SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Does anyone know when, exactly, Sugarwell Hill became known by that name? I have been looking at the OS maps from the 19th century through to the 1930's and nowhere do they mention it as being called Sugarwell Hill. On the earliest map I've seen it is known as Scott Hall Hill. Why and when the name change?

Fairysplash wrote: Does anyone know when, exactly, Sugarwell Hill became known by that name? I have been looking at the OS maps from the 19th century through to the 1930's and nowhere do they mention it as being called Sugarwell Hill. On the earliest map I've seen it is known as Scott Hall Hill. Why and when the name change? From The Leeds Mercury Nov 19th 1900. It refers to Sugar-well HillEdit - It seems to have been a local name for Miles HillThe hill is known both as Miles Hill ('Miles' pronounced as in the measure of distance) and Sugarwell Hill. Sugarwell refers to the spring, which gives very clear water and — in the stock phrase — has never in memory been known to run dry.    

Thanks Uncle Mick. I have read somewhere of the suggestion that the Miles of Miles Hill is a corruption of the French Miel (meaning honey) so perhaps this ties in with the Sugar of Sugarwell Hill. After all, it is the same hill that has in modern times been separated by Potternewton Lane, being called Sugarwell Hill (even though it is labelled as Scott Hall Hill in the 1852 map) on one side and Miles Hill on the other. Just a thought.

The Sugarwell is named after the former habit of mixing well water with sugar on certain days of the year e.g. May Day and then drinking it.liquorice root was also mixed with well water in some places.