What is the Survey of English Place-Names?

The English Place-Name Society (EPNS) was established in 1923 to conduct a county-by-county survey of the place-names of England. The Survey is used by researchers, academics, and those interested in the origins, meaning, and significance of English place-names.

The Survey is arranged by historic counties: the first volume, covering Buckinghamshire, appeared in 1925; the most recent, volume 96 dealing with part of Shropshire, appeared in 2020. Almost all English counties have been surveyed at least in part and work to complete the Survey is ongoing. This work has been supported by the British Academy since its inception, and by membership subscriptions to the Society, as well as one-off contributions from generous individuals or charitable organisations.

What will my donation fund?

The main resource needed for research and writing of the Survey volumes is time, and time costs money. While substantial research projects for less complete counties will, we hope, be supported by larger funding bodies, we are also in a position to make significant progress on various other counties for which research or draft material exists but needs dedicated time and attention to bring to completion. Our current focus is on The Place-Names of Herefordshire, for which the late John Freeman, the county editor, had produced a draft of the first volume, which will deal with major names (i.e. the names of settlements). A researcher started work on this volume in June 2025, and although the EPNS is in a position to part-fund completion of the volume, we aim to raise additional funds from interested individuals and groups in order to bring it to publication.