Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Humerford' 1288 Ass 1328 Sher 1332 SR

• Hymeford house 1664 HTax

• Heniford 1811 OS

• Henniford (Mill) 1839 TA

• Himerford 1314 Pat

Etymology

Heniford Fm & Heniford Mill (ST 606072), Humerford '1288Ass , 1328Sher (p), 1332 SR (p), Hymeford house 1664 HTax, Heniford 1811 OS, Henniford (Mill )1839TA , 'ford across the stream called Humber ', from the pre-English r.n. Humber and ford ('Ford' marked 6″). Humber must at one time have been the name of what is now Wriggle River, cf. Hummer 3394 and the f.n. Humber in the adjacent par. of Leigh supra .Four other forms that also probably belong here help to throw light on the development of Humer - to Heni -: John Neel of Himerford 1314 Pat (cf. Henry Nyel 1332 SR taxed in the adjacent par. of Chetnole), Henry Hymerford (e )1415CampbCh , 1416 Sloane (a witness in a Melbury O. deed), and William Hemerford 1583 Hutch3 (rector of Folke par. 3 330).These forms, like Hymeford 1664, show the fronting of the original back vowel; for the alternation of medial -m - and -n -, cf. the early forms for Hanford 335–6. For the mill here, cf. Adam atte Mulle 1327 (taxed in this par.), la Mullelande n.d. AD IV, and note that there is mention of a mill at Meleberie in 1086 DB (f. 82c).