Asche is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Asche family lived in close proximity to an ash tree. As such, the name has local references to towns called Ash in Derbyshire, Surrey, Hampshire, and many other places.
The surname Asche was first found in the county of Devon in southern England. The first person to settle in the locality was D'Esse Court, a companion of King William, Duke of Normandy who landed in England in 1066 A.D. and was granted lands by his liege lord in the vicinity of Exeter, Devon.
Alternatively the family could have originated in Esh or Ash, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Lanchester in Durham. "The manor gave name, at a very early period, to a family of considerable local consequence, who held the estate, with little interruption, from the middle of the 13th century till the time of Henry VIII." [1]
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list the following: John de le Es, in Norfolk; Roger de le Es, also in Norfolk; Agnes Ate Nasse in Oxfordshire; and Henry de Asse in Warwickshire. [2]
The reference "History of Norfolk" list Joan atte-Eshe in 1345, Roger atte-Ashe, temp. Edward II and John at-Ash, of Bintre, Norfolk in 1349. [3]
The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 had only one listing of the family, Robertus del Asch. [2]
Another source notes: "There are places so called in Derbyshire, Surrey, Hampshire, and elsewhere. It seems probable, however, that the name was sometimes adopted from residence near a remarkable ash tree. We find the Atten-Ashe of the XIV. cent. contracted into Nashe soon after." [4]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Asche research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1326, 1597, 1658, 1640, 1656, 1609, 1656, 1640, 1652, 1618, 1686, 1670, 1681, 1671, 1735, 1636, 1658, 1718, 1695, 1697, 1717 and are included under the topic Early Asche History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Esse, Ash, Ashe, Aschey and others.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Ashe (1597-1658), an English clothier and politician for Westbury and later for Somerset at various times between 1640 and 1656, upon his death he left a landed estate valued at £6000 a year; Edward Ashe (ca.1609-1656), brother of...
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Asche Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Asche family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 132 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Asche or a variant listed above: