WOOLER

'Wooler' is a small town in Northumberland, England. One of the northernmost towns in England, it lies on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, by the Cheviot Hills and so is a popular base for walkers, possessing a youth hostel. The main A697 runs by the town linking Morpeth to Coldstream on the Scottish Border.

Contents

History

Meaning of place-name

External links

History

Wooler was not recorded in the Domesday Book, probably because in when the Book was written in 1086, northern Northumbria was not fully under Norman control. However, by 1107, at the time of the creation of the 1st Baron of Wooler, the settlement was described as "situated in an ill-cultivated country under the influence of vast mountains, from whence it is subject to impetuous rains". Wooler subsequently enjoyed a period of properity and with its expansion it was granted a licence in 1199 to hold a market every Thursday. The Saint Mary Magdalene hospital was established around 1288. [1]

Meaning of place-name

Wooler may be from Old English ''wella'' "well, spring" and ''ofer'' (ridge, hill). A record of the name as ''Welnfver'' in 1186 seems to suggest this origin. The well or spring referred to is the River Till).
The other origin may be "Wulfa's hillside", from the Old English personal name ''Wulfa'' "wolf" and ''őra'' "hillside, slope", although this word in place-names usually means "river mouth, shore". A record of the name as Wulloir in 1232 may suggest this origin.
It is not certain which is the 'proper' origin.

External links

★ Community website

★ Gefrin.com... A look at the immense wealth of prehistory waiting to be discovered and explored in north Northumberland with a bias toward the Wooler area.

★ Tankerville Arms

★ Northumbrian Railways