Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• White-Poole 1819 Orm2iii351

• Album Pull c.1180 AddCh

• Chol, Alba Pulle 1303 Chamb

• Whyte Pulle c.1260–70 AddCh 14 e14 Orm2 1559

• Whytepulle iuxta Worleston 1355 Plea

• Le Whitepulle 1405 ib

• Whitepole 1474 Chol 1630

• White Poole 1588 AD 1772 Sheaf

• Whitpole 1534 Orm2

• Whitpoole 1592 1609 ChRR

• Whittpoole 1609 ChRR

• Pulle c.1395 Sheaf322

Etymology

White-Poole (lost), White -Poole 1819 Orm2 iii351, Album Pull c.1180AddCh , (17) Chol , Alba Pulle 1303 Chamb, Whyte Pulle c.1260–70 (14) AddCh , e14ib et freq with variant spellings White Pulle , Whyte pull (e ) to 1559 Orm2, Whytepulle iuxta Worleston 1355 Plea, Le Whitepulle 1405 ib, Whitepole 1474 (1630) Chol , White Poole 1588 AD, 1772 Sheaf, Whitpole 1534 Orm2, Whitpoole 1592 ib, 1609 ChRR, Whittpoole 1609 ChRR. 'White Poole', from Poole supra and hwīt . The origin and significance of 'white' is debateable. It could be manorial, cf. Barrets -Poole and Warpoole supra . There was a surname White in this district–William Albus of Pulle c.1395 Sheaf3 22 (5295) (Lat. albus 'white')–and one Richard Albus witnesses a Nantwich deed l12AddCh 43372. But these seem to be of the same family as the le Hare , Canutus , surnames under Warpoole supra . The 'white' in Album -, Alba - in the early references is rather an adj. than an affix (although translation into Latin may have affected the form). There is no trace of a genitive construction.The name appears with the def. art. in 1405 Plea. The evidence is against a manorial affix here. It may be that 'white' refers to some salinity of the water of the stream of Poole, v. supra , for the district is in the Nantwich salt-field, cf. Salt Brooks infra ; on the other hand, 'white' may be contrasted with 'dirty', cf. Warpoole supra .