Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• (on) Waltham, (into) Weltham c.1050 KCD844 13th

• Waltham 1086 DB 1242–3 Fees

• Waltham abbatis de Certeseia 1167 P

• Westwaltham RicI Ch 1246

• Wautham 1214 Cur

• Wytewaltham 1242–3 Fees

• Blaunche Wautham, Blaunche Wauttam, Alba Wautham 1284 Ass

• Waltham Abbatis 1316 FA

• Qwyt Waltham 1346 Hurley

• Whyte Waltham 1381 BM

• Whitwaltham 1468 Fine

• Waltham Abbatis 1535 VE

• White Waltham 1557 PubLib(Bray)

Etymology

v. Waltham St Lawrence 112, from which this place is distinguished as 'white', probably with reference to the chalky soil which occurs in parts of the parish.

As explained in Part 3, the name Wealtham , in 940, appears to have denoted the whole area of the three modern parishes of Waltham St Lawrence, White Waltham and Shottesbrooke. By the 11th cent. the two Walthams are separate land-units, but the picture is complicated by the existence of two estates in White Waltham. One of these belonged to Chertsey Abbey, and this is the estate referred to in KCD 844 (a spurious writ of King Edward, discussed ASWrits 205 n.1), and in a number of spurious Chertsey charters (BCS 39, 1195, KCD 812). The other had belonged TRE to the Abbey of Waltham Holy Cross in Essex, and they held it also after the Domesday Survey. This is called Westwaltham in a spurious charter relating to the possessions of the Essex house (KCD 813), and t. Ric I (CartAntiq); and it included Heywood infra 72. Since Heywood is in the east of White Waltham parish, West - may be for distinction from Waltham Ess. It is sheer bad luck that Waltham Holy Cross had the same place-name, thus making it even harder to describe the history of the Berks estates clearly.