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.

Chaceley

Major Settlement in the Parish of Chaceley

Historical Forms

  • Ceatewesleah 972 BCS1282 c.1050
  • Chaddeslega, Chaddesleia, Chaddesleye c.1086 EveA 1190 Surv c.1150
  • juxta Longedon 1316 FF 1346,1428 FA
  • Cheddeslega Hy2 BM
  • Chaseleia 1185 AC
  • Cadeslega 1190 P
  • Chadesleg' 1212 Fees139
  • juxta Seuarne 1358 FF
  • Chasteley, Chattisley, Chatysley 1535 VE 1596 Marr

Etymology

Apart from the first form one would take the first element to be the pers. name Ceatta or Ceadda in a strong form. For these two forms v. Redin (88). It is difficult however to overlook the first form, especially as the same name, in a weak form, seems to lie behind the ceatwanbeorge of BCS 526, a Shaftesbury charter relating to Dorset. There is a pers. name Cetwa in Florence of Worcester, but this seems to be simply an error for Tetwa or Tætwa (Redin 70). Further, we must note that there is evidence for other OE  names with an extension in -wa . There is the Sceldwea or Scyldwa of the genealogies (Redin 78) and Tætwa , also found in the genealogies. For the possible history of this difficult suffix v. Kögel in Zeitschrift f. deutsches Alt. 37, 271, n. 1 and Björkman in Englische Studien , 52, 150, n. 1.

The modern Chaceley in place of Chatsley or Chadsley , such as we should expect, may well be due to a conscious attempt to distinguish it from Chaddesley Corbett. v. Introd. xx.

Places in the same Parish