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.

Trench Lane and Wood

Early-attested site in the Parish of Huddington

Historical Forms

  • Trunchet 1240 WoP
  • Trench 1327 SR
  • highway called the Trench 1650 Surv

Etymology

The earliest form is probably corrupt and the origin is OF trenche , 'cutting.' The word is evidently used in the first sense given in the NED, viz. path or track cut through a wood or forest. Trench Lane is part of a road from Droitwich through Huddington to Stratford, probably a saltway. It forms the north-east boundary of Trench Wood. The original route may have been through the wood itself for there is a track passing through the wood, parallel to the road and it forms a parish boundary.

Places in the same Parish

Major Settlement