Ecchinswell
Ecchinswell, Ecchinswell and Sydmontoncounty:
coords:
Hampshire
SU4959
otherwise: Eccleswelle, 1086; Echeneswolle, 1172; Egeneswell, 1176; Echeneswelle, 1208; Echeleswelle, 1256; Hykeneswelle, 1280
ECCHINSWELL
This name presents many problems. There is a stream here, a right tributary of the Enborne, which appears as 931 (12th century transcript) 'eclesburna, ecelesburna'. The first of these forms appears to mean 'stream associated with a British church' (on the hypothetical element 'ecles' see Cameron 1968). Of the second the most that could be said is that it might mean the same. If the parish name has the same element, then Domesday Book unusually preserves the historically correct form in defiance of practically all later attestations. On these assumptions we have hypothetical Old English 'Ecleswielle/-wiella' parallel to 'Eccleswall' (Herefordshire); and the later forms would show dissimilation of the first 'l' to 'n'. The fact that many of the 'n' forms come from Winchester documents might lead us to suspect the analogical influence of the river name ITCHEN, but that has uniform medieval 'I-, Y-' and never 'E-'. All post-Domesday Book forms show a vowel between the 'c' (or equivalent) and the 'l/n'. This is hard to square with our first etymology, but some other names containing hypothetical 'ecles' sometimes show the same feature. An unrecorded, but regular, man's name 'Eccel' should thus be borne in mind; as should Ekwall's possible river name 'Ecel' equally unrecorded. The pronunciation with [tf] is shown unambiguously from 1615 'Itchinswell'; this also does not support an origin in hypothetical 'ecles'.
Listed in Domesday Book
- Clere Hundred - Hantescire
Period - 11th century
HAE TERRAE ... SVNT DE VICTV MONACHO. Wint. ... Ipse eps. ten. ECCLESWELLE . Se~p fuit in monast...
Listed in Domesday Book
- Clere Hundred - Hantscire
Period - 11th century
