y C1650, the term limmer became associated with a number of other inventions. Sailors rope ladders and ships gunnels were often referred to as the ' limmer' , in Yorkshire, miners referred to the pit ponies track carrying coal from the pit face to surface as the 'limmer track’ all these terms probably came from the earlier word ‘ limber’ and may have been a corruption of lumber.
This gives us a clue as to the change in spelling and pronunciation. While the gentry of the east would accentuate the Ly in Ly me, common dialect of west would emphasise the m pronouncing mb as in Limb. The same pony track or rope ladder called lymmer west of Leicester would be Limber in Norfolk or Lincolnshire. Lime towns in Cheshire might be Lyme or Newcastle-under-Lyme, but in Lincolnshire, they were Limber Parva and Limber Magna. This route for the term lymmer has been offered as evidence for the change from term to surname, but it remains unproven.
If we were to follow a second theory, in which the surname Limmer derived from a trade or skill, we must also consider the claim by another source17 that the name Limmer was derived from the ancient trade of illuminators. This theory is less forthcoming with evidence.
We might consider the rapid rise in demand for the parchment and legal writing in the ninth and tenth century. Scribes and illuminators of text became very popular around this time. Most early illuminators came from the stock of monks18, (celibacy rather limits the chance of descending from this stock).
Some illuminators did work outside the monasteries. Descendants from these include Thomas Liminor (1273) while those named Limnor descend from Godfrey le Lumnour (C1100). Others are known rather as Limner or Lomer in 1402, as in - ‘A bokbynder’s owned by Onsey Abbey was rented to Henry Lymner’. I can find no connection to the surname Lymmer19.
Some of the early marriage licences written by the hands of John(1703.42) or Edward (1737.46) Limmer and presently kept at Bury St Edmunds record office show highly educated and very skilful handwriting but not to a standard that we might expect of an illuminator. Outside of monasteries, Oxford or Cambridge universities were the best places for training in this field. There are no records of Limmers attending either of these academies and no concrete evidence that links Limmer and the art of illuminating.
One source put forward evidence connecting the two but this was discredited. Catlin, in his research into the Sibbes family, deliberately records the marriage of ‘ Elizabeth Sibbes to John Limner’, the document from which he copied the surname unmistakably shows the name as John Limmer. His attempt to elevate the class of the Sibbes family by miscopying was declared by Cambridge scholars as ‘poor research’ and they added a footnote to this effect.20 Catlin’s need to change Limmer to Limner in order to make the connection between Limmer and Luminur demonstrates the unlikely chance that Limner settled down into Limmer. Incidentally, the same source that quoted Catlin, wrongly also lists with ‘certainty’ that Stephen(1776) Limmer21 descended from Limer, (whose occupation was a lime burner). As Steven Limmer was a direct descendent of the John Limmer who married Elizabeth Sibbes, it can hardly be accepted with any certainty that either descend from lime-burner or liminor.
Limmer origins and Place names.
t is said by some that Limmer started as a place name. It has been suggested, by those who favour the Lymm to Limmer route of origin, that Gilbert de Lymm came to England, bearing the name ‘ of Lymm’ (de Lymm) in Roman times, and in doing so name the town?
This seems improbable. Which named which? Did the place name the person only after the person had named the place? Did an ancestor travel via Lym France, Limburg in Holland, Lima in Sweden or Limat in Switzerland? Some of these lands do contribute. The French version of Limmer is Lemmere or Lemmer. John Lemmere, for example, probably came from this route22 or, did he derive his name from the time of the Romans when Lyme the town was established? It is clear that Gilbert took the name as ‘Lord of Lymme’. Who named Lymme? Lymme has been recognised since Roman times. Romans mined many areas in and around Chester for lime and a lime, processing kiln at Lymme probably accounts for the origin of the place name. The connection between the place and the trade of can be seen in Gilbert’s act of exploiting his land for profit by extracting lime.23
Limmer and Migration
e are now in a position to discuss the issue of a migration of Limmer in two ways. First, did the name Lymmer migrate from North? or did Limmers migrate to Suffolk from the south of England?
During the middle ages, there was clearly a migration of people from west to east. In general, there were several reasons why people moved to the east side of the country in this period. First, there was the war with Wales. Chester was a vulnerable county until this war ended. The king’s tenements spread throughout Cheshire. The king recruited most of his army from his tenants thus putting a good deal of pressure on them to take up arms for his cause. Second, the kings new land taxes were fervently pursued in the five counties of the east. Chancellors records for the period show how it could be largely ignored by the counties in the west. Thirdly, to reach ports at Chester, boats travelled close to the Welsh northern coast. Since the general unrest in Wales, which started around 1395, many of the merchant ship owners transferred to Bristol for business and safety reasons24. Once the troubles of the north and Wales quietened, the King’s presence moved south, moving between London, Portsmouth and Essex in response to the pending war with France.
Suffolk and its surrounding counties remained sheltered from English troubles. Descendants of Gilbert de Lymme the knight had spread quickly southwards by the beginning of the 15th century. Some were still in the employ of the Domvilles and making a good living as knights. By this time Limmers had established a foothold in counties surrounding Suffolk. Some Lymmes had signed up in the fast growing merchant navy. Others, like John de Lymme who some time before went to Bristol, used their education to look for desk jobs. The decline of de Lymme families in Cheshire and their appearance in London and Portsmouth coincides with the return of the King to London after the war with Wales.
Putting Limmer on the map
id the map influence the name Limmer? It is doubtful! Did Limmer influence the map? Most emphatically ‘Yes’!
One such modern example is Limmer Lane named where Limmer bus company parked their buses the early 1900’s. Another is Limmer’s Terraces, Bury Saint Edmunds. An early map of Bury Saint Edmunds shows part of the Limmer family built a terrace, which became a local landmark. Interestingly, Limmer’s Terraces also appear in lime territory. Limekiln cottages and lime fields appear right on its doorstep. It is improbable that they are connected to the works however, as these terraces appear to have been built by Limmers working in corn and wheat sales. Having emigrating to USA from Norfolk and returning to Bury around 1800 AD they built the terraces. Unfortunately, these were demolished and the land sold in early 1900.
A number of map references bearing the name Limmer, point us back to Saxon times. their close proximity tells a good deal about the beginnings of Limmer. These are exiting and we will look at this evidence from earlier maps in part two25.
One further point argued by some must be dispelled before we move on. That Lymmer is French in origin is really a non starter. True, it is a small step from Gilbert de Lymme to make Gilbert de Lymmer. But there would surely have been evidence of a ‘De Lymmer’ in a record somewhere before 1390. Most official records were written in French until that date so the temptation to add the de if there was any doubt would have been too great to miss. More than this, the surname de Lymme began to settle down to the surname Lymme26. By 1480 AD, only names that had incorporated the de or la into the surname survived (e.g. Delacell). French was on its way out and the last records of de Lymme recorded by clerks in Bristol, for example, dropped de and la from names as a matter of policy in 1392.27
The decline of Lyme and the increase of Lymmer in Norfolk, has been argued as Suffolk Lymmes becoming Lymmers28. Weigh this against much greater evidence of Lymmers moving up through Hampshire, Bedford and Buckinghamshire to Suffolk and Norfolk, this argument loses its creditability. Lymmers moved into Suffolk from the south.
One, Thomas Lym, did buy farmland between Hartest and Hargrave from Thomas Grome29 in 1455. He may have been one Thobias or Thomas Lymmer living in Buckinghamshire around that time, but first there is no direct evidence and second, there is no reason to suspect that that he headed the family of Lymmers who appear in Hartest and Hargrave soon after 1455.
There are recognisable and established Lymmer families in Hampshire and possibly in Cambridgeshire at least one and a half centuries before this.
In conclusion of this chapter then, while there is little doubt that the Lymme family added the term lymmer to English language as an adjective or an object, there is no evidence the surname Lymme evolved to Limmer.
Chevington Church
