The name means "wood gates" and is believed to refer to the position of Woodyates at the entrance to the wooded area of
Cranborne Chase. The topographer
James Bell described it thus in 1835: The Roman road (
Ackling Dyke) is especially well preserved. In
Highways and Byways in Dorset (1935),
Sir Frederick Treves notes that "In no part of Dorset can the actual undisturbed Roman road be seen at greater advantage or for greater extent than about Woodyates." A
Romano-British defensive ditch called
Bokerley Dyke also runs near the village. In the 18th century, Woodyates was a property of
Thomas Pitt. It changed hands in the late 19th century and in the 1950s was the scene of many parties held by Margaret Chubham and her circle. Woodyates was the site of the training establishment of
William Day, who sent out the winners of many important horse races including
Foxhall, winner of the
Grand Prix de Paris,
Cesarewitch and
Cambridgeshire in 1881. ==The Trafalgar Way==