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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: stephen spencer on Sunday 11 October 20 04:25 BST (UK)
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I am a member of a local History Group, Upton and North Elmsall History. A long running question locally is how a street got its name. Wondered if anyone has any tips or suggestions what routes are available to solve how places came by their names. TomWood Ash Lane is Upton, Pontefract, West Yorkshire. The map attached is from 1850 it as it’s name on this
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My initial thought, having looked at the map - there are two Halls in the local area (Upton and North Elmsall) so a possibility of a "celebrated" owner/occupier :-\
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was my thoughts I have checked census records for Upton Hall back to 1841, think it must have been tenant farmers living there because there was no continuity with different families' living and working there from 1911 to 1841. When current issue with covid is past will probably have a look in Wakefield Archives to check actual ownership. Local wood is called Walton Wood and on the 1850 map shown it has the same footprint as it does today. Can see no other Woods in area, so my thoughts are same as yours it is probably named after a person
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Here's a better map https://maps.nls.uk/view/102345103#zoom=5&lat=6205&lon=3422&layers=BT
I wondered if the "Ash" part (or possibly the "Wood Ash" part) was something to do with the old limestone quarry.
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I was thinking of Ash and the tree, didn't spot the quarry at the top of the lane, if Quarry belonged to Tom Wood the lane may have been the place were he tipped his ash from making lime, thanks
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I expect the ash would blow around and hang in the foliage either side of the lane and would cover the lane itself - hence Tom Wood's ash lane perhaps.
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It’s important to remember that when the military sent their surveyors round in the years after 1850; gathering info. from which they produced Ordnance Survey maps, they simply asked the locals what things were called. Many of the resulting place names, therefore; unless they were fixed with some sort of sign, depended upon who the surveyor asked. Ask the local vicar and get one answer, ask the vilage idiot and get something completely different!