Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Eissesberie 1086 DB

• Æsseberia 1187 P

• Esseberia 1188 P 1284 Ass

• Asseberia 1190 P

• Assebyri, Assebir' c.1240 Frid c.1425

• Assebiry 1241 c.1425 ib

• Assebiri 1235–52 GlastonRent

• Assebir' 1241 Ass 1242–3 Fees

• Assebury 1275 Cl

• Esbiry 1207 OblR

• Esbyry 1275–6 RH

• Asschebir' 1284 Ass

• Asshebury 1309 Pat 1342 GlastonFeod

• Asschebury 1316 Ipm 1327 SR

• Aysshebury 1330 Ch

• Aysshebourne 1401–2 FA

• Ayshebury Ed6 LRMB

Etymology

The charter forms assigned by previous writers to Ashbury have not been given here. A careful study of the Winchester and Abingdon charters in which the forms Æscesbyrig etc. occur shows that they refer, not to the modern Ashbury, but to land in the immediate vicinity of Uffington Castle. The hill-fort now known as Uffington Castle (380) is undoubtedly the æscæsbyrig which occurs in the bounds of BCS 687, 899, and the charters which record grants of land at Æscesbyrig refer to Woolstone and Uffington, the boundary between these two land-units running in the 9th and 10th centuries (and later) through Uffington Castle. There are, however, two charters which genuinely refer to Ashbury. These are BCS 431 and 828, both from the Great Cartulary of Glastonbury (SomRecSoc 59).BCS 431 records the grant in 840 by King Athelwulf to Duda of 10 hides at Asshedoune , which the heading to the charter identifies with Aysheberi . There are no bounds. BCS 828 is a grant in 947 of 20 hides at Aysshedun by King Eadred to Edric, which gives the bounds of the land, and is followed by a note stating that Edric gave the manor quod nunc vocatur Aysshebury to Glastonbury. The bounds (which bear no resemblance to those of the Æscesbyrig charters) seem to describe the modern parish of Ashbury, v. Pt 3; the names in them have been modernised by the 14th-cent. copyist, as have the forms Aysheberi , Aysshebury and Asshedoune , Aysshedun .

As regards the etymology of the name Ashbury, this is probably identical with that of Ashbury D 126, 'fort by the ash-tree(s)', the burh being the earthwork now known as Alfred's Castle. Grinsell (9) says that the camp was called Ashberry Camp on a map of 1532, and given the alternative names of Alfred 's Castle and Ashbury Camp by Wise in 1738. Grinsell also says that in a survey of estates belonging to Glastonbury the downs of Ashbury are stated to be 'well sett with Okes and Ashes'.

For Asshedoune v. Ashdown Park infra .