Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Helme 1181 P 1187–9 AD 1419 et freq

• la Helme 1284 Ass

• Helmus 1485 AD

Etymology

Helm (lost), Helme 1181 P (p), 1187–9 ADet freq to 1419 ib, la Helme 1284Ass (p), Helmus 1485 AD. Helme wood and the wood of Helme are mentioned 12th AD and 1325 Cl. Cf. also Helmeheth , Hemysheth , Helmesheith 1552–3DL , Helmes Heath , Helmes Coppice 1591ib , Helmes Heath , Helmes Downe 1611ib . Helm Farm (Helm 's Farm c. 1825RecOffCat ) is shown on Rocque's map (1761), a little to the W. of Anville's Fm (in Inkpen), and this is Elms Fm on the 1st ed. OS map. The building is called Prosperous Home Fm on the modern 1″ map, v. 540 f. The Elms (Wo 131) may be another example of this name, but as both the 13th cent, forms (Helme ) are from pers.ns., it is perhaps more likely to be a manorial name derived from the Berks place. In any case, it is clear that the H - of all the early forms is correct, and that the name cannot be the tree-name elm , as suggested in PN Wo. It is probably OE  helm 'helmet, covering, shelter', which survives, in NCy dials., in the sense 'a hovel, an open shed for cattle, a shed built on posts'. In DEPN it is suggested that this sense is probably Scandinavian, but the occurrence of this name in Berks suggests that it can equally well be English. Another possible example is The Elms in Ewyas Harold He. Bannister (PN He 68) gives the forms Heaume c. 1216, The Helm 1642; if the original form were Helm , the earliest spelling could be due to Norman vocalisation of -l -. Cf. also le Helmehouse (1542) Gl 1 55.