The House of Shaws
Did anyone who saw a Kidnapped movie but didn't read the book think that the mansion "The House of Shaws" was called "the House of Shawls" or "the House of Shahs"?
In British English a shaw is a term for :
COPSE, THICKET
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shaw
So there was a place in Scotland called Shaws because there were some shaws there. And the Balfours of Shaws were called that because they either came from Shaws or owned a large estate there named Shaws. share