Essex has many curious and interesting place-names, as any study of a large-scale map will show.

'Toot Hill' - it means a look-out place and is at Standford Rivers. The twin parishes of Totham, Great and Little, derive their name in the same way.

'Nipsells Rayments' it cabn be found at Mayland and East Horndon. The Nipsells was 'Cripps' spur of land but the word 'Rayments' is quite obscure. It could be a manorial expression.

'The Bumpstead' seems to come from the words 'a hollow stem' and 'reeds'. Reeds are still grown in the streams there. Of the two parishes Helions was held in 1086 by a Breton who came from Heleon in France. Steeple Bumpstead once had a steeple or spire to its church.

'Hobby Binns' at 'Stebbing' It was orginally called 'Hob of yndes.' William de Inde and Alexander Avynder of the thirteenth century gave us the corrupted form 'Bins'. But 'Hob' unless this too is a later form could be hobgoblin or fairy, which is the familar form of Rob or Robin. It is not marked on the usual maps.