Meaning of ‘Rambridge’
I’ve not found any online derivation of ‘Rambridge’.
Rambridge is a surname, as per the section below on J. Sidney Rambridge. I would guess that it’s likely that the surname is derived from a place, or more specifically from a specific bridge.
There was a Rambridge House near Andover 1, although whether this was itself named after somebody called Rambridge I don’t know.
If Rambridge was or is a specific bridge then the ‘Ram’ could refer to:
- a ram, in the sense of a male sheep
- a raven, or somebody with the nickname ‘Raven’. As discussed in regard to Ramleaze Drive, ‘ram’ can mean ‘raven’. It can be derived from a Scandinavian word for raven – ‘hrafn
- some element of the construction of the bridge, in the sense of something being rammed into place
J Sidney Rambridge
I’ve found several references to John Sidney Rambridge on the internet.
He was an early 20th Century maker of cutlery 2 and possibly of watches 3
Mr Rambridge or a namesake seems to have become ‘mayor or chief executive’ of Salisbury by 1932, leading a delegation to Salisbury in Maryland 4.
Lord Ram’s bridge
There is also, according to Hindu mythology, a ‘Rams Bridge’ which linked India with Sri Lanka. Lord Rama had the bridge built by his army of monkey-men so that he could rescue his wife Sita who was being held prisoner in Sri Lanka.
Lord Rama’s bridge has been identified with a (mainly) undersea ridge between India and Sri Lanka. 5
Footnotes
- Northwood Lettings List – More Details [↩]
- This link is an auction of spoons made by Rambridge: Lot 112: A cased pair of silver spoons by J. Sidney Rambridge of Salisbury with cast tops and teardrop bowls Sheffield 1918 – sold with other collectable – Featured on Invaluable.com [↩]
- Another auction site item – I’m aware that the dates don’t quite work here – a 19th century watchmaker is relatively unlikely to have visited Maryland in 1932. Perhaps the watch was made by somebody else in the family: Lot 2766: A large 19th century dial timepiece with single – Featured on Artfact.com [↩]
- The Mystery NEWS: Key Unlocks Historic Mystery [↩]
- Adam’s Bridge – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [↩]
