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VIII. — Observations on Composite Names of Places (chiefly in 

 Northumberland) of Anglo-Saxon Derivation : being a Con- 

 fribution of Materials towards the formation of an Archaic 

 and Orthograj^hical Chart of the County. (Part iii.) Bj 

 Ralph Carr, Esq. 



[Read, March 22nd, 1851.] 



Let : legh, leigh, are the terminal forms of the word lea or 

 lee, pasture land, or land allowed to lie for a time in grass. In 

 Anglo-Saxon it was written leag, leah, lega. This is one of our 

 commonest terminal elements, especially in connection with 

 various words indicating the plants or trees growing on or near 

 the place, the domestic animals depastured there, or the wild 

 animals that haunted it. Thus, in many different counties, such 

 names as the following are continually met with, and are always 

 characteristic of the spot either in its present or its former state : — 

 Heathley, Hethley, Hedley, from the heath ; Fernley, Brackley, 

 from the fern or brake; Hawley, Hagley, from the hawthorn or 

 the hagberry; Birchley, Birkley, Berkley, and Birtley, from the 

 birch; Saughley, Sawley, from the willow (especially Salix 

 Caprea) ; Aspley, Espley, from the asp or aspen; Oakley, Akeley, 

 Aukley; Ashley, Eshley; Lindley, from the linden or limetree; 

 Rowley and- Quickley, from the rowan or quicken, the popular 

 term for the sorb or mountain ash; Maperley, from the mapuldor 

 or maplor (Germ, masholder), the great maple or sycamore, a 

 word which occurs also in Mapledurham, that is Mapledur-ham. 



From cultivated plants we have Hayley, Wheatley, Ryeley, 

 Oatley and Otley, Beanley and Binley, also Linley (from the lin 

 or flax). 



Domestic animals have given rise to another no less obvious 

 series; yet, notwithstanding the self-evident nature of such com- 

 pounds, some of them have been corrupted, as Sheepley or Shepley 

 into Shipley, and Wetherley into the no less false and absurd 

 spelling of Weatherly. To this analogy, perhaps, belongs 



