Of all the Anglo-Saxon names to come from Britain, Ippislay is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family 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 IppIslay 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 Ippislay research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1748, 1748 and 1825 are included under the topic Early Ippislay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Ippislay has been spelled many different ways, including 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 Ippislay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Ippislays to arrive in North America: 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..