158 THEYDON BOIS.
lomew, Exchange, London, spinster, about 26, her parents dead; at
St. Mary, New Fish Street.20
1671-2.—Edward Harris, of Epping, Essex, gentleman, and Mrs.
Mary Willson, of Thoydon Boyce, said county, spinster, about 26,
and at her own dispose; at Thoydon Boyce aforesaid.21
Morden, in his map, published in Gibson's edition (1694), of Cam-
den's "Britannia," spells the name Theydon Boies—oi has now, and
had in the seventeenth century, a softer and more lengthened sound
than oy—as in boil, toil, soil, etc.; and the letters he used no doubt
conveyed to him and the editor the sound they heard when the place
was mentioned. I have pleasure in presenting a reprint of this map
of Morden's to the members of the Club, as an accompaniment to
this paper. Bowen, in his map of Essex, about 1719, retains the
old form of spelling, viz., Boys.
The consideration of the different modes of spelling Theydon Bois,
when connected with the local pronunciation of the name, leaves
but little room, if any, for the supposition that "Boys" or "Bois" is
derived from the French word for wood ; but it leads to the conclusion
that the name had its origin in the Teutonic language spoken by the
owners and the cultivators of the land at the time of the Norman
invasion, and continued to be the language spoken by the agricultural
population ; finally developing into the English language now spoken
by their descendants. The Teutonic, and not the French, pronuncia-
tion of the name has evidently been handed down through very
many generations to the present time, and is the same as that ex-
pressed by the letters Boyce, or Boice, or Boyse,22 nearly three
hundred years ago, as well as now. The spelling (Bois) now in
use is unfortunately the same as that of the French word for
wood. And, although it may be pronounced Bois (like Dais),
giving the long sound to the 0, as there is no indication, as
the name is now written, that such a pronunciation is in-
tended, it may be expected that those unacquainted with the
local pronunciation, would give to it the French sound, and so lead
to misunderstandings. This did occur last summer. A passenger
who wished to go to Theydon Bois had asked for a ticket to the sta-
tion, giving the French pronunciation to the word Bois. He was heard
denouncing to his companions, in no measured terms, what he called
the gross ignorance of the ticket clerk. After the word had been re-
20 and 21.—Marriage allegations in the Registry of the Vicar-General of the Archbishop of
Canterbury.—Harlean Society's Publications.
23 "Boys" would now be pronounced in Flemish as if spelt "Boyse."