English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Maltbeggar's Fm

Early-attested site in the Parish of Feering

Historical Forms

  • Mockbeggars 1758 EA
  • Mobbeggars 1805 O
  • Greensteds 1789 Beaumont
  • Grimstede 1282 WDB
  • Grinstede t.Ed1 WAM
  • Grenestedlond(e) 1400 Ct 1485 MinAcct

Etymology

Maltbeggar's Fm is Mockbeggars 1758 EA (NS) iv, 1789 Beaumont, Mobbeggars 1805 O. Part at least was called Greensteds in 1789 (Beaumont). This is Grimstede 1282WDB , Grinstede t. Ed 1WAM , Grenestedlond (e )1400Ct , 1485MinAcct .Mockbeggar is a name once common in East Anglia and found also in Db and Sx. It dates from the beginning of the 17th century when the country gentry flocked to London, leaving their houses empty and neglected, so that a beggar could not get even a crust of bread. In the words of the Roxburghe ballad:

“Let any poore to such a doore

Come, they expecting plenty,

They there may ask till their throats are sore,

For mockbegger hall stands empty.v. further MLR xix, 469. The modern form is a false reconstruction of the map-form Mobbegars .