Origin of the name Cockshut Hill?

[Brock]

I was chatting to an old friend this morning who used to attend Cockshut Hill School in bygone years & we puzzled over the origins of the name Cockshut Hill ~ Does anyone know of the origins of the name please?
Also, does anyone have a picture of what the old school badge used to look like ~ I believe that it was fairly recently changed to a more up to date badge emblem.

Thanks,
Brock.

 

[mikejee]

According to bill dargues site ( https://billdargue.jimdo.com/placenames-gazetteer-a-to-y/places-c/cockshut-hill/ ) it comes from the old english meaning "woodcock trap hill"
Mike

 

[Brock]

That's great Mike, thank you very much ~ yet another mystery solved!

 

[fatfingers]

I have got a picture somewhere but cant find it.
Found this on Google Images, is it the one ? wasnt my school.

Wonder if theres a connection with the local pub 'The Dovecote'

 

[Brock]

Hi there,

Many thanks for the picture ~ unfortunately this is the new badge which was changed in recent years & I am trying to locate a picture of the old one.
Regards,
Brock.

 

[Maryd]

Strange, because it is mentioned in Richard III, just before the battle, and seems to mean dusk, (when the chickens are closed up for the night) "much about cockshutt time, from troop to troop, went through the army cheering up the soldiers". Shakespeare. Maybe there is more than one definition.

Maryd

 

[mah]

Wh en I was a pupil at Cockshut Hill i was told that it meant "hill of springs".does anyone remember being told that ? Margaret.

 

[Brock]

Hi there, I've read that "cock" stood for woodcock & pheasant & these birds were caught by traps made from nets which were called "shuts".
The land where the school was built used to belong to the Grewolde family who lived in a large house called Greswolde House & the surrounding area was their estate. It was an area where woodcock & pheasants bred in large numbers & they were caught in "shuts" which were netting traps to be used as food by both the rich & poor. This led to the area being known as Cockshut Hill & this also explains the badge which shows a nett & birds.
This also explains the name of one of the college buildings too which is still known as Greswolde Building.