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.

Shrewsness Green

Early-attested site in the Parish of Upwell

Historical Forms

  • Schrewehirst, Schrewehyrst 1207 Rams, Ct
  • Shrewshirst 1597 WisbechMap
  • Shreweshiste 1772 Imb
  • S(ch)rewed(e)hirst c.1250 ElyM
  • S(ch)rewed(e)hyst 1251 ElyCouch 1277 Ely
  • Shrewid hist 1340 Imb
  • Shrewysnest, Shrewysnest point 1558,1596 Imb
  • Shrew(e)snest(e) 1586 1609 AddCh 1772 Imb
  • Shrewnestpoynte 1609 AddCh
  • Shreusnest 1655 BLAcct
  • Susans Green 1830 Baker 1835 O.S.
  • Shrewedich c.1270 Thorney 1341 ElyF

Etymology

This is a difficult name. The second element was clearly hyrst, 'wood.' The first was probably OE  scrēawa , found in OE in the sense 'shrew-mouse' and in ME in that 'a wicked, evil-disposed or malignant man, rascal, villain.' According to NED this is generally held to be a figurative transference of meaning from the name of the animal because of the superstitious belief in its malignant influence, but it is also possible that these very superstitions gave the animal its name of 'the malignant being,' a sense which is found in other Germanic dialects (v. NED s. vv . shrew , sb., sb. and cf. OHG scrawa , 'dwarf, goblin,' MHG schröuwel , 'devil'). That we have this meaning here seems to be confirmed by the forms S (ch )rewed (e )hirst , where the first element must be the adj. ME  schrewede , 'depraved, wicked, malignant.'We have thus two alternative forms, scrēawa -hyrst , 'devil-wood' or the like, and scrēawede -hyrst , 'devil-haunted' or 'malignant wood,' and we may well have preserved in this name a reference to the general belief in the existence of such beings in the fens. Other names in which shrews are possibly associated with woodland or marshland are the unidentified scræwanleg (BCS 723) in Devon and the Lathe of Scray (PN K 241), Shrewinghop 1240 Ass, Schreweshope 1254 ib.

At a later stage in the history of the name folk-etymology has been at work. In place of Shreweshist and Shrewid Hist , pronounced [ʃru·zist], [ʃru·dist], a form Shrewsnest , later Shrewsness , was developed as if for 'shrew-mouse nest.' Later there was further corruption to Susans . v. Addenda lx.

It may be added that there is a place Shrewedich c. 1270Thorney , 1341ElyF in the neighbourhood. Its relation to this name is obscure.