Could Starcross be derived from the Norse word stoth, which meant a landing stage for loading and unloading cargo? OED definition for staithe
The word staithe - for a pier - was Old English, used in the North and East of England
As an ornithologist, I think a strong contender for the origin of our village's name is that it may refer to one of a number of old vernacular names for the Starling, Stare. (Both are derived from the Anglo-Saxon Staer, Starling being the diminutive. They relate to the name in other European languages, such as Star in German). Star(e)cross may have referred to a crossing or crossroads where starlings use to gather in one of the large pre-roost flocks for which these birds are renowned, especially when performing their complex smoke-like murmurations. Their sharp decline in recent times means that the species nowadays numbers only in the 20s around the pumping station tower and nearby buildings, and the nearest roost which draws birds from farther afield is in the small reedbed by the back road along the Powderham estate land. Not that long ago they were among our commonest birds. Turning to my Oxford Dictionary of Place Names, I see that it says: '... first recorded as Star Crosse 1689, probably referring to a cross or cross-roads where starlings gather, from dialect 'stare' (OE staer) and 'cross'.
As an ornithologist, I think a strong contender for the origin of our village's name is that it may refer to one of a number of old vernacular names for the Starling, Stare. (Both are derived from the Anglo-Saxon Staer, Starling being the diminutive. They relate to the name in other European languages, such as Star in German). Star(e)cross may have referred to a crossing or crossroads where starlings use to gather in one of the large pre-roost flocks for which these birds are renowned, especially when performing their complex smoke-like murmurations. Their sharp decline in recent times means that the species nowadays numbers only in the 20s around the pumping station tower and nearby buildings, and the nearest roost which draws birds from farther afield is in the small reedbed by the back road along the Powderham estate land. Not that long ago they were among our commonest birds. Turning to my Oxford Dictionary of Place Names, I see that it says: '... first recorded as Star Crosse 1689, probably referring to a cross or cross-roads where starlings gather, from dialect 'stare' (OE staer) and 'cross'.
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