242 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
Three of this group are reasonably close together in the southern
part of the county.
Of the four place-names connected with the Beech, three are
in the south-west corner:
Beech Hill (Waltham Holy Cross) Beech hill 1108-18
Boxted The place where beech trees grow DB
Buckhurst Hill Wooded hill covered with beeches 1135
Monkhams (Farm) (Woodford) The monks' beech-hurst 1286
All the Ash names are in the northern part of the county:
Ashdon Hill overgrown with ash-trees DB
Ashen At the ash-tree (s) DB
Ashford (Halstead) Aesc's or ash ford 12th century
Ashwell (Hall) (Finchingfield) Ash spring DB
The Elm is represented in:
Elmdon Elm-covered hill DB
Elmstead The place where the elm trees grow DB
Holmstead Hall (Helions Bumpstead) The place where elm trees
grow 1258
There is a short list of references to miscellaneous species:
Cheshunt Field (Stanway) Chestnut-tree field. circa 1000
Hatfield Broad Oak A tree of extraordinary bigness 1121-36
Lindsell Lime tree hall DB
Lynderswood (Black Notley) Brush-wood by lime-trees 1250
Limbourne Creek (Maldon) Lime tree brook 1276
Maplestead (Great and Little) Maple tree place 1042
Oakley Oak clearing DB
Plumberow Mount (Hockley) Plum-tree hill DB
Plunker's Green (Doddinghurst) Plum-tree enclosure DB
The remaining group of twelve refers to trees in general, the
majority of which are in the south-west corner of the county:
Benfleet (North and South) Tree-marked creek 894
Bolding Hatch (Roxwell) Gate by the pollarded tree 1297
Brentwood The burnt wood 1176
Doddinghurst The wood of Dudda or of his people DB
Hockley Hocca's woodland or clearing DB
Manningtree Probably 'many trees' 1248
Thrift Hall (Waltham Holy Cross) Enclosure and hill by the
wood ' 1249
Twinstead Place covered with twigs or brushwood DB
Waltham (Waltham Abbey) Forest homestead or enclosure 1062
Weald (North and South) Forest land DB
Woodford Ford by a wood , 1062
Woodridden (Farm) (Waltham Holy Cross) At the wood
clearing 1270
There is other etymological evidence of woodland, for names
ending in 'ley' or 'leigh' originally 'woodland' and later 'clearing',
occur in several well-marked groups. As Dr Reany points out: