (sic) 1301 YI
  • Spruristy 1478 Testiii
  • Spruistie, Spruisty 1624 KnaresWill 1647 YDiii
  • Spruste 1636 PRFrn
  • Sprusty 1685 YDiii
  • Sprucety Hall 1817 M

Etymology

Spruisty Hill, Spruisty Hall, Sprotesby (sic)1301 YI, Spruristy 1478 Test iii, Spruistie , Spruisty 1624 KnaresWill, 1647 YD iii, Spruste 1636 PRFrn, Sprusty 1685 YD iii, Sprucety Hall 1817 M. The earlier spellings are erratic, but the later ones point to a ME  Sprōsty . This could be best explained as a compound of OE  sprota 'sprout, shoot' and stīg 'a narrow path'.