Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Gersebroc, Gres(s)eburg 1086 DB

• Gresbroc, Gresbrok(e) 1156 YCh186 1164–8 1173 1208–37 Nost37d 1280 Ass 1371 FF 1375 YDxvi,89 1593 FF

• Gresbroc byrelaghte 1487 YDxiii,80

• Gresbroc Byerlawe 1542 FF

• Gresbrock 1454 YDxii,105

• Gresbruke 1521 Testv

• Gresbroike 1550 WillY

• Gresbrooke 1621 FF

• Gresebroc(h), Gresebrok(e) a.1181 SheffMisc 1194–9 YChviii 1246 Ass13d 1276 RH 1297 LS 1303 KF 1310 Ch 1316 Vill 1498 Testiv

• Grisebroc(k), Grysebroc(k), Grysebrok 13 Lewes296,303d 1285 KI 1289 Ebor

• Grissebrok 1285 KI

• Grisbrok(e), Grysbrok(e) 1369 FF 1425 Pat

• Gressebrok 1303 Aid 1328 Banco

• Cressebroke 1370 FF

• Greisbrocke, Greysbrocke, Greisbrooke 1511 YDvi 1607 FF

• Greisbrocke Byerley 1597 FF

• Gresbroughbierlawe 1608 FF

• Gresebrough 1636 WillY

• Greesborough 1653 ib

Etymology

There are phonological difficulties in deriving this name from OE  gærs, gres 'grass', although the few spellings in Gerse - or Gresse - point to that word, and the many forms with Gres - are not against it; spellings with a medial -e - in Gresebroc , however, could not arise from gærs or gres , though a reduced form of the adj. gærsen , gresen 'grassy' would account for Gerse -, Grese -, or Gresse -. On the other hand spellings like the later Greis - and the modern Greas - suggest a ME long vowel ē , and those with Grise - indicate that this was a close ē (or there has been some confusion with ON  gríss 'a pig'). It may be noted that Greasley Nt 144 and Gresley Db 636 have similar forms, and Ekwall (DEPN s.n.) has proposed OE  grēosn 'gravel, pebble', which would in fact formally account for both Greasley and Greasborough. The editors, however, state that after local inquiry this is unlikely for Greasley or Gresley. Greasbrough could be from grēosn 'gravel' or possibly gresen 'grassy'. Both would ultimately give ME  grēse ; Grassington pt. vi infra presents similar phonological problems.The DB form in -burg and the modern ones in -brough are analogical.'Gravelly or grassy stream', v. brōc . On the affix -bierlawe 'township', cf. Brampton Bierlow 106supra . v. Addenda.