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.

Whit Coombe

Early-attested site in the Parish of Lambourn

Historical Forms

  • Withecwmbe 1227 Ch
  • Wydecombe 1348 Queen
  • Whitcombe 1848 TA

Etymology

Whit Coombe, Withecwmbe 1227 Ch, Wydecombe 1348Queen , Whitcombe 1848TA , 'wide valley', v. wīd , cumb , and cf. Witcombe Gl 2, 158, which has a spelling Wythcumb in 1248. The valley of the Berks p.n. is a broad, shallow one, near the summit of the Downs.

Places in the same Parish

Early-attested site

Other OS name

Major Settlement