Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Ormesby c. 1020 (14 Sawyer 1528) ASWills 25

• Ormisby c. 1020 (l. 13 Sawyer 1528) ASWills 25

• Ormesbei, Ormesby, Omesbei, Osmesbei, Ormesbey, Orbeslei 1086 DB

• Ormesbi 1157etfreqto1211 P 1198 AC c.1200 StWill 1203 FF 1212 Fees 1286 Ass

• Ormesbia 1175 P

• Ormebi Sancte Margarete 1213 Cur

• Ormesby 1209 FF 1213 Cur 1227 Cl 1230,1242 P 1232,1275 Ch 1257,1269 Ass 1275 RH 1306to1330 Ipm 1316 FA 1337to1392 Pat 1434 Fine 1465to1474 Past 1538 AD

• Ormysby 1428 Fine 1477,c.1479,1493 Past

• Ormysby St Mighell 1538 AD

• Hormesbi 1199 FF

Etymology

'Orm's village or homestead', ODan , OSw  Orm , OWScand  Ormr (Feilitzen 337, Fellows Jensen 204 ff.) and bȳ. For the DB form Omesbei , with loss of r before a consonant, v. Zachrisson 1914: 19.Cf. Ormesby PN YN 157 and North and South Ormsby in L (DEPN s.n.); v. also Sandred 1988: 16 and Insley 314 ff.

Although the vicarage of Ormesby St Margaret (formerly also Great Ormesby) was consolidated with the curacy of Ormesby St Michael (Little Ormesby) as early as 1548 (White 297), both churches still stand (v. Pevsner 294 f.). Originally, Ormesby had four churches, but of these St Andrew's and St Peter's were abandoned by the end of the 16th century and in ruins in Blomefield's time (v. Blomefield XI239 and EAA 51: 54, 160 f.).