Sevenhampton, Gloucestershire

The landscape is mostly of high limestone plateau that has been bisected by the north – south aligned valley of the River Coln. The river rises from springs to the north of Brockhampton and is fed by more springs along the way.[lower-alpha 1] The springs and streams that feed the River Coln in its early stages provide an ideal habitat for sedges and rushes to grow. During the medieval period sedges and rushes were known as "seeves", hence the origin of the name Seven..hampton.[lower-alpha 2]

The name was recorded as " SEVEN..hā..TONE " in the Domesday Book of 1086 A.D.[6]

Documented name history:[7]

• SEVEN..hā..TONE (1086).[6]
• Seuehamton (1221).[7][8]
• Sevehampton (1241).[7]
• Seueshampton (1327).[7][8]
• Sevezhampton (1327).[7]
• Senhampton – Sen(n)yngton (1575).[7]

The parish is now known by the village name of Sevenhampton, but during the 16th century it was variously known as Senhampton and Sennington. [lower-alpha 4] A house near Brockhampton was known as Sennington,[lower-alpha 5] and an old village now deserted was known as Old Sennington.[lower-alpha 6]

The springs and streams that feed the River Coln in its early stages provide an ideal habitat for sedges and rushes to grow. During the medieval period sedges and rushes were known as "seaves".[lower-alpha 7]

The name element seve (13th–14th century) is from English dialect seave ( " sedge or rush " ).[lower-alpha 8][lower-alpha 9]

The name element Seven arose from a common mistake whereby Anglo-Saxons confused Old Norse sef ( " sedge, rush " ) for Old English seofon ( " seven " ).[lower-alpha 10][lower-alpha 11]

The name element hampton is from Old English hām and tūn.[lower-alpha 12][lower-alpha 13]

The toponym for Sevenhampton might be:

1. Village where seeves grow.
2. Village overgrown with seeves.

There is a cluster of place names in Gloucestershire that might share a similar etymology:

All of the above places provide a wet habitat suitable for sedges and rushes to grow. The name element Seven arose from a common mistake whereby Anglo-Saxons confused Old Norse sef ( " sedge, rush " ) for Old English seofon ( " seven " ).[lower-alpha 16][lower-alpha 17]

Compare the etymology of related place names:

• Sevenhampton (Seven..hā..tone 1086); (Seve..hampton 13th–14th century).
• Seven Wells (Seofon Wyllas).[lower-alpha 18]
• Seacourt DMV (Seofon..worþ c.957); (Seva..worð 1086).

• MAGiC MaP : Sevenhampton village – St Andrew's Church.[4]

• MAGiC MaP : Sevenhampton parish boundary.[11]

• MAGiC MaP : Cptswolds – Administrative boundaries.[12]

• MAGiC MaP : Cptswolds – Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[13]

• MAGiC MaP : Brockhampton Park – Wood-pasture and parkland.[14]

• MAGiC MaP : Old Sennington ancient village.[15]

• MAGiC MaP : Puckham Woods SSSI.[16]

• MAGiC MaP : Sevenhampton parish – Woodland.[17]

• MAGiC MaP : Seven Springs.[9]

• MAGiC MaP : Seven Wells.[10]

Puckham Woods is a large area of ancient woodland in a deep valley on the western fringe of the parish. It is designated as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The woodland consists of a mix of original and managed ancient woodland.[16]

At the time of the Domesday Book (1086), part of the woods were within the bishop of Hereford's Prestbury estate, which presumably included the Queen's Wood area to the west of Cleeve Common.[lower-alpha 22]

The Domesday Book entry for SEVENHAMPTON also included PRESTBURY in the ' Land and resources ' totals.[6]

• Ploughland: 5 lord's plough teams. 29 men's plough teams.
• Other resources: Meadow 20 acres. Woodland 1 * 0.5 leagues.[lower-alpha 23]

A rabbit warren was establishd in the woods in the 13th century;[lower-alpha 24][lower-alpha 25] however the warren was later destroyed in the 17th century.[lower-alpha 27]

During the Middle Ages the woods were of economic importance for the supply of timber and firewood;[lower-alpha 28] also for sheep grazing in the wood-pasture's.[lower-alpha 29] Parts of the woods were available to local people as common land for the grazing of horses and cattle. [lower-alpha 30]

There are fragmented areas designated as ' Woodpasture and Parkland – BAP Priority Habitat ' in and around Brockhampton Park.[14][lower-alpha 31]

The Danish Viking warlord Guthrum based his army at Cirencester for about a year following his defeat at the Battle of Edington.[lower-alpha 32] It would be expected that a large army would have needed to spread out across a large area of the surrounding countryside in order to sustain themselves for a long period of time. Sevenhampton village is about 12.2 miles (19.6 km) north of Cirencester. The Salt Way (Salt road) provided an easy walk from Cirencester to Sevenhampton and beyond.

At that time Sevenhampton was in south-west Mercia and ruled by Ceolwulf II of Mercia. It has been suggested that there might have been battles between the Viking's and the Mercian's that worked out to Alfred's advantage – Ceolwulf disappeared about that time.[lower-alpha 33]

There are a number of hillfort's along the Salt Way, place name evidence suggests that the Danes either built or reused existing camps, most notably Beckbury near Hailes Abbey and Grims Hill near Roel Gate. [lower-alpha 34] Some of those hillfort's might be compared with the D-shaped earthwork discovered at Repton in Derbyshire.[lower-alpha 35]

In 879 Guthrum moved his large army from Cirencester to East Anglia, as had been agreed in the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum.[lower-alpha 36] It is possible that not all of Guthrum's army recruits regrouped from the surrounding countryside and followed Guthrum to East Anglia. Place name evidence suggests that a population of Danes settled in the local area and integrated with the local population.[lower-alpha 37]

In 892 another Viking army arrived in Wessex where they engaged in battles with Alfred for about four years.[lower-alpha 38] In 896 the remaining Danes separated and travelled independently to Danish controlled areas such as East Anglia.[lower-alpha 39] It is possible that some Danes remained in the local area and integrated with the local population.

Old Sennington is a deserted medieval village (DMV) about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north-west of Sevenhampton village.[15][lower-alpha 40][lower-alpha 41] The site is listed as a Scheduled Monument.[21]

In the North of England place name elements such as dale, beck and side[lower-alpha 44] are ubiquitous in those areas most heavily influenced by the Old Norse language, especially the English Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales.[lower-alpha 45] Many Old Norse words became absorbed into the English language as northern dialect,[lower-alpha 46] but are rarely seen in the South of England.

Place names in Gloucestershire that might share a Danish Old Norse influence:

Beckbury hillfort is located high on the Cotswold escarpment above Hailes Abbey.[24] The hillfort is a Scheduled Monument.[25] The name is probably a reference to the stream that flows past Hailes Abbey,[lower-alpha 56] and especially to the valley that cuts into the Cotswold escarpment. The name element beck is from Old Norse bekkr – "stream". [lower-alpha 57] The Old Norse bekkr became absorbed into the English language,[lower-alpha 58] but was mostly used in those areas associated with the Danelaw, especially the North of England and East Anglia.[lower-alpha 59] The name element bury is from Old English burg (" fortress ").[lower-alpha 60]

Grim's Hill is the 10th century name for the earthwork known as Roel Camp near the summit of Bespidge hill.[3] It is a short distance west of Roel Gate on the Salt Way.[27] The hillfort is a Scheduled Monument.[28] The name " Grim " was a common Old Danish personal-name during the Viking Age.[29][lower-alpha 61] The name may have been used by the Anglo-Saxon's as a metaphor and to identify a place that was associated with people of Danish Viking origin.[lower-alpha 62]

• The geographic coordinates are from the Ordnance Survey.

• Adams, Max (2017). Aelfred's Britain: War and Peace in the Viking Age. Head of Zeus. ISBN 9781784080310.
• Cragoe, Carol Davidson; Jurica, A R J; Williamson, Elizabeth (2001). 'Parishes: Sevenhampton', in A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 9, Bradley Hundred. The Northleach Area of the Cotswolds. British History Online. pp. 166–187. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
• Higham, Nicholas J.; Ryan, Martin J. (2015). The Anglo-Saxon World. YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS. ISBN 978-0-300-21613-4.
• Reaney, P H (1969). The Origin of English Place Names. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
• Williams, Gareth; Naylor, John (2016). King Alfreds Coins, The Watlington Viking Hoard. Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. ISBN 978-1-910807-13-2.