Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Steynesberwe 1323 MiD

• molendinum de Steinesberue 13 AD

• Steyneborrowe Mill 1616 Ipm

• Stenburrough Mill, Stonburrough Mill 1699 Deed

• Stemborough Mill 1835 O

• Stembro' Mill 1846 White

Etymology

, Steynesberwe 1323MiD , molendinum de Steinesberue 13 AD (with MLat  molendinum 'a mill'), Steyneborrowe Mill 1616 Ipm, Stenburrough Mill , Stonburrough Mill 1699Deed , Stemborough Mill 1835 O, Stembro ' Mill 1846 White , v. myln . What appears to be a genitival composition - joint in the early spellings suggests a pers. n. as the specific , perh . the ON  masc. Steinn , but an ON  pers.n. compounded with berg ' a hill ' would be most unusual in the county . Possible would be an OE  masc. pers.n. Stān , later Scandinavianized , but Stān is not recorded independently ( it may occur in Stanesgate (Ess 227) , in Stansfield (YW 3177) and in Stanshope (StH508) ) . However , the soil of the hill is sandy and mixed with large pieces of sandstone , so it is possible that the common OE  compound *stān -berg ( or *stānesberg or *stānasberg ) ' stone(s) hill ' , with OE  stān replaced by or influenced by its cognate ON  steinn , is present in this instance . But there is no evidence for a lost ancient standing - stone here , v. stān , steinn , berg .