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Derivations of Local Place Names
OE = Old English
| Name | Meaning or derivation |
|---|---|
| Chudleigh | seen in the mid-12 Century as Ceddelegam. Possibly from the OE ceode-leah 'woodland clearing in a hollow' |
| Ashcombe | OE aesc cumb 'valley of the ash trees' |
| Ashwell | 'the well where the ash trees grow' |
| Bellamarsh | 'Bealda's Marshland' |
| Biddlecombe | 'Bittela's Valley' |
| Bramble Brook | OE bremel 'place of brambles' |
| Brimley | OE bremel 'brambles' |
| Catshole | 'the hollow of the wild cat' mentioned in 1330 – the place of this name, near Northwood no longer exists |
| Churchills | Celtic crug or hill. OE hyll |
| Coombeshead | 'at the head of the valley' OE cumb, narrow, steep-sided valley |
| Crammers | OE crane mere, or 'heron pool'. In 1313 Cranmereslake |
| Crocombe | mentioned in 1238 as Craccumbe. OE cumb, valley with personal name as suffix |
| Dunchideock | wooded hill fort |
| Dunscombe | 'Dun's Valley'. Dun can also be interpreted as 'on a hill' |
| Farley | fern leah or bracken clearing |
| Filleigh | name may derive from a holy well dedicated to St Fili who traditionally had associations with Glastonbury. He was an early saint of the Ancient Kingdom of Dumnonia. The name Filleigh also appears in both North Devon and West Devon and at Philleigh, Cornwall. Name first recorded here in 1590s |
| Gappah | OE gat-paep or 'goats path' |
| Grealy | 'the grey woodland clearing' |
| Haldon | first seen in 1281 as Hagheledon. OE hagol or hail. Seems to have been named after some terrific hail storm |
| Hams | hemmed-in land or homestead |
| Harcombe | OE hare cumb. An obvious meaning being 'the valley of the hare'. However harepath is a Saxon word 'herepaeth' which literally translates as 'army path' and normally refers to what was a main road used by the Saxon armies to cross the country. Bearing in mind this combe contained an ancient trackway perhaps the meaning is more appropriately 'the combe that contains the main road of the army' |
| Huxbear | 'Hoc's Woodland' |
| Ideford | In 1086 Yudaforde. OE gredd ford 'place to assemble for speech or song' |
| Kate Brook | OE kidbroke 'the place where kites are seen' |
| Kerswell | OE caerse – wella 'spring where water cress grows' |
| Lawell | in a phrase of 1329 as 'infra mansum sum de la welle' |
| Lyneham | possibly 'flax valley' |
| Oxencombe | simply 'oxen valley'. Oxencombe was formerly a way into and out of the parish and today the A38 uses part of it. The oxen kept here would have been used to drag the heavy sleds up onto Haldon until at least the early 1800s when wheeled vehicles became more widespread |
| Ranscombe | 'valley of the rams' |
| Rattyball Wood | pronounciation of 'the reddish hill wood' |
| Rixy Park (Rixey) | OE 'rix' rushes |
| Rowells | in 1333 Rowehill 'rough hill' |
| Ruggadon | in 1249 the first element was a personal name Hrucga |
| Teign | a Celtic river name simply meaning 'stream' |
| Trusham | in 1086 Trisma. Probably a Celtic name, 'place of thorns', from Primitive Cornish dris 'thornbush' |
| Ugbrooke | Saxon personal name Ugga and OE broc, stream/brook. So 'Ugga's Brook' |
| Waddon | 'hill where woad grew' |
| Wapperwell | in 1603 Wappull Will |
| Whiteway | OE hwit, literally 'the white way' perhaps nmaed after the nearby track to Haldon comprising chert and flint giving the obvious appearance of a white way |
| Winstow | 'Wine's Hill' |