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.

Wood Hall

Early-attested site in the Parish of Pontesbury

Historical Forms

  • Wudehus 1221-2 Ass 1221 SAS3/VI
  • La Wodehus(e) 1255-6 Ass 1271-2 Ass 1299 Eyton
  • Wodehalle 1327 VCHVIII269
  • Wodehall 1449 Fine
  • Woodhall 1600 PR(H)

Etymology

WOOD HALL is Wudehus 1221-2Ass , 1221 SAS 3/VI (FF), La Wodehus (e )1255-6Ass (p), 1271-2Ass , 1299 Eyton, Wodehalle 1327 VCH VIII269, Wodehall 1449 Fine, Woodhall 1600et seq PR(H) 1. VCH VIII269 says that in 1286 Richard de la Halle acquired a quarter virgate in Woodhouse. Assuming that he already lived there, it is possible that the later name, Wood Hall, is a shortened version of *Woodhousehall , combining the original name of the settlement with a reference to the hall from which Richard took his surname. The name Woodhouse is discussed in Part 1, with the suggestion that it may refer to an establishment for the management of woodland.

Places in the same Parish

Early-attested site

Other OS name

Major Settlement