text: Etymology Historians disagree over the etymology of Woodbridge. The Dictionary of British Placenames (2003) suggests that it is a combination of the Old English wudu (wood) and brycg (bridge). The Sutton Hoo Society's 1988 magazine Saxon points out, however, that there is no suitable site for a bridge at Woodbridge, or any fordable sites until Wilford, the site of the current bridge, several miles upstream. It also raises that an Anglo-Saxon bridge being wooden would have been unlikely to be worthy of comment. It suggests that it might instead have been a combination of odde (a cognate of the Old Scandinavian oddi meaning promontory or cape) and breg (from the Anglo-Saxon brego meaning king - note the closeness of Sutton Hoo) or more likely bryg (a cognate of the Norwegian brygge or quay).
  The Suffolk Traveller (1764) suggests a similar origin to The Dictionary but originating from a bridge over a hollow way that leads from Woodbridge Market Place to the Ipswich. But this is disputed by Rev. Thomas Carthew, then perpetual curate of Woodbridge who points out that the bridge had existed for less than a hundred years at that point and therefore was not old enough to be the source of the name. He instead suggests Oden or Woden (Odin) and Burgh, Bury, or Brigg (town). The Topographical Dictionary of England (1840) suggests a combination of Woden and Bryge.
  History and heritage
  Archaeological finds point to habitation in the area from the Neolithic Age (2500–1700 BCE). A ritual site was found while excavations were made for the East Anglia Array, a wind farm at Seven Springs Field. The area was occupied by the Romans for 300 years after Queen Boudica's failed rebellion in 59 CE, but there is little evidence of their presence.