Wood, Anglo-Saxon wudu, wode, woodland, enters into a few local names, as Bradwode or Broadwood.
In Rookhope there is a Foul Wood, a lead-mine so named over two hundred years ago. Its name is evidently from the Anglo-Saxon ful, rotten, the same as Foul Sike was the impure watercourse. In 1401 Roger Thornton leased a lead-mine in Weardale at a place called Old Wode Clough.
In field, ley, and ridding, we have indications of clearings in the forest—places where cattle might feed. In Weardale there are some thirty leys, numerous fields but very few riddings. The latter word is from Anglo-Saxon hreddan, to rid; hredding a ridding; Danish rydde, to clear, grub up; rydning, clearing. The Weardale people are familiar with rid-up, a house; rid-out, a quarry; and similar terms. It is different from the riding, from Anglo-Saxon thri, thry, three; thridda, the third; thrithing, a third part of a province, as in the Yorkshire Ridings. Five hundred years ago John Migg held at Stanhope four acres of land in the Ridding, Robert Todd held j Ridding over an acre, and Alexander Brancepath held five acres and one rod in the Riddying. In Queen Elizabeth’s time Michael Fetherstonhalgh of Stanhope Hall purchased of Follinsby a parcel of ground called Pathemairidding. In Path-mairidding we have the ridding on the plain over which there was a path.
Ley, lea, lee, lay, is an open place, a pasture or field where cattle may lie; from the Anglo-Saxon leah, leag, lege, lea, leah; from licgan, liggan, to lie. The lea was an opening or forest clearing where cattle might be depastured, but where a good deal of woodland might exist. Gray, in the opening lines of his beautiful "Elegy," sings—
"The lowing herd winds slowly o’er the lea."
This terminal occurs in over twenty names of places in Boldon Buke. In Weardale there are five names of places having this suffix which are very important, as they give names to extensive stretches of land, and very probably the adjectival components may all be derived from personal names. These are Frosterley, Bishopley, Rogerley, Horsley, and Brotherlee.
On the hill north of Eastgate is situated Bewley, where once a cross existed, and in former days a watch for invaders was kept here. This place-name is probably more correctly Bewdley. In 1380 and 1590 it was written Bowdlye, and may be derived from the Anglo-Saxon bige, biga, bigan, a turning, corner, bending, angle, the ley, or field, on the bend or bow of the hill, the bowed ley.
Amongst the highest hills in Weardale are Fendrith Hill, Knoutberry Hill, Noon Hill, St. Cuthbert’s Hill, and Horseshoe Hill. Hill, hyl, hyll, is Anglo-Saxon, Norse holl, a name given to large and small elevations. One of these hills is named after the patron saint of the Bishopric of St. Cuthbert. Like Outberry Plain on the southern ridge, Knoutberry Hill on the north, evidently derived its name from the cloud-berry, Rubus Chamæmorus, which grows on the Weardale fells. In 1614, however, it was written Nookhill. Fendrith was written in 1539 Fenrake. The word rake is common in Weardale, and means to walk or range, or the extent of the walk—hence a sheep-rake, Swedish reka, to travel, journey. A fen is land covered with mud, a morass—hence the Fenrake was the district covered by a large morass. The hill known as the Horseshoe might be so shaped, or the suffix may be shaw, a wood—the wood of Horsa.
Amongst hills of lesser elevations than the five abovementioned are Billing Hills, where the Scots camped in 1327; Scaud Hill, in Burnhope, from the Anglo-Saxon sceawian, scewian, to look; Batable Hill, debatable land; Scrog Hill, Anglo-Saxon scrob, scrobb, a shrub, the hill of shrubs; Dun Hill, Ancient British dun, a height or hill fort (Gaelic dun, as Dun Fell, in Teesdale). Dod Hill and Dodder Hill are mountains with rounded summits, as Dodd Fell, in the Lake District. Cross Hill, in Stanhope, is where an ancient cross stood. We had a Paper Hill and a Poperd Hill, which were the hills where the priests preached. We have hills known or distinguished as hard, long, windy, slate, black, green, white, gold, quarrel (quarry), hungry (poor), stony, great, low, etc. Animals contribute their names, as in Hog Hill, Lamb Hill, Plover Hill, Fairhills (Norse faar, sheep), and Cowshill, the hill where cows congregated.
Law, Anglo-Saxon hlaw, hlæw, rising ground, an elevation, a hill. In the south it is low, as Ludlow, the people’s hill. Killhope Law is 2,206 feet above sea-level, Collier Law 1,692, Bolts Law 1,772, and Pow Law and the Three Laws are the names of other hills in the district.