Winter Hill - the clue is in the name... a suggested etymology... 

Aerial View of Winter Hill (source: Dave Lane’s Winter Hill Scrapbook)

Winter Hill is likely to have held religious significance among the prehistoric inhabitants of the North West of England, and I believe that the evidence of this is written into the modern name of Winter Hill itself...

Maps from 1610 and 1724 give the name as “Egberden Hill”, and Owen in his booklet “Rivington & District before 1066 AD” notes that the name Egberden Hill is:

“supposed to have arisen from one of the early kings who hunted in the surrounding forest. The most likely candidate is – Egbert, king of Wessex 800 to 836 AD who by 828 AD had included Northumbria, and therefore Lancashire, in his kingdom”.

However, the name Egberden Hill is not the oldest known name on record.  Earlier documents from the 13th Century indicate that Winter Hill was called "Wintyrhold" and / or "Wintyrheld", with the meaning suggested to be from the Old English word “wynter” meaning “winter” and “hyll” meaning “hill”.


Local tales describe how the hill got its name.  Specifically, that the weather on the hill is harsh and its landscape barren, making it always like winter up there!  Or, that there is a certain cotton-grass that grows with a white-tufty blossom and flowers between April and June, making the hill look white from afar, as if covered by snow, even in summer!

When you take a closer look at these local tales, they don't appear to make sense... firstly (for those who have never been up Winter Hill), I can vouch for the fact that it isn't always like winter up there!  Sure, in winter it gets pretty rough, but no more so than any of the other hills in the vicinity (and those hills are not given the same cold reputation).  Indeed, for large parts of the summer months it is most pleasant.  Also, for those who have never seen Winter Hill, it rarely appears to be snow covered and white in the summer!  Finally, as noted on page 20 in Dave Lane’s Winter Hill Scrapbook:

“Winter Hill – and the surrounding upland areas – have not always been as bare and empty as they now appear. At one time they were forested… The process of deforestation started as soon as human settlements began in the area… One pollen analysis investigation of Winter Hill showed a clearly defined woodland clearance of the area in the Norse period… followed by considerable woodland regeneration thought to be through the Middle Ages”

The Middle Ages spanned from the 5^th to 15^th Centuries, and the Norse period of Britain spanned over the 8^th and 9^th centuries within that period, meaning that the forest would have regenerated considerably by the 13^th century (the period when the hill is referred to as "Wintyrhold").   With Winter Hill covered in trees, it would not be as barren and windswept as it is in modern times, making it even less likely to have been given the name "Winter" back then, in reference to its environment; in fact, it is more likely to have been a place of refuge during winter, where people could seek shelter, with the trees as protection.  

Let’s look to find a more logical meaning by studying those older names in more detail...

The suggested Old English word “wynter” is slightly different from the historically recorded name “wintyr” - lets analyse the two components of this word, being "win” and “tyr”:

Firstly, looking at the "win" component, it would appear to be a corruption of "wyn", which is an Old Welsh mutation of the Welsh word "gwyn”, which means "white", "shining, or literally "visible", and also "blessed".  The Welsh language evolved from the Common Brittonic language, being the ancient Celtic language spoken throughout Britain; accordingly, the most ancient element of the name of the hill may be “Gwyn”, ultimately meaning "Blessed".  

The association of the name to the colour white is an extremely interesting find.  This links nicely to the local tale of the hill appearing to look white from afar, even in summer (which it simply doesn't!) - this may be an example of folklore remembering the place being associated in some way to the Old Welsh word for white, being the blessed colour of purity... 

The element "tyr", has two potential etymological meanings.  Firstly, coming from a corruption of "tor", from “tŵr” in Old Welsh meaning "hill", "look out" or "tower"– this certainly fits certain theories of the hill being used as a signaling point or look-out by the Romans - giving the hill the possible Old Welsh name of "Gwyn-Tŵr" or "Blessed Hill". Alternatively, "tyr" could derive from the Old Norse word “Týr”, which is a Norse God associated with law and heroic glory, cognisant with “Thor”, but more generally “God” - this results in the hill possibly having a culturally-layered Old Welsh and Old Norse name of “Gwyn-Týr” (meaning "Blessed God").

Evidence of the layering of place names is prevalent throughout the British Isles, with waves of successive cultures re-naming places by placing an epithet to its existing indigenous name, a method of cultural invasion and a way to subjugate the local peoples and claiming the land.  The Vikings were prevalent in the North West of England during the Viking Age (aka the Norse Period - 793 AD to 1066 AD).  They may have noted that the indigenous peoples revered the hill as "Blessed", and so renamed it by adding their word "God" to it, recognising their own god of victory (perhaps even honoring the specific victory when the hill was won in battle!?!).

Now considering “hold" or "held”, it is suggested that this is a later adage that comes from the Old English “hyld" or "hield”, which means “incline", "slope" or "hill”.  However, another suggestion is that this also comes from the Old Norse word “hlif” meaning “shield", "shelter" or "protector”; potentially suggesting the survival significance of the hill, linking it again to it's trees providing protection from the harsh weather in winter (as noted above).

So, the name “Winter Hill” in modern English, comes from “Wintyrhold” in Old English, which has its root etymology either:

1. from Old Welsh, being “Gwyn-Tŵr” meaning “Blessed Hill” (possibly it's original name);
2. from Old Welsh and Old English, being "Gwyn-Tŵr-Hield" meaning “Blessed Hill Hill”;
3. from Old Welsh and Old Norse, being “Gwyn-Týr-Hilf” meaning “Blessed God Protector” (possibly it's name during the Norse Period); or
4. from Old Welsh, Old Norse and Old English, being "Gwyn-Týr-Hield" meaning “Blessed God Hill” (possibly its name in the post-Nordic period).

I think that you will agree that all of these etymological origins have very similar meanings - it would appear that Winter Hill has been worshiped throughout pre-history, by successive inhabitants of the land - I personally favour the name "Gwyn-Týr-Hield" meaning “Blessed God Hill”... being a marvelous example of the layering of Old Welsh, Old Norse and Old English onto a place of great historical importance in the North West of England.

I hope you found this interesting??? Please don't be shy, let me know what you are thinking in the comments below...

P.S. For those who are interested, an excellent source of information regarding Winter Hill is Dave Lane’s Winter Hill Scrapbook – I have been trying to contact Dave Lane by email over the past year with no luck; if anyone knows him, or has his contact details, please feel free to connect us.