Bob Delderfield’s History File
January 1995
What’s in a Name?
Because Pound Wood is ancient, we tend to assume that its name is similarly antique but research shows that this is far from the case. The wood probably acquired the “Pound” less than 300 years ago and even then it may have been an error!
Pound Wood (in Hadleigh & Thundersley), at 55 acres, is part of a very old 91 acre estate which also includes Tile Wood (in Thundersley only). Owned by the Church Commissioners from 1875, it had been the property of the Dean & Chapter of Westminster Abbey since the 13th century. The main source for its documentation is the Westminster Abbey Muniment Room and Library. Here, in huge, leather-bound lease books, there exist copies of some 15 leases of the Thundersley and Hadleigh estate dating from 1613 to 1862.
In the 1613 lease, the two woods are called Tylers Woode and Gooddyners Woode and the description of the boundaries of each wood makes it absolutely clear that Tylers is our Pound Wood and Gooddyners became Tile Wood. When the name ‘Pound’ first appears it is on a lease of 1769 which reads as follows: “Goodiners Wood now called or known by the name of Pound Wood”. It is said to be in the parish of Thundersley and the boundaries described fit today’s Tile Wood, whereas Tylers Wood — now called or known by the name of “Wolf’s Wood” is placed in Thundersley and Hadleigh and with boundaries which suit modern Pound Wood. This wording is repeated on all the later leases right through to 1862.
The only earlier reference to Pound Wood unearthed so far is a brief note in the Hadleigh Parish Registers that a Mr Johnson (W.A. lesee 1746–1769) had been felling in Pound Wood in 1750. This seems to contradict the leasing evidence and suggests that the 18th century Pound Wood was the Pound Wood we know today — Hadleigh people would have been unconcerned with a wood lying entirely in another parish.
The Chapman & Andre map of 1777 leaves Tile Wood unnamed and the title ‘Fennley Wood’ appears beside Pound Wood. The O.S. maps of the early 19th century show Pound and Tile Woods as we know them today. An 1812 perambulation of the Rayleigh boundary also names both woods in their modern positions.
How did the name ‘Pound’ come to change its allegiance? Was it an error made by the Westminster Abbey clerk who produced the 1769 lease or did the O.S. surveyors either confuse the two woods or receive duff information? For the present my money is on the Abbey clerk who would not be physically acquainted with the site and who would have had to interpret the notes or oral report of a surveyor. His successors would have copied the estate details verbatim, perpetuating the error.
Research continues and earlier references to the name ‘Pound Wood’ may come to light. The origin of the name remains a mystery: at present there is no evidence for a pound or pinfold nearby, nor any sign of a person called Pound.