 The toponym is derived from the Old Norse "vað", meaning "ford".In the Middle Ages Wath was divided between the lands of Fountains Abbey, north of a small stream known as Dauber Gill, and the lands of the Archbishop of York on the south side.The northern part, including the Sportsman's Arms inn, is now in the civil parish of Fountains Earth, historically a township in the parish of Kirkby Malzeard.