Also recorded as Haesling, Haslin, Hasling, Hesling, Heslin, Hessling, Hesseling, Hasslinge
OE haeslin or haesling for a hazel wood or copse[1].
The links between Haselyng and Hillman seem tenuous, but there are a few alias references. The name relates to a location in or near a hazel copse (“dweller by the hazel copse”), important in the past as a source for weaving and as lathes or withies in mud and wattle walls.
Possibly the same Stephen Illman and Richard Illman occur in 1547 and 1554 below, linking Illman firmly with Haselyng? But why should a hazel copse and a hill have anything in common, unless either the copse was on a hill, and/or he moved? The three locations mentioned – Balcombe, Cuckfield and Wivelsfield – are all very close to each other near Haywards Heath.
While the earliest records here are from the 1300s, the name re-appears in the 1500 and 1600s in Sussex linked to Hillman at one location – Cuckfield – over a period of almost 70 years.
Examples from the Surname Database[2] include:
1275 Walter atte Haselyng in Worcestershire.
1327 Walter atte Haselyng recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex.
1332 Peter atte Heselyng recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex.
And from the National Archives[3]:
1547 Richard Illman alias Haselyng of Cuckfield and Agnes his wife, with reference to land at Haywards Heath in Wivelsfield, West Sussex, Manor of Otehall, left to heirs Stephen Illman al. Haselyng, or in default to William Illman al. Haselyng, with an annual rent of 6d.
1554 Stephen Illman of Balcombe, a sheather, reference land, part of the Manor of Frankleyns in Wivelsfield, purchased from his brother Richard Illman of Cuckfield, a stonehealer, annual rent of 4d.
1554 Richard Illman alias Haselyng and Roger Illman are both mentioned in another land “seisin”.
And in the Sussex Family History Monuments Index[4]:
1603 Jane, wife of Edward Illman alias Hasslinge of the Park Gate, buried at Holy Trinity, Cuckfield, West Sussex.
1610 Joan Ilman, widow of Hasting (probably Hasling) buried at Holy Trinity, Cuckfield, West Sussex.
1610 Jane Illman, alias Hasling, an old maid, buried at Holy Trinity, Cuckfield, West Sussex.
1615 Edmond Illman, alias Hasting (probably Hasling), also of the Park Gate, buried at Holy Trinity, Cuckfield, West Sussex.
1628 Three names for a parcel of land sold in the same area, Cuckfield, Slaugham, Cowfold are mentioned as Haselyngs, Old Haselyngs and Haselyngsland in Cuckfield[5].
The PRTS[6] transcription of the records from West Grinstead in Sussex – source of my own ancestry – include significant numbers of a similar name Hasledene – also recorded as Hasleden, Haslye, Hasley, Haslie, and Hasler. Presumably these names too had some link to the important hazel copses or groves. These records occurred over the period 1560 – 1658. The name Illman, later Hillman, does not appear until 1639, giving an overlap of both names of only 19 years in the parish registers. However, it has not been possible to demonstrate any linkage between the two surnames in this parish.
Sources
[1] Hessels, John Henry (Ed). 1906. Latin-Anglo-Saxon Glossary Preserved in the Library of the Leiden University. Cambridge University Press.
[2] http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Hasling
[3] http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=179-otehall&cid=1-19&kw=Thomas%20Illman#1-19
[4] SFHG Monuments Index, Mar 2011
[5] http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=179-otehall&cid=1-19&kw=Thomas%20Illman#1-19
[6] Parish Records Transcription Society. 2018. West Grinstead Baptisms Register.