Great Mollands Fm
Early-attested site in the Parish of South Ockendon
Historical Forms
- (la) Mollande, Mollond, Molaunde 13th StJohn 1352 Hustings 1372 Londin
- Moulandes lands 14th StJohn
- Mowland, Mowland alias Little Molland 1524 FF 1539 LP 1608 EAx
- Mollands 1568 M
Etymology
molland is a compound of mōl and land . mōl is a southern ME form of mail , now only Scottish and dialectal (but cf. black-mail ), late OE māl , ON mál , 'speech, agreement, payment, tax, tribute, rent.' molland is a term in land-tenure and has been defined as “copyhold which at a very early period had been emancipated from forced labour and was held mainly by payment of a quit-rent” (v. Vinogradoff, Villainage in England 183–6).Cf. further “wood called Molwud (in Springfield) rendering 1d. at Easter for all services saving the King's services, to wit scutage, at more or at less 1/2d.” (n.d. AD iv). Such tenures were common in Great Walthambury. Cf. four acres of molond , Sayer 's molond , a quarter (-of-land ) of molond 1399 ER xiii. At Hutton in 1312 certain tenants named molmen held land by the reaping of an acre of cornland called Moleacre (EHR xxvi, 337).For molmen at Borley in 1308 v. EAS xviii, 259; cf. also Molland (e ) (Sutton), 13thStJohn , (Saffron Walden) 1605WaldenA , Moland ' (Rivenhall) 1262 FF, Molemed (Hatfield Broad Oak) t. Hy 5 Dugd iv, Mollemed (Wix) 1345Ct , mollemade (North Weald) 1480MinAcct , Molefeld (Stapleford Tawney) 1382Ct , mallande (Witham) 1608LRMB , Molandgrove , Mollands , Mowlands (Chigwell)1517–42Waller . It is possible that some of these contain the common word mole , but hitherto that has not been recorded before the end of the 14th century and is apparently of LGer origin.