Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Weblescowe 1172 HAC e.14th

• Weblescho 1243–8 HAC

• Webblescove a.1233,1383 Lil

• Weblescove, Webleshoue c.1250 Lil

• Webluscowe 1383 Lil

• Wellestowe c.1175–8 HAC

• Weblestowe 1178–80 HAC

• Web(b)lestowe 1333 HAC

• Weblescote 1271–2 Ass 1297 Strange

• Webblescote 1291–2 Ass

• Weblestone 1325–46 HAC

• Webscowe 1392–9,97 InqMisc

• Webbescowe 1487 Ipm

• Webscoe 1545 PR(L) 1602 Peake

• Webscott 1617 PR(L) 1624 SBL3407

• Webscoe or Webscott 1663–4 SBL

Etymology

Early spellings show that the final element of Webscott is ME  scogh , ultimately from ON  skógr, cognate with OE  sceaga 'small wood'. It is unlikely that there is any direct contact with Norse speech; but the term makes an occasional appearance in the adjoining county of Cheshire (PN Ch 5.1339), and this instance may be considered an outlier from the generally northern distribution.

The first element appears to be unique to this name. The only suggestion available is a personal name, which could be an -el derivative of the recorded U (a )ebba , which Redin (p. 80) suggests may be from OE  webba 'weaver'. A late OE origin for Webscott would provide a possible context for a combination of an OE personal name with a word of ultimate ON origin.

There is probably mistranscription in some of the printed spellings, and there has been some substitution of commoner generics, the latter resulting in the modern -cott .

Hey 116–17 says that in the 16th/17th century there were two houses, Higher Webscott on the original site and Lower Webscott nearer Harmer.