The name Hipperslay belongs to the early history of Britain, it's origins lie with the Anglo-Saxons. It is a product of their having lived in Warwickshire, at Ipsley, a parish, in the union of Alcester, Alcester division of the hundred of Barlichway. [1]
The place-name Ipsley is composed of two Old English elements. The first is the word yppe, which meant "upland, high place." The second is leah, which meant "forest clearing." The place-name as a whole means "forest clearing on an upland; clearing in a high place." [2]
The surname Hipperslay was first found in Warwickshire where (Holes) de Ippesleye was recorded 20 Edward I (during the twentieth year of King Edward I's reign). [3]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hipperslay research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1748, 1748 and 1825 are included under the topic Early Hipperslay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Hipperslay include Hippisley, Hippesley, Hippsley, Hipsey, Hipsley and others.
Distinguished members of the family include John Hippisley (d. 1748), English actor and dramatist, "born near Wookey Hole in Somersetshire. He seems to have belonged to a well-known Somerset family. He is said in the ‘Biographia Dramatica’ to have first come on the stage as a candle-snuffer, and on the death of Pinkethman to have...
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hipperslay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Hipperslay were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Joseph Hippisley who settled in Maryland in 1774; William Hipsley settled in Barbados in 1654; transferring in 1670 to Virginia; Joe Hippsley settled in St. Christopher in 1635..