Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• æt Wassanburnan 780 BCS236 11th

• æt Wasseburne 780 Middleton c.1000

• UUassanburna 840 BCS430 11th

• Wassaburna 840 Middleton c.1000

• Wasseburne 977 KCD616 11th Cur 1203 WoP 1240 Ipm 1259 SR 1275 Wigorn 1284

• Waseburne 1086 DB

• Wassebourne 1286,1295 Wigorn 1327 SR 1346 FA 1347 Cl 1428 FA

• Wasshebourn 1340 NI

• Wasshburn 1348 Cl

• Knyghts Wassheborne 1492 Ipm

Etymology

Professor Zachrisson would explain this name (English PN and River -Names , etc. 37–8) as containing the genitive of OE  wāse , 'mud,' explaining the double s as a variant of single s after the Anglo-Norman fashion, or as a device to show that the long vowel has been shortened, such as is found in OE texts from the transition period. This cannot be true of Washbourne, for spellings are found with double s in a MS which is definitely of the end of the 10th cent. in the forms from the fragmentary Worcester cartulary, while the others come from a cartulary in which it is very doubtful if spellings of the kind postulated by Zachrisson are to be found. For this name we must therefore still turn to a pers. name Wassa . For the possibility of such a pers. name reference may be made to the evidence quoted s. n. Washingley (PN BedsHu 200) and to the wassandun of BCS 520 which was the name of a down in Hants. We may add further that while the wassam (sic) hamme of BCS 762 may have to be associated with wāse or wæsce as denoting low-lying well-watered land, such an explanation seems very improbable for wassandun (BCS 389, 520).

It is clear that at a later stage in its history the first element in Washbourne was confused with the common wash and re- fashioned accordingly.