The Gatehouse website record for Tushingham Bell o' th' Hill

In the civil parish of Tushingham Cum Grindley. In the historic county of Cheshire (Modern Authority of Cheshire, 1974 county of Cheshire).

Possible site of motte. The placenames Bell o'th'Hill (at SJ523454) and Bellow Hill Farm (SJ525443) in Tushingham are first recorded as Belle Hill c 1610. The name derives from belg- 'rounded hill' or belle 'bell', possibly with -hlaw 'mound' or -hoh 'spur' as a suffix. Nearby, a document of 1314 refers to 'an assart between le Castleward and the Hall of Tussincham. Although the present day landscape contains no definite traces of an assart, it looks as if it may have lain south-west of Tushingham Hall. That being the case, the 'castle' of le Castleward will have lain close to either Bell o'th'Hill or to Bellow Hill Farm; the placenames then seem to be referring to the shape of a motte, as there are no obviously bell-shaped natural hills in the area. That's the sum total of the evidence, taken from J McN Dodgson's 'The Placenames of Cheshire' volume 4. However, nothing in the tenurial history would exclude a castle here. Site of possible DMV and chapel (at SJ52754629) of probable medieval origin.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SJ524455

Sources of information, references and further reading

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