Swinesherd
Early-attested site in the Parish of St Martins without Worcester
Historical Forms
- Swinesheafde, Swynesheafdan 974 BCS1298 11th KCD670 989 11th
- Swinesheved 13th Nash 18th
- Swineshead 1649 Surv 1793 Cary
Etymology
'Swine's head.' For this name and others of its type, cf. PN BedsHu 21. It is worthy of note in connexion with Bradley's interpretation of names such as this, that one of the leets for Oswaldslow Hundred was held here (VCH iii. 516), cf. also Swineshead Hundred (Gl). Schröder has an interesting article on German names with this suffix in NoB xii. 110 ff. and quotes parallels such as Hundshaupt , Mannshaupt , Rosshaupt . English names of this type do not however lend support to his theory that in all these cases we have reference to a 'head' of a stream.