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.

Hen Wood

Early-attested site in the Parish of Wootton

Historical Forms

  • Hynewode 1165–75 Lyell c.1350 1316 l.14th ib
  • Hinewode l.12th c.1350 ib
  • Hynewood 16th ib

Etymology

Hen Wood, Hynewode 1165–75 (c. 1350) Lyell , 1316 (l. 14th) ib , Hinewode l. 12th (c. 1350) ib , Hynewood 16thib , 'wood of the monastic community', v. hīwan , wudu . This may be wrohthangran , mentioned 956 (c. 1200) BCS 932, in the bounds of Wootton and Sunningwell (v. Pt 3), which means 'debated wood on a slope', v. wroht , hangra . If the ownership had been in dispute, the name Hen Wood acquires some significance; it is otherwise difficult to explain since it occurs in an area where all the land belonged to Abingdon in the period before the Norman Conquest.