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.

Woodley

Major Settlement in the Parish of Woodley and Sandford

Historical Forms

  • Wodlegh' 1241 Ass
  • Wodleyhe 1341 NonInq
  • Woodley 1761 Rocque

Etymology

Possibly 'meadow by the wood', v. lēah , wudu , and cf. Lea and Whistley in St Nicholas Hurst 100–1. The three names are in flat ground on either side of the Loddon, and they may be of relatively late origin and contain lēah in its final meaning 'meadow'.