Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Woche (sic, for Wothe) 1253 FF

• Othe 1431 FA 1472 IpmR

• Wothfrance(y)s 1273 Banco 1382 SoDoNQ

• Woth(e) Frauncey(e)s 1275 Banco 1276 FF

• Wooth Fraunces 1405 ADI

• Wooth Francis 1624 DCMDeed 1795 Boswell

• Othe Fraunceys 1504 Ipm

• Othfrauncis 1518 Hutch3

• Wourth-Fraunces 1551 ADIII

• Wourth Frauncis 1551 Hutch3

• Worth Francis Eliz ChancP 1774 Hutch1 1811 OS 1863 Hutch3

• Worth Frauncis 1594 DCMDeed

• Wothstrode, Wothstrud' 1288 Ass

• Nethir Worth 1487 Ipm

• Nether Wothe 1488 Hutch3

• Netherworth 1503 Pat

• South Wooth or Wooth Francis 1697 DCMDeed 1742 DCMDeed

• Wooth Farm 1839 TA

Etymology

Another estate on R. Woth , the earlier name for R. Brit, cf. Bingham's Fm and Camesworth supra . The affixes -fra (u )nce (y )s and -strode are manorial. No evidence of an early owner called Fra (u )nce (y )s has been noted, but the surname (alternating with Fre (y )nsch (e ), both denoting 'Frenchman') is of frequent occurrence locally, cf. John Fren (s )che , Robert Fren (s )che 1321, 1326 SoDoNQ (Loders), William Fraunceys 1327, 1332 SR (Beaminster), Elias Freynssch ', William Freynssch '1332 ib (Powerstock).Land in Woth (Fraunceys ) was held by the de Strode family (from Strode in this par. supra ) during the 13th cent., cf. John de Strod (e )1253, 1276 FF, Nicholas de Strode 1294, 1306 FF. The later affixes Nether (that is 'lower downstream') and South are in relation to the other Woth estates of Bingham's Fm and Camesworth supra .