Note 11b — Chapter II · LOCAL RECORDS OP THE PAST.

In the name Kirkstead Wharf, the etymologist will recognise, in the latter portion, the old Norse “wath” or ford. This was probably, at one time, when the river was wider and shallower, a ford for passengers and cattle. There are many places in Yorkshire named Wath, as Wath-on-Dearne, situated on a ford on that river. This is further confirmed by the local pronunciation of the name, which is still Kirkstead Wath, or “the Wath” par excellence. Wath is connected with our word “wade,” and the Latin vadum, a shallow.