The term is related to the Middle English wandaile or wondole ' a share of
land' or 'a share of common arable' and is found in the Midlands and north
of England. It is thought to derive from the Old Norse vondr 'a wand, a
measuring stick', the wand being the means of alloting shares. The area each
wand in your terriers encompassed is harder to establish. The description
'one wand in the same furlong' if applied to common field might be
equivalent to a strip or more properly a 'land' which is usually about a
third of a statute acre. Hope this helps.
-----Original Message-----
From: Rowley, J.W. [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2001 3:46 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Land Measurement
In some seventeenth century glebe terriers I keep coming across the term
'wand', i.e.
'one wand in the same furlong . .
one rood towards the brooke . . '
I have been unable to track down it's meaning although it is obviously a
measurement of land. Has anyone any ideas? I have tried O.E.D.
Thanks
John Rowley
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