Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Wodehowse 1272–1307 Orm2

• le Wo(o)dehouse 1351 Chamb

• Woodhouse 1543 ChRR 1662 Sheaf 1685 Chol

• Woodhouse Green 1579,1581 Sheaf

• Wodehouses 1304 Chamb

• le Wodehouses, le Wodehouses infra dominium de Frodesham 1444 ChRR, Chol

• Wodehwsis c.1310 ib

• Woodhouses 1581 Sheaf

• the Woodhouses 1656 Orm2

• Woodhowses 1611 Chol

• Wodhousen 1530 Chol

Etymology

'House(s) in a wood', from wudu and hūs , with hyll , croft , and grēne 2 . Woodhouses is described in 1581 Sheaf3 5 (858) as 'a village adjoining to Woodhouse Green'. Wodhousen represents the eModE  and ModEdial. nom.pl. form -housen (cf. house NED), from analogy with the OE , ME  wk. nom.pl. in -an , -en .