The place-name is first attested in the "Domesday Book" of 1086. The priory of Haugham was built upon land granted by Hugh, Earl of Chester, towards the end of the eleventh century, to the Benedictine abbot and convent of St. Severus in the diocese of Coutances. Priors were appointed by the bishops of Lincoln until 1329, this ending owing to wars with France. Subsequently, in 1398, the priory and its possessions were transferred to the Carthusian priory of St Anne at Coventry.