Dear List,
In the Tamar and Tavy valleys in West Devon we have several woods called Hatch Wood. I had thought that these might relate to deer-management or salmon trapping, both of which use the name for gates or trapping devices. However, a friend recently suggested that they might relate to an early mining technique called a 'hatch'. I understand that Agricola mentions hatches, which seem to relate to shafts or box-like open-works, but wondered if anyone else has come across the term, or has evidence of other places in Britain where placenames record this term. Needless to say, all three Hatch Woods in the area are stuffed with old copper and tin workings, which are documented from the 15th century up to the 19th.
Robert Waterhouse
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