 Of four references to "Ella" in the Domesday Book it is thought that one refers to West Ella, either as a village of 20 or 5 persons.Writers in the 19th century speculated that the names of nearby features, "Kerry Pits" (south-east of the village) and "The Lunds" (north-east, now a golf course) were etymological evidence of druidic activities in the area; "Kerry" being postulated to derive from "cyric" (place of worship); "lund" meaning grove, a reference to a (druidic) grove.The fields around Kirk Ella, West Ella and Willerby were enclosed in by acts of 1796 and 1824.