Weybourne
Major Settlement in the Parish of Weybourne
Historical Forms
- Wabrunna, Wabrune 1086 DB
- Walbruna 1158 France
- Wabrun 1177 P
- Wabrunn 1210,1211 P
- Wabrunn 1228 Cl 1241 Lib 1319 FF
- Wabrunne 1251,1336 FF 1254–75 Val 1291 Walsing 1291 Tax 1339 Pat
- Waubrune 1257 Ass
- Waubrun 1269,1291 ib
- Wabrun 1269,1286 1289,1290 Ipm 1318 ChancWarr
- Vabron 1275 RH
- Wabrone 1307 Inq 1333 SR
- Wabroume 1313 DeBanco
- Waubroun 1328 Ch
- Wabrune 1376 Cl
- Wauburn 1275 RH 1318 Pat 1319 Ch 1321 FF 1333 Ch 1350 Pat
- Waburne 1280,1325 1302,1316 FA 1380 Cl 1402,1428 FA
- Walburne 1289 Fine
- Wauborn 1313 DeBanco
- Waubourn 1318 ChancWarr
- Waubourne 1327,1333 Pat
- Wabourne 1330 SR 1388 FF 1548 Pat
- Wabourn 1335 Bodl 1336 FF 1375 Pat
- Waburn 1338 1364 FF 1385 BM 1494 NoVis
- Waborn 1481 Pat
- Waborne 1535 VE
Etymology
According to Ekwall's explanation (DEPN) this name offers evidence of old judicial practice as a compound of OE wearg 'felon' and burna 'river', i.e. 'felon river' (a river in which they drowned criminals). This is theoretically possible, but over the years people have nevertheless expressed doubts about it. Nobody doubts that the second element is burna . The problem is the first element. Since the lack of War -spellings presents a difficulty, Kristensson (1981: 76–80) suggests instead an otherwise unrecorded OE *wagu 'quagmire', which he believes was situated where we find a mill-pond today. The course of the river from its fountainhead at the 50–foot contour down to the sea is quite powerful.It has eroded the chalk surface and the river reaches the coast with a waterfall after the mill-pond, and there is no suitable place for a quagmire. Along the coast line of Kelling there is a hollow called The Quag (no early spellings), but whether this hollow, situated in a different parish, should be connected with the combined river- and parish-name Weybourne is not obvious. Arngart (1983: 5–8) instead suggests that the first element is OE wær, waru 'river-dam, mill-dam', which is linguistically possible but presupposes that the mill-pond is much older than I have dared to assume.
The Wau - forms are among the most common of the old spellings.They may be explained as the result of the well-known AN vocalizaion of -al - to -au -. The form Wal - may in its turn have arisen through dissimilation of r - r to l - r . These changes are perfectly possible. Still, it has proved difficult to reach agreement as regards the meaning of the first component (v. Mills s.n.). In choosing among the different alternatives we should not overlook the possibility that we are dealing with a pre-English river-name, which could later have been combined with OE burna . The origin may be the root *war - 'water, rain' (v. Sandred 1984: 240–247).
A priory for Augustinian Canons from West Acre was founded here early in the 13th c. The ruins of the parish church of All Saints and the priory are difficult to separate (v. Pevsner 341).