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.

Ashmanhaugh

Major Settlement in the Parish of Ashmanhaugh

Historical Forms

  • Asmanhawe 1153–66 Holme 1269 Ass
  • Assemanhaghe 1175–1200 Holme
  • Ashmanhaga 1183 ib
  • Asmenhag' 1186–1210 Hy3 AD
  • Assemaneshawe 1254–75 Val
  • Assemanhaye 13 Holme
  • Aschemenhaye c.1255 ib
  • Asmanhaghe 1257 Ass
  • Assemaneshaghe 1269 ib
  • Aschemenhagh 1311 NoRec
  • Assemanhagh(e) 1313to1413 FF 1316 FA
  • Asschemenhaghe 1315 AD
  • Ashmanhagh(e) 1317 Bodl 1317 Pat
  • Ashmanhawe 1327 NoD
  • Haschmenagh 1399 AD
  • Aschmanhagh 1441 ib
  • Asshmanhagh 1477 FF
  • Hashemahaught 1495 Pat
  • Asmenhaughe 1535 VE
  • Ashmonhawe 1535 ib
  • Ashmynhawe 1604 NfA
  • Eismanehawe 1226 Cl
  • Aissemannehagh 1254 NfA
  • Aysmanhawe 1315 AD
  • Ayshmanhagh 1357 Inq

Etymology

'The enclosure of the æsc-mann' i.e. 'pirate', or 'Æscmann 's enclosure', since the first el. could also be a pers.n., well evidenced in Nf and Sf (v. Feilitzen 182, Seltén II 25). The second el. is haga 1 or hagi . The spellings with Ai -, Ay - “reflect a ME tendency for a glide to develop between /a/ and /ʃ/” (Seltén I 88). The pronunciation recommended by BBC is /'æʃmænə/ (Miller, Forster), but the local pronunciation in the early decades of this century was /'eʃmələu/, according to Schram (196). OE  æscmann may be compared with OE  flotman and sǣmann , which are both translated 'sailor, pirate' and recorded as pers.ns. (Feilitzen 251, 353, Seltén II 135 f.).

Ashmanhaugh is not mentioned in DB, for it was included in the manor of Hoveton, which was the lordship of the abbot of Holme (v. Blomefield XI2).