History of Äskhult

Photographer: Göran Assner

There is much that indicates that people have lived here for several thousand years. Settlements have been discovered, primarily in the fields of Göttas and Jönsas, with cooking pits, or hearths, that can be dated back to the Bronze Age, approximately 2,700 years ago.

The hamlet of Äskhult is mentioned back in the 1600s, in a document drawn up by the Kolla sessions in Kungsbacka, where the names of the owners of the four farms are given. The current name of Äskhult dates from 1592, and was spelled Eskholt at the time. The name likely comes from the many ash trees that grew there, and that ash leaves were used as animal fodder.

The inhabitants and the hamlet were often caught in the middle when Halland was Danish, and when Denmark and Sweden were at war. The Swedish armies would pass in the vicinity.

The hamlet

The hamlet consists of four farms: Bengts, Derras, Jönsas, and Göttas, which consist of 11 buildings in total.

The hamlet has retained its character of dense farm construction, gathered around a common square from the 1700s, since the buildings were never moved out to the fields during the redistribution of land holdings (1825–1827) or during the legal partitioning (1861–1864). It remained undistributed.

The residences and the farm buildings stand side by side and are built of oak and pine with roofs of thatch, shingle, or tile.

The oldest buildings are from the early 1600s, and the youngest was built in 1850. The location of the hamlet, on the crest of a forested hill, is also characteristic of older village placement.

According to old estate inventories, each farm had an average of one or two horses, four to six cows, a heifer and a bullock calf, as well as chickens and pigs. Some of the farms also had sheep or goats. During the 1700s, there were also oxen.

The hamlet itself was considered the crown jewel of the parish, according to Anna-Britta at Jönsas. Members of Parliament, lay assessors, and churchwardens had lived here.