previously
The origin of the name,
Tenham, seems difficult to determine. The earlier charters (798 to 801) and
Domesday Monachorum mention it as Teneham, Taenham, Tenaham and Tenham, and it
is still pronounced ten ham with an
accent on the first syllable. In Domesday Book the name occurs as “Therham”
(probably a clerical error).
Wallenberg suggests an Anglo-Saxon root, tynan, to enclose, followed by the Anglo-Saxon word “Hamm “, a land drained by dykes (Place Names, p. 63).
Ekwall suggests an early owner named Teona, whose name is found in Teonanhyll in Berkshire (Studies on English Place Names).
Harris, writing in 1719, calls it the “place of ten houses” (hams).
In any case, the name is ancient and handed down unchanged in pronunciation. The “y” in “Teynham” was apparently added by the Roper family.
The following early charters are the first written history I have traced of this Hundred and Manor. They are to be found in Birch’s Cartularium: he transcribed them from the 13th century copy in Latin now in the Archbishop’s Library at Lambeth.
Extracted from Elizabeth Selby’s “Teynham Manor and Hundred”
published by Meresborough Books, ISBN
0905270 630.
William Lambarde in 1576 writes "TENHAM, in Saxon tynham, that is, the towne of Ten houses : as Eightam was called of the Eight dwellings there."
It is argued that Elizabeth
Prideaux Selby's "Teynham Manor and Hundred" simply
summarises the range of possibilities of the origin of the name
of which she was aware when
she wrote in 1935. Local historian, Dr Arthur Percival of the Fleur de Lis Heritage
Centre; Faversham and historical advisor to
the Faversham
website writes:
"There are others which she does not mention
and we are at a disadvantage because the new -bible' of Kent
place-name etymologies, by Paul Cullen, has not yet
appeared. Amazing that there can be
so much difficulty about what appears to be such a simple
name, but I suspect that it is very simplicity which causes
problems.
Harris, responsible for the 'village of ten
houses' suggestion, was writing in 1719 and was no etymologist.
His derivation makes no sense at all and I'm afraid has to be
dismissed, however attached to it the people of Teynham may
be.
Apart from anything else, there are no
parallels - and one might expect there to be many, as there must have
been hundreds of places with ten houses in Anglo-Saxon times.
The etymological as it stands in the Faversham
Website entry, is possibly correct."