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.

Lurgashall

Major Settlement in the Parish of Lurgashall

Historical Forms

  • Lutesgareshal(e) t.Steph France
  • Lutegareshal(e) 1224,1271 FF 1256 Ass
  • Lutegareshall 1275 Ass
  • Luttegershale 1279 Perc
  • Lotegareshal(e) 1249 FF 1331 ADvi
  • Lodegareshal(e) 1331 ADvi
  • Lotegarshale 1342 Pat 1354 Ipm
  • Luddegareshale 1279 Ass
  • Lodegershale 1346 Ipm 1399 IpmR
  • Lodegarsale 1428 FA
  • Ludgareshale 1471 Add
  • Lurga(r)sale 1529 ADi 1535 VE
  • Lurshall 1604 MarC
  • Largasall 1592 Recov

Etymology

It is difficult to get much further with this name than in the discussion of Ludgershall (PN Bk 104). Dr Schram adds one further example of this name, viz. Lotegoreshale (1293 AD ii) in Arkesden (Ess). The element Lutegares (Ludegares ) is thus found compounded once with tun , once with burh and four times with healh . Suggestions have been made that the first element in this name is either lytel or OE  hlīete , 'lot,' and the second gærs , hence 'little grass nook' or 'grass nook assigned by lot,' but neither is consistent with the forms. Neither lytel nor hlīete would give uniformly lut - in the counties in which these names are found nor would gærs appear persistently as gares in the ME forms. We can therefore only render the name as 'Lutegar's nook of land,' v. healh .