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Help me name my woodland please

47 replies

Ceceliaa · 11/02/2024 21:56

Hello
Posting here hoping for creative minds! I have just bought a woodland and it needs a new name. It's mostly deciduous, the focal point is the stream, there is a cottage and it's really rather lovely! There aren't any views or place names I'd like to name it after and I'm looking for something nice that there isn't already hundreds of around Britain. Thank you

OP posts:
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EdithStourton · 11/02/2024 22:26

It's almost certainly got a name already - look at old maps, ask local people. Or see if the stream has a name and call it after that.

Also, I am VERY jealous.

MixingPlaydough · 11/02/2024 22:27

It sounds amazing but I agree with the PP it almost certainly has a name and it would be much more fitting to dig through it's records and use it's proper title.

Onelife2024 · 11/02/2024 22:44

How about the name of one of the most common trees in the wood followed by a word meaning stream-

Aspen Brooke
Maple Riverlet
Elm Caulder

etc…

But agree with the pp’s that there must be a name for the woodland or area that you could link the name to (even if you changed it a bit)?

stayathomegardener · 11/02/2024 23:09

We are on a small holding and each field has a historical name as previous posters have said.
Alternatively go Winnie the Pooh 100 acre wood and name it after your new acreage.

Is the cottage habitable and does that not have a name?
I'm confused is the woodland part of the cottage curtilage?

I've found with the various woodland areas around our house they're all developed names over the years.

Sweet Fairy woods, Barn Owl copse, Christmas tree plantation, Simons wood, the orchard, the avenue, Tosh's woodland, pond woodland, very helpful trying to locate or explain things.

KnickerlessParsons · 11/02/2024 23:11

Cecelia's Wood?

ThursdayTomorrow · 11/02/2024 23:11

Woody McWoodtrees.

ODFOx · 11/02/2024 23:13

John

Oneearringlost · 11/02/2024 23:26

Debbie

theduchessofspork · 12/02/2024 02:27

Woody

HoHoHoliday · 12/02/2024 02:34

How does one get to buy a woodland? This sounds like a dream come true for me!
I agree with a previous suggestion of choosing the most common tree name followed by stream.

ThePure · 12/02/2024 06:08

I was a massive lord of the rings fan as a teen and when my parents bought a house by a river I campaigned for them to call it Rivendell. They called it a crap boring name instead.

I think your magical woodland with a stream should be Rivendell.

Riapia · 12/02/2024 07:24

Balonz plantation.

DG1749 · 12/02/2024 07:35

Don't be the incomer erasing a possibly centuries-old name if there is one. Make sure you do some proper research before you come up with something brand new. There may be a county local history library or archive who could help.

In many areas of Cornwall and Wales and probably other places with a strong linguistic tradition it's becoming a real issue, people coming into the area and renaming houses and plots which already have a name, thus losing the connection between land and language which has held for many centuries.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-51035860

Llan Tropez sign

Welsh language house names 'should be protected by law'

Changing house names from Welsh to English is "linguistic cleansing" a councillor claims.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-51035860

LoveAHamSandwhich · 12/02/2024 07:37

Nevaeh

Scottyme · 12/02/2024 07:42

I'm guessing you're not from where you bought your woodland, the land will have an historic name, look at an old map and use that.

Someone moved in to the village were I live and tried renaming their 'small holding' , which it wasn't it was an old estate cottage with a big garden, they didn't stay long, as it was seen as them trying to change something that was very traditional to the village and they werent trying to be part of the village.

We have lots of people from cities and towns so a good mix of people. They thought everyone in the village was rude and unwelcoming by not supporting their name change and using the traditional name instead

user1492757084 · 12/02/2024 07:54

Take your time to learn what is applicable to the site.
Meditate and enjoy the woods and research respectfully.

  • List the birds - magpies, wrens, goldfinch, ravens
  • List the type of trees and plants - oak, elm, apple
  • Note the topography - a ditch, a dale, a hill, a mound, a gully
  • Make a note of historical names and local names. Maybe unofficial ones are the ones most likable. - Lovers brook, Dark Wood, Leaping Frogs Gully

Take the words you like the best to the plot.
Also consult books of poetic verse (I like Hymn Books) to research concise meainingful phrases.

You will come up with something unique to the land.

For example.

Magpie Crest
Warbling Moss Woods
Ravens Call
Oak Marsh
Badgers Keep
Ferny Creek Rest
Babbling Water Dip
Shallow Retreat
Babble On Embrace

Ceceliaa · 12/02/2024 09:37

HoHoHoliday · 12/02/2024 02:34

How does one get to buy a woodland? This sounds like a dream come true for me!
I agree with a previous suggestion of choosing the most common tree name followed by stream.

I found it on Rightmove!

The existing name is non descript and doesn't refer to anything noteworthy, think along the lines of oak cottage, with no oak, when there are many other more prevalent tree species in the woodland and also the local area.

It has been neglected and needs rejuvenation and the cottage is derelict, the whole place has been empty for decades.

I got it for a bargain at auction and it's just going to be used for nature fun for my family and friends but I'd like to name it properly. It's very close to my home so I don't think I'm an incomer erasing history, I'm here to save it 😁

Some lovely name ideas here, thank you!

OP posts:
Mazuslongtoenail · 12/02/2024 09:38

Riapia · 12/02/2024 07:24

Balonz plantation.

Bravo

KirstenBlest · 12/02/2024 12:58

A better link: New Brighton's Welsh name Pentre Cythraul 'should be recognised' - BBC News

Use the existing name.

I know people who bought a plot and built a house on it. The name of the field would have been better than the name they gave their house (something naff like Fairview).

If you must rename it, look at the history of the cottage and use that as inspiration. The stream might have a name, or there might be a former occupier with a funky name (e.g. Balonz Copse or Balonz Beck).

ohididntrealise · 12/02/2024 13:08

This is amazing.

How big is it? I assume you are not allowed to build on it, but are you able to renovate the cottage? Use it as a holiday home?

I am insanely jealous.

What borders it? Do many people pass through it / near it? Do you have a fence round the perimeter?

I agree search through old maps etc and find a name linking to its past.

notknowledgeable · 12/02/2024 13:14

can you find any names associated with the area in the past? What viking or saxon kingdom did it belong to? Did it have a roman overseer?

EdithStourton · 12/02/2024 13:22

If its name is truly dull, maybe find the name of a previous long-term owner. Is there any history or archaeology connected with it (site of a priory or barrow, battle fought in nearby field, the cottage housed land girls during WWII etc, was it owned by a particular Lord/abbot/Oxbridge college)?

I'm getting over-invested in this....

Lampzade · 12/02/2024 13:23

Call it The Woodlands

notknowledgeable · 12/02/2024 13:35

willow something? Willow is a nice name - does it have willows in it?

dingledangledinkledoo · 12/02/2024 13:38

You came across it by accident and weren't even looking for a wood? Serendipity dell, woods/copse