Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Ellesmeles 1086 DB
• Eslesmere c.1150 SAC
• Ailesmera 1177 P
• Eylesmere 1271-2 Ass
• Ellismera 1177 P
• Ellesmere 1204 P
• Ellesmare 1203-4 Ass 1698 PR(StA)
• Ellismere 1259 Pat 1577 Saxton 1655 SAS1/XLVII 1724,33 PR(L) 1747 PR(StA)
• Elism' 1581 PR(StA)
• Elismer 1614 ib
• Ellismear, Elismare 1726 PR(StA)
• Elsemere c.1200 MM 1601 PR(L)
• Elsemeare 1703 PR(StA)
• Elesmere 1221 1255-6 Ass 1549 Pat 1623 PR(StA) 1704 PR(L) 1784 PR(L)
• Elesmear 1714 PR(L)
• Ellemere 1230 P
• Elsmere 1516 SBL17285 1773 PR(L) 1750
• Ellsmere 1760 PRL.Wenlock 1775 PR(StA)
• Alismore 1702 PR(StA)
• Alesmore 1711 ib
• Elmeare 1675 Ogilby

Etymology

'Elli's lake', second element mere. This is the largest of the north-Shropshire lakes.

Ellesmere is much the commonest early spelling. The persistence of the variant Ellismere into the 18th cent. suggests that a trisyllabic pronunciation co-existed for some time with the disyllabic form clearly reflected in the spelling Elsmere . The name is always disyllabic now.

These townships vary greatly in size. The largest, Dudleston, is as big as many parishes, but at the other extreme Crickett, Eastwick, Newnes, and Stocks and Coptiviney are tiny. The varying sizes are reflected in the length of the field-name lists.

Major Settlements

• Birch and Lyth
• Colemere
• Crickett
• Dudleston
• Eastwick
• Ellesmere
• Elson and Greenhill
• Hampton Wood
• Hardwick
• Lee
• Lyneal
• New Marton and Old Marton
• Newnes
• Northwood
• Oteley, Newton and Spunhill
• Ridges
• Stocks and Coptiviney
• Tetchill
• Trench