English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Scowles

Early-attested site in the Parish of Coleford

Historical Forms

  • Scwelle 1287 Misc

Etymology

Scowles, 1635 Inq, 1830 M, Scwelle 1287 Misc. This is from e.ModE  scowle , skoole 'rubbish, debris', a word commonly used in the plur. scowles in the Forest of Dean to denote the sides of coal- and ore-pits which have fallen in (cf. NED s.v.). This name carries its use back to 1287 from 1538.