Folly Fm
Early-attested site in the Parish of Wisbech St Mary
Historical Forms
- Fallho c.1208 Thorney
- fallowe 1310 Ct
- Litle fallowe 1549 ib
- Faleys Drave 1387 Cl
- Faulle lane 1570 Imb
- Fallayne 1586, 1587 Ct
Etymology
Folly Fm (6″) is Fallho c. 1208Thorney , fallowe 1310Ct , Litle fallowe 1549 ib. This is probably a compound of fealh , 'fallow' and hōh in the sense 'a cultivated rise or hill.' Cf. Fawcliff (PN Nth 15) and Fulham, earlier Falholm ib. 227. Some little distance away, running north-east from the opposite side of the South Eau Bank are Folly's Drain and Drove (6″), for which we have forms Faleys Drave 1387 Cl, Faulle lane 1570 Imb, Fallayne 1586, 1587Ct . This looks like a weakening of Fallho . The drove may have continued to near the farm before the construction of Moreton's Leam and Guyhirn Gull, but, as often in the Isle of Ely, the construction of drainage works makes certainty impossible, v. drāf and lanu .