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Earley Origin and Immigration
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Earley Surname Distribution
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Origin: The English name Hurley and Earle are thought originate from the Manor of Erley sometimes written as Erlegh, Erleigh, Earley or Hurley, in the hundred of Sonning in Berkshire. Indeed, there are so many spelling variations as to render Hurley a name impossible to spell incorrectly. In its principal variants it consists of two syllables, Er and L�, the exact spelling and pronunciation of which varied from locality to locality, with dialect and over time. Some variants in spelling include Urly, Hearley, Herlihey, Hordle and even Yearsley, with more recent evolutions tending to shorten the name, primarily to Earl and Hurl. In the mid 11th century, Hurley, and several Manors around, were held by virtue of his service by the high ranking Saxon noble, �sgar, the Master of Horse (or Marshall) to the King, Edward the Confessor. Recorded as �Herlei� in the Doomsday book of 1086, the manor was then amongst many estates held by Geoffrey de Mandeville, a famous soldier who had been with William the Conqueror at Hastings in 1066. The manor comprised 14 hides less one virgate, totalling about 1,650 acres of cultivatable land, With land for 18 ploughs, a church, two fisheries, 20 acres of meadow, woodland for 5 pigs (piggeries), and a mill rendering 20 shillings, the whole then being worth �12. In demesne (the lord�s private lands) there were 4 ploughs (up to 32 oxen, each plough requiring 2 teams of 4 oxen). The population consisted of 25 villans and 12 cottars with 15 ploughs (up to 180 oxen), and 10 slaves. Villans were tenant farmers or smallholders, who occupied about 30 acres each in payment for weekday labour on the Lords lands. Cottars were free men, usually the local craftsmen, such as the smith, the carpenter or the potter, and perhaps in this manor, the �plough-wright�. The number of people identified, are thought to be heads of households, and indicate a total population of about 200 people. The numbers of ploughs and dearth of grazing animals informs us that the land was primary given over to the cultivation of crops.
The exact origin of old names is difficult to discern. Some contend that the name Erley was derived from an abbreviation of the Old Saxon �Erne� meaning eagle and �ley� meaning wood or clearing, to give the name �Eaglewood�. �Ley� or �lea� is a widely used name suffix in the Saxon hundreds, and is usually interpreted as �meadow�, �open land� or �field�. It derives from the practice of allowing land to lay fallow in early crop rotation practice. Such land would be �ley-lond�. In times past, small birds of prey such as kestrels and kites would be common, hovering over open cultivated land in search of voles and harvest mice. There being few words at that time to differentiate between a kite and a true eagle, the name could have been derived from �Eagle-meadow�. This was likely how the name �Ernley� originated, but �Erley�? Given the nature of the physical situation of Hurley being valley bottom land and not a natural habitat for large birds of prey, the name Erley, likely comes from the Old Saxon �Er� meaning an �Ear� but also meaning an �Ear of Corn�. �Ering lond� meant �corn land� or �plough land�. �Erian� meant to plough. So the name Erley more likely means �Cornfield�, a suitable name for this area of fertile arable land. Other names local to the village of Hurley are �Mill Lane�, �Shepards Lane� and �Honey Lane�, indicate it to have long been a place of good farming. Hurley Manor known as �La Halle� in 1234, was disposed of in 1362 to Hurley Priory. With the dissolution, Hurley and its charters were conveyed to Westminster Abbey. Richard Leighton, who surveyed the priory for Henry VIII, was impressed by the high standard of farming in the area. The Manor, built over by a substantive stately home in subsequent years and now named Halls Place, is home to Berkshire College of Agriculture.
Surnames: Erleigh Erlegh Erle Earle Earley Early Earl Hurley
Submitted by: Peter Hurley
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