Have you ever wondered why the Parish is named “Woodford-cum-Membris”
Well hopefully this short article can help answer that question.
What Makes up the Parish
Woodford-cum-Membris contains the villages of Woodford Halse, Hinton, and a small Hamlet named West Farndon.
What many people may not know is that Woodford Halse is actually on the East of the Woodland, referred to locally as the old village, and Hinton is to the West.
West Farndon in a small Hamlet roughly a mile South-West of Woodford Halse and Hinton.
What does Woodford-cum-Membris Mean?
The “cum” part of the name comes from Latin for “with” when used to link one name to another.
In this case, the names of two villages that were extremely close to each other and ultimately became one single community.
The “Membris” part comes from the Latin for “Members”
So translated from Latin to English “Woodford-cum-Membris” becomes “Woodford with Members”
Hinton and West Farndon are the members.
Doomsday Book Entries
The Doomsday Book is a manuscript of the Great Survey carried out in 1086 by King William I (William the Conqueror)
Woodford, Hinton and West Farndon all have their own entries, and you can view them below.
Links courtesy of opendoomsday.org