Banbury Stone
Early-attested site in the Parish of Eckington
Historical Forms
- Bænintesburg 778 BCS232 18th
- Bænincgesbyrig 972 BCS1282 c.1050
Etymology
The burh is the ancient camp, of which Banbury Stone, a great mass of rock on the summit of Bredon Hill, forms the nucleus. It is spoken of as an urbs in the first of the above charters. The first element is an unrecorded pers. name Bænincg , allied to that found in Bannall's (supra 56) and in Bensington (O), Bænesingtun (ASC). Its bearer was presumably the owner of the site at some time in its history. The t of the first form is due to the not uncommon confusion of c and t in Old English script. See further Introd. xxi.