Annington, West Sussex Beggers busch 1528

A terrier dated 30 March 1528 of the manor of Annington in Botolphs, lists under  “Buttells Dene. The Furlonge called Quochman otherwyse Beggers busch to begyn at the north syde under Hendersch and soe to goe southe to beggers bush.” It is possible the name is older as the document states “this terror is a copie of an old Terror and wryten verbatim with that terror” (WSRO, Wiston Ms. 5163). It is recorded again in 1635 “…in Buttles Deane in the furlong call[e]d Quochmans furlong al[i]as Beggers Bush abutting upon the Land of Edward Hyde…”’(WSRO, EP1/25/3). I am not aware of any later records.

The precise location cannot be found but it is in the Adur valley, and could well be on the parish boundary between Botolphs and Coombes. The Beggars Bush at Sompting is about two miles to the south west, up Winding Bottom towards Steep Down.

The origin of the alternate name Quochman is not known.  It may be a mistranscription from the “old Terror”or a mistake for queech ‘thicket’ which is known in Sussex as a place and surname. OED for queach gives “A dense growth of bushes; a thicket. Also (in quots. 1726, a1825): “a patch of untillable land characterized by such thickets.” OED gives many usages from 1486 onwards, starting with “When ye come to a wode or a quech of bushus”. This would be consistent with the derogatory explanation for the place name. It also suggests the two names in the Terrier are alternatives with the same meaning. The Victoria County History suggests Annington was a poor parish, mainly dependent on sheepfarming, and salt production.

An intriguing but speculative extension of this from LEME gives “Couch-grasse, Quich-grasse, Dogs-grasse; also, a noble slinker; a loose, dissolute, or idle good fellow. . .” from Randle Cotgrave, A Dictionary of the French and English Tongues (1611) which would further link Quochmans with the literary phrase.

Thanks

Janet Pennington for the original reference, and Richard Coates

Annington, Sussex, Sompting, derogatory, proverb

Posted: March 13th, 2011 | Filed under: Places | Tags: Annington, Sompting, Sussex, derogatory, proverb | No Comments »