Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Lubbyns 1563 M

• Lobberd 1601 Deed

• Lobbert alias Lebbert 1610 Newcourt

Etymology

Labworth alias Lubbins Fm (6″) is Lobwerde 1260, Lob (be )swerd (e )1406 HMC ix, 1496MinAcct , Lubbyns 1563 M, Lobberd 1601Deed , Lobbert alias Lebbert 1610 Newcourt. No definite suggestion can be made with regard to the first element.It looks as if it might be the element lobb discussed in PN D 33, but we cannot determine its significance here. The second element is found in a number of names in the Hundreds of Barstable, Rochford and Dengie. They include Rugward, Burwood, Priestwood, Shelford, Red Ward, Ringwood, Coleward, Sherwood, Broadward, Tillettsmarsh, Twizzlefoot (cf. infra 563), the lost Horswerd in Horndon (cf. s. n. Fobbing Horse infra 151–2), Heghward in Shopland (1372 Cl), Antisewerde in Dagenham (1321MinAcct ), a lost mariscus de Hanewerda (c. 1170 Wollaton), and Grenewerde (1328Takeley ) in Bradwellon-Sea. For all these places except Labworth, Priestwood and Ringwood we have explicit documentary statements that they were marshes, and they are all in low-lying marshland, as also Logward Marsh in Southminster (1840 TA). The earliest form is werda (c. 1170) and that is the common form in the 13th century. In the 14th century we still have occasional werde but more commonly warde and (occasionally) werth . It appears independently in Wier Fm infra 320 in the slightly eccentric form wyerd . This is clearly the same word as OHG  warid , werid , 'island in a river,' and related to OE  waroð , weroð , 'coast, bank.' Corresponding to the OHG  sense of the word we have the Dutch weerd , waard , used of an island and also of a peninsula and of land which has been dyked (cf. NGN iii, 357–8). OE  waroð has survived in English as warth , used of low-lying land near the shore, found thrice in Devon in the form ward (PN D 82, 120, 223), earlier warthe . Side by side with this word, going back to a form *waruþo -z , there must have been a form *wariþo -z which gave rise to an OE  werþ , OHG  werid and LGer werd . This is the word which is found in these Essex place-names. See further Jellinghaus (168) s. v. werd , werder , and Förstemann (ON ii, 1238) s. v. warid .