English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Maudlin Ho

Early-attested site in the Parish of Bramber

Historical Forms

  • Mawdelayne 1490 Sele
  • Mawdelyn feld, Mawdlyn housse 1565 SRS3,45
  • Bydlyngton al. Mawdlyn 1601 SRS19,38
  • Bidlington al. Magdalens Bidlington c.1640 SAC59,106

Etymology

This name is often said to be due to the fact that the manor was held by Magdalen College, Oxford, from the gift of Bishop Waynflete in 1456. The name is however of much older origin. Already in the 13th cent, there was a hospital here dedicated to St Mary Magdalen and the later possession by Magdalen College is only a coincidence so far as the name is concerned.

Places in the same Parish

Major Settlement