Gogmagog Hill

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

The higher of two hills, some three miles south-east of Cambridge. The legend is that Gogmagog fell in love with the nymph Granta, but she would have nothing to say to the huge giant, and he was meta- morphosed into the hill. (DRAYTON: Polyolbion, xxi.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “Gogmagog Hill” mean?

The higher of two hills, some three miles south-east of Cambridge. The legend is that Gogmagog fell in love with the nymph Granta, but she would have nothing to say to the huge giant, and he was meta- morphosed into the hill. (DRAYTON: Polyolbion, xxi.

Is “Gogmagog Hill” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.