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

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LSMM. They exhibit the early ME forms of cleuch. These are valleys in the Lammermoors.
The first may be in ELth.
There are no examples of names ending in -clo, or -clow, in their modern forms, although
names in OE -hōh frequently have present-day forms in -ho, -how: cf Fogo, Kelso, Chatto.
Forms in -heugh are to be found in names of more recent origin, therefore it must be
concluded that names in -cleuch are unlikely to be pre-Middle English.
There are 22 names in -cleuch in Rxb, for which no early spellings have been found, 6 in
Bwk, 25 in Dmf, and 17 in Slk.
/234/ LXII OE hol,
as an ending, is usually coupled with the name of an animal. Brock, “badger”, is the first
element in Brockholes (Cld): Brokholl, 1415 Cold, Brokholes, 1426 ib; in Brocklehirst
(Msw): Brokholhirst, Blaeu; in Brocklerig (St M): Brockholrig, Blaeu. ModSc tod, “fox”,
occurs in Todholes (Kcl), so spelt in 1586 CBP. ON refr, also meaning “fox”, is found in
Raffles (Msw): Refholes, 1215-45 CDS; Roffals, Blaeu; Raffels, 1659 Reg Sas Dmf: cf
Reagill, We (DEPN, 364) and a lost field-name Refholeslac, c 1210 (PN YER, 329). In a few
cases hol denotes “hollow”, as in Pinglehole (Cst): Pingill Holls, Blaeu, the first element of
which may be ModSc pingle, “a small pan” (Watson, s.v.), in the sense of “pot-shaped
hollow”; compare, however, No LVII (h). In Bucklerhole (Lmb): Buklerhol, Blaeu, the sense
is obscure.
Other names in -hole are:
Cribbs Hole (Sdn); Muttonhole (Mxt), a common field-name in Southern Scotland;
Nickieshole (How); Scrathy Holes (Sdn), which may contain ON skratti, “goblin”: cf
Scrathawe, 1400 (PN Nth, 264); Hawkshole (Can); Paddockhole (Tun); White Hole Burn
(Esk); Wyliehole (Tun).
/235/ LXIII
Miscellaneous endings denoting valleys, passes, etc.
(a)
(b)
(c)
OE swīra, “neck”, gives ModSc swire, “a pass”. The Redeswire Fray (Sdn), the
scene of a battle, is Rusdwire, 1343 Fine (with metathesis of s and d); Redis Swyr,
c 1375 (c 1490) Brus; Reidswyre, 1576 CSP (Th). The first element might be ON
rauðr, “red”, later equated with MSc reid. There is also Swyre (Dns).
OE dor, “door”, used in the sense of “pass”, is the terminal of Windydoors (Cad):
Windesdores, c 1155 (16 th ) Dryb; Wyndiduris, 1455 Rot Scac; Windidurris, 1510
HMC (Wed). Comparable formations are Windygates (Fife), and Wingate,
Wingates, Nb (PN NbDu, 217).
Nick, “a hollow or pass between hills”, is found in Southerly Nick (Cad), Peelnick
(Oxn), and Wallacenick (Kso).