The Ham Bourns
Early-attested site in the Parish of Tirley
Historical Forms
- of án burnan, on án burnan 972 BCS1282 10th
- on ambran, of ambranne 11 Finb 14
Etymology
The Ham Bourns (lost), 1798EnclA , probably identical with of án burnan , on án burnan 972 (10th) BCS 1282, on ambran , of ambranne 11 (14) Finb 187, alluding to the stream now called Newhall Brook on the Chaceley boundary (grid 143–849301); the forms are ambiguous, but if the older one is correct it may mean 'the single stream', v. ān , burna . On the other hand, it might be an adaptation of a Brit r.n. which became OE ambre , and would be similar to the Amber (Db 2); this, according to Ekwall (RN 12), is related to Skt ambhas 'water', Lat imber 'shower'.