High Willhays
Early-attested site in the Parish of Okehampton and Okehampton Hamlets
Historical Forms
- Hight Wyll 1532 Dartmoor
- High Willows 1827 G
Etymology
This is the highest point of Dartmoor (2039 ft.), and the name may be simply a compound of 'high' and 'well' (spring). It is really a part of Yes Tor and in early times the latter name was probably applied to the whole hill. The later additional syllable is hard to explain. It looks like the common hay (s ), 'enclosure,' with phonetic reduction in the unstressed syllable.