Salthouse
Major Settlement in the Parish of Salthouse
Historical Forms
- Salhus, Salthus 1086 DB
- Salthus 1243 Fees 1248 Ch 1250to1286 Ass 1254–75 Val 1275 RH 1277,1313 FF 1312,1313,1325 Ipm 1319 Pat
- Salthous 1286 Ass 1310to1462 FF 1316,1346 FA 1325,1374 Ipm 1330,1333 SR 1350to1398 Pat 1357,1374 Cl 1384 Inq
- Saltehowse 1535 VE
Etymology
The extensive salt marshes between the village and the sea provided a basis for the medieval salt industry. The name may be explained simply as 'house for storing salt', OE salt1 and hūs. Embanking and drainage through the centuries have changed the coast line a great deal. For instance the stretch of a river running from Upper Sheringham past Weybourne and Kelling to Cley is now lost. Some of the hills in the area are burial mounds from the Bronze Age.
According to Blomefield (IX 428), at the time of the Domesday survey, Salthouse was “a member or part of the hundred of North Erpingham”.