May Williamson: The Non-Celtic Place-Names of the Scottish Border ...

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SELKIRKSHIRE
THIRLESTANE (Ettr): (80, 5 K):
Thyrlestangate, Greater Thyrlestane, C-B; Thirrlstaine, Blaeu. Compare Thirlestane (Laud)
(supra).
There are 30 other names in -stone(s), -stane(s). The first elements of three are names of
animals: Yadstone Law (Cad), Buckstone Moss (Cst), Foalfoot stane (Cst). Five have
adjectives of colour: Greystone Brae (Oxn), Redstone Bog (Sdn), Whitestone Hill (How),
Blackstan Hill (Tun), Greystone rig (Jhn). ME pike, “pointed hill” appears in Pikestone Rig
(Ettr), P~ Knowe (Yar), and P~ Hill (H & C). A few others /153/ are fairly obvious in
meaning: Millstone Edge (Tvt), probably so called because it is serrated; Brae Dunstan (Eccl)
which is OE dn-stān with MSc brae prefixed; Clatterstanes Burn (Kkm) a common
combination in Scotland; Holestane (Drd) which may have the same meaning as Thirlestane;
and Round-stonefoot (Mof). More difficult problems requiring early spellings to point to a
solution are: Drinkstone (Hwk), Firestane Edge (Rbt), Thowliestane Hill (How), Beltedstane
(Ann), Carlinstane Burn (Pnp) and Thirstane Hill (Drd). It is noticeable that only the plainly
early names are simple compounds in -stān. These are mostly names of habitations. Later
names, mostly nature names, nearly all include a detached suffix: Hill, Brae, Knowe, Rig, etc.
/154/ XXXIV OE pæð,
NME peð, ModNb and ModSc peth, “a hollow or deep cutting in a road”, and also “a steep
road or path”.
BERWICKSHIRE
COCKBURNSPATH (Ckb): (75, 8 D):
Colbrandespade, c 1130 ESC, 1391 RMS; -peth, 1335-6 CDS; Colbrandspeth (P), c 1300
Cold; Cowbrandispeth, 1443 HMC (Home); Coburnspeth, c 1485 Wallace; Cokbrandispeth,
1529 RMS; Cokburnispeth, 1564 L Ch. The first element is Colbrand, the name of a
mythological Danish giant. Cockburnspath is situated at the mouth of a deep ravine, the sides
of which require the road to descend steeply and climb again. Just where it emerges on the
north side, Blaeu places Pethhead.
HEXPATH (Grd): (75, 4 M):
Hextildespeth(e), 1296 Inst Pub, 1296 CDS; Hexteldespehe, 13 th century CDS (Seal);
Hekkispeth, 1469 RMS; Hecspeth, 1471 HMC (Home). The first element is OE hæġstald,
“warrior”: cf Hexham-on-Tyne, originally a Celtic river-name corrupted to *Hestild, and in
that form associated with WS hago-steald. It is unlikely that a Celtic /155/ name also
underlies Hexpath, which must be derived directly from the OE word. The use of the term for
“warrior”, and the fact that the main road here runs very straight east and west and is
protected on the north by the earthwork known as Herrit’s Dyke, suggest that the Anglian
population of the Merse may have had a military thoroughfare here leading to Lauderdale to
meet the Roman Road from the north, along which marauding parties of Scots may have been
accustomed to advance. “Clennel Street”, a mediaeval road across the Cheviots, was known
as Hexpathgate (Hardie, 26).