Chaddlewood

The first recorded reference we can find of the name of Chaddlewood dates from 1387 where it appears in the form of Chadelwode. The various elements in the name suggest that the original meaning here is "wood by the cold spring". There are a good many springs in the area and while the "wode" part is straight forward enough the rest is thought most likely to be a contraction of two Saxon words "ceald wielle" - cold sprind. The word well, incidentally, would appear to be a development from "wielle".

An early map suggests there was little of note in the immediate neighbourhood, apart from Chaddlewood House, built by the Snellings who fled to America in 1640 during the Civil War. According to family legend the first Snelling at Chaddlewood was Ulfkiel (wolfskin) Snelling - a Danish invader. At the end of the eighteenth century what was still left of the estate, was bought by William Symons, an alderman of Plymouth who, "on the old site built an elegant modern mansion". At that time Chaddlewood had about 82 acres of parkland attached to it. Today that house still stands but the modern housing of Chaddlewood has encroahed on the whole of the area around it.

EH 30 March 1996