Maps & footpaths

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North Crawley is fortunate to have a magnificent system of ancient footpaths crossing the parish which are actively maintained at parish level by the Parish Council with the help of cooperative landowners. The responsible authority is of course Milton Keynes Rights of Way department as Footpaths are regarded in law to be Highways which the Landowner must maintain.

A list of explanation of the History of North Crawley Field Names was compiled by Peter Jeffreys
A

Argents (Grove) – Richard c1200, Henry 111. By Frogs Hall

Arketill – William c1195. Arketel of Scandinavian stock. On old Sengalee Lane to Astwood

Allosey – c1200. Aethewalds enclosure. By Chicheley Brook

Abbots(wood) –Ralph c1770. By Wharley End

Anniswood – c1600. Anise, aniseed, a plan of Mediterranean origin used in making cordials.

Alternative spelling Agnes, Anniers. By Hardmead boundary

Alicea – c1256. Alice Ledet, Aloes. Tail of land. Queue aliz. By Chicheley Brook

Andersons – Adderson’s Lodge Farm c1900. Cranfield Road

Austens (Austins) – c1248. Probably referring to St Augustine of Canterbury. Austin, friar/hermits.

Little Crawley by Hartwell Hill

Allosey (Hill) – Aleweishul, Alwi’s Hill. Alwin the Black gave Cranfield to the Ramsey Abbey c998.

By Maxi East End.

Brandons – By Bowdes, Little Crawley.

Brandons Wood – By Pattishull Manor. Thomas and Elizabeth c1717

Bowdes – OE Bowe, bearer’s place. Land assigned to the under officer in the forest.c1400. By Up End

Bramleys – OE Bremel, form of bramble. Hurst End.

Burystead – OE reference to a fortified house. By Hurst Farm

Britains –Thomas Britaine c1292. By Ewings, East End

Benchwell – c1500 Benche. Ground of a sloping nature. By Newport Gate

Brownsells – c1400. May refer to a long-standing family name in the Parish records, Brownes. By

Briar Lane

Brook End Farm – c1694. Nicholas Hackett, Rose and Crown ale house c1773. By Briar Lane on Crawley Moor

Bearbank – c1580. Where bear baiting seemed to have survived. By Chicheley Green

Boares(wood) — c1400. Wild boar habitat. Everdene Wode. On parish boundary, Tickford Park Field

Breakwell (Blackwell) – Joshua c1718. Steward to the court of Lord Exeter. By Folly Lane

Beggars Hill – c1600. Places affording shelter to mendicants or very poor land. On Crawley Moor

Balk – Strip of uncultivated land between cultivated land, usually serving as a grass road or path. By

Thurphy Wood

Benty – Le Bent c1389. Referring to grasses of group (agrostis) pasture land for grazing and hay. By

Gomery Lane

Burne (Burnet, Salad Burnet, Roseacre) – Chicheley Road next to Birdlime

Birdlime – Chicheley Road next to Burne relating to nearby site of old orchard.

Baylie – c1310. Le Bayly. The bailiffe’s holding. Referring to Pinfold nearby

Broadmead – c1200. In hamlet of Crauli. Est End.

Billy Odell Spinney – By Ringtail (next to Cranfield Gate)

Betts Pightle –Doctor Roger Hackett, Rector of St Firmin’s, acquired this pightle from Arthur

Tyringham in 1615, together with Rookery Farm, Church End Farm and Newtons Close. By

Monkswood Lane

Burnt Field — c1600. Land cleared of bushes by burning prior to tillage. By Old Sengalee Lane

Braycroft – OE. Brow of a hill. East End

Brockwell Close – Alluding to badgers and nearby old horseponds. Hurst End

Barres – OE Baer. Woodland for feeding swine. By Pinfold Lane

Banky – Hilly ground. Crawley Moor, also East end.

Bacchus – John c1770. Little Crawley

Barlie Croft – c1286. Barlicroft, Berecroft. By Rookery Farm, Broad Mead

Briars, The – c1200. Neglected land. By Thurphy Wood

Bakers Bushes – c1400. Denoting scrubland also the site of Henry Higgins. House. Little Crawley

Baxy – Baxter, c1650. Baker of Bactrians. Presbyterian sympathisers. Richard Baxter. Broad Mead

Bulls End – c1300. Bullehalith (bulls’ neck of land). Used specifically for bulls. By Chicheley Brook

Crouches, Great and Little – c1200. Crouchmas, festival for the invention of the Cross. Also Rogation

Sunday and Rogation Week. Crouch from the Latin crux, cross

Cooks Farm – c1480. Robert. By Hurst End Farm

Coopers – John c1705. May relate to Cooper’s Charity. By site of old Horncastle Farm

Cradle Plank (Bridge) – Plank over Chicheley Brook at Broad Mead, used in olden times to get to

East End when the ford was impassable

Chimney Corner – c1718. Probably referring to cottages burnt down. Next to Newtons Close

Clay Hill – c1337. Le Cleyhul. By old windmill in Volles

Clark – John c1650. Rector of St Firmin’s. Gomery Lane

Castle, The –Richard Hall and Elizabeth Hall. High Street inn c1770

Clerk – c1381. May refer to land assigned to the Parish Clerk or to John Clerke, Rector of St Firmin’s.

East End.

Cheverills Pightle – c1580. William Foskett. May allude to grazing for goats due to the nature of the

land. By Hurst Green

Charlies – East End, next to Long Close

Crawley Big Field – c1580. By Chicheley Brook on the Chicheley boundary

Crawley Green Field – On Cranfield Road by Broad Mead

Chicheley Park Field – c1770.Charles Chester. By Chicheley Brook

Coles – c1717. Charles, one-time Rector of St Firmin’s. East End

Crawley Leys Close – c1770. Alexander Small, Esquire, surgeon of Chelsea. On old Gomery land

Cockin –c1380. Cocking, cock fighting. By Dollars Grove

Church Farm Field – Next to Slipe along the High Street

Cobb Lane –OE. Lane on a hill. Down to Turnpike Road. By Swans River

Chicheley Green –c1770. By Swans River

Coursers Green Close – c1770. Catherine Lowndes Stone. Hartwell Hill

Cooks Farm – c1663. Thomas Cook of Bow Brickhill. Next to Brickhills, Little Crawley

Crawley Green, Little – c1770. Catherine Lowndes Stone.

Crawley Grange – One time residence or farm of the Abbot of the Monastery of St Firmin. Also .

Thomas David Boswell c1803, Dr John Irvine Boswell, JP. (see notes)

Crofts, Top, Bottom – c1250. Containing a warded footpath which was used to carry coffins to the

church at Great Crawley when the residents of Little Crawley preferred to attend St Firmin’s

rather than the church at Chicheley or their own chapel.

Crake, The – ME Crow or raven. By Shire Lane

Clamp Close – c1580. May allude to potato storage. A clamp is a large heap of potatoes covered with

straw and earth. Little Crawley

Cross’s Close – c1580. Cross, the name of an old pensioner. By Bear Bank, Up End.

Cold Splash(wood) – c1700. Wood with a large pond in the middle. East End

Cowley Lane –c1640. Robert Cowley. Adjoining Pound Lane

Crown Hill – c1580. Could allude to thorny area or victor’s crown (laurel), lesser victory (myrtle) or a

crown of thorns. East End

Caldwell – c1200. Refers to a cold well or the source of a spring. May be associated with Caldwell

Priory in Bedford. Close by Old Rectory

Cover, New Covert – c1300. Rough ground which would include gorse, heather, thorn, holly or

bracken. By Old Sengalee Lane

Crowhill – By Crown Hill, East End

Coldsplash Wood – c1770. Ralph Abbot

Coldham Wood – alluding to a cold draughty area of land on a hill top. Hurst Green

Cot, Days – c1500. A small cottage. Pound Lane.

Dault Manor – c1200. Dault is a rare Scottish name from the Gaelic dalta (foster child). William Dolt

conveyed to Robert de Braybrook his manor house, mill and mill pond.

Dallows – Diuelo, OE Hoh High. Diuelo House. By Dollars Grove Farm

Dean Field – ME Field on a small valley down to a brook or stream. C1770.Thomas Sandon. By

Turnpike road

Dollars Grove Farm – c1100. Dinelhoe. On high land. Once farmed by Benedictine monks, from

Tickford Priory. Also one-time ancestral home of a noted yeoman family named Paulin

Ditums – OE ditams. May allude to dittander, a plant such as pepperwort, cress of cruciferae. Hurst

End

Dillons – Dillings (dill) umbellifer akin to parsnip. The fruit and seeds were used as a condiment and

carminative. Dill water was a drink prepared from them. Could be a mispronunciation of

diuelho. By Monkswood Lane

Dovehouse Close – c1770. OE dufe pigeon OF pijun. Catherine Lowndes Stone. By Franklins Pightle

Ewens – c1127. Harewyn. East End.

Eyres wood – c1200. William le Heyrc. Thatched windmill farm. East End.

Edensea – c1200 Edinshey, Edwin’s enclosure. Robert Cowley c1770. Next to Surrey Close Gomery

Lane

Eastfield Great – c1590 Dr Roger Hackett, Rector of St Firmin’s. Hackett’s Charity

Featherbed Lane – c1400. Denoting spongy areas of moorland with peat and moss. By Shire Lane

Fox’s Wic – c1200. Overgrown land suitable for wild mammals game and foxes. By Benty

Franklins Pightle – c1540. Richard Franklin. Franklin can also denote a free tenant, usually a

wealthier sort, the predecessor of a yeoman.

Frith – OE Fyrhp, wood. ME frid, forest. By Gomery Piece

Filliol Manor – Site of. c1120. Moated Manor. Baldwin Filliol orginally from Kelvendon, Essex. Filliol

derives from the French Filliel(Godson). East End.

Frith Graters – c1580. Graters alluding to hurdles or fences. By Manor Farm, East End

Finnals – c1522. Maria Fynall. By Hurst End Farm

Frogs Hall – c1300. Muddy place of reptiles such as snakes and frogs (FrogsHole). By Stagsden Brook

Folly Lane – c1580. Refers to isolated plantation on a hilltop. Alternative meaning, an extravagant

building

Fields End – c1600.Richard Lowndes c1770. By Dollars Grove

Funeral – Latin funus (burial). Probably referring to the Roman custom of burying ashes after

cremation. Hurst End

Fiddlers Green – A happy land imagined by sailors, with perpetual mirth, fiddlers and dancers who

never tire. Plenty of grog and unlimited tobacco. Standard name throughout the country. See

notes.

Grayes – OE Graes. Gomery Lane to Hardmead

Gravel Pits – c1315. OE Stondfele. By small stream. Next to Pinfold Lane

Gottals – OE Goth, water course. Along Chicheley Brook from Ringtail

Graveyard, The – c1837. A Quakers burial ground. By Tapps Green, East End

Gumbrills Farm – OE Grimbaldus c1160 of Scandinavian stock. George Annesley c1623

Gorings Wood – c1600. The triangular remnant of two fields Le Gare, C1275. Goare (furlongs) meeting

at a sharp angle. By old Sengalee to Astwood

Gunnings, Gunnery – c1400. May relate to rabbit warrens. By Gavers Farm

Garden Field – c1770. Thomas Sandon. Next to Dean Field, Up End

Griggs Piece – c1700. Thomas Grigg. By Starkers Lane

Garden Field – c1700. On Starkers Lane, next to Griggs Piece

Greens – Broadmead, next to Church Hangar Close. May refer to arable strips grassed over. Le greneland c1304

Grace Field – Holy Rood Day used to be called “The time of grace” referring to the hunting seasons.

Fox and wolf from the Nativity to the Annunciation ; roebuck from Easter to Michaelmas. On

Crawley Moor

Garden Field – c1770. Catherine Lowndes Stone. Up End.

Garden Close – c1770. On Town Street opposite Brook End Farm

Georgia, The – c1732. Alludes to American colony to provide for poor families from England

On Hurst Field

Gomery Green – OE. On lane by Gumbrills Farm

Horse Close – pre 1770. Referring to a close for horses only. By Monks Wood Lane

Hanger Hill – c1560. By the junction of two or more parishes. Hundred felde : a meeting place of

parishes. By Frogs Hall on Eastern salient

Homeguard – c1940. Home Guard shed on field, referring to Civil Defence protection during World

War 11. By Up End

Horncastle Farm – c1559. OE Hyrne, a nook. William Johnson 1559. Up End

Hartwell – c1770. Thomas. Little Crawley

Hatch Green –c 1500. OE Haec, gate or bridge. By Chicheley Brook, next to Sand Hill barn

Home Close – c1770. Lord Trevor. East End Farm

Hanger Close, Church – c1280.OE Hangra, field on a slope. The Church refers to site of nearby

parsonage. At Broadmead

Hancocks – c1300. Site of medieval religious house. By Westie Field

Houghtons – c1128. William de Houghton, King David’s immediate under-tenant. On Folly Lane

Harrys Hill – Allosey. By Brittains on eastern parish boundary

Horle – Wharley End in the parish of Cranfield

Haudlo Manor – Site of. c1200 now the site of the old Rectory. John de Haudlo, a well-beloved

yeoman of Hugh de Spenser the Elder

Home Close – Next to Addersons. By Lodge Farm

Hollows – c1200. Site of monastic fish ponds by a spring from nearby the site of Haudlo Manor

Hurst Farm – OE Hyrst, wooded height. Robert de Hurst c1197. Also William Foskett c1770. On site

of Tyringham Manor

Home Close – Next to Clamp Close on Little Crawley Farm

Hop Yard – c1700. Richard Lowndes. By the site of the old Filliol Manor. See notes

Hop Yard – c1770. Richard Lowndes on Gomery Lane. Next to Surrey Close. See notes

Hovel, New – Either a shed or a framework on which a rick or stack is constructed. Hurst Field

Islands, The – c1580. Denotes the shape of the ground between Wolfeys Mead and Chicheley Brook.

Jubilee-Wood – Planted and named by A. Boswell to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee

of 1977

Jervis, Jarvis – Jane Goodman Charity spent £80 in 1691 for Jarvis Close (4 acres 1rood) at Little

Crawley, the rent from the land being given to the widows of ministers at Newport Pagnell. The

charity is administered by the Master and Governors of Queen Ann’s Hospital, who now use the rent to provide tools for apprentices and books for students

Jeddes – c1800. William Eeles, baker. The Old Bakehouse, High Street. By Starkers Lane.

Knights Close – c1634. William Knight. Also long-standing family of Knights and warriors, Mansells

c1100. Along Hartwell Hill

Kilborke (Kilbaulk). Alluding to uncultivated land between strips. A waste of land during the open

field system

Knowles Pightle – c1300. Site of medieval religious house. By Tickford Park Field

Knights – c1770. David Mortier. Hurst Farm

Kents Close – c1714. Pasture land covering 80 old acres which, when the measurement was

standardised by Edward 1, came down to three new acres

Lynseye – c1400. Linseed, river, brookside. Meadow suitable for flax growing. By Ringtail

Lip End Farm – c1600. James Annesley. By Cob Lane on the lip of the hill. Up End

Lincroft – OE Lin (flax). By Shire Lane

Lye – OE woodland clearing. Le Leighe (field). c 1420 Leah, grassland. Little Crawley

Langland – c1211. A long strip of land. Brook End by Town Street

Lytnell – alias Wolfey

Lodge Farm – Lodge ME dey, dehus or deirie (dairy). Broadmead

Leycroft Warrels – c1315. Warrels may allude to Le Quarels, unspecified excavation. East End by

Quakers Paddock

Leonards – relates to woodland. Probably a given area of mixed oak and ash which will support fewer

pigs than a similar area of all oaks. East End, next to Twixt Woods

Little Hurst Green – Pre-Enclosure. By Cheverills, Mear Way

Long Close – Pre-Enclosure. William Foskett c1770. Alluding to the shape of the land

Mathew Field – c1211. Mathias de Craule. Hurst Field

Maple Mead – c 1350. Referring to sweetness of pasture or tree species

Monkswood Close – c1200 Given by Hugh de Bolbec to the Abbey of St Pierre de le Couture. Le

Mans

Monksters – c1200. Relating to the monks from the Benedictine Priory at Tickford. By Dollars Grove

Marshalls (Plot) – William Marshall c1189. May also refer to a servant who looked after the stables

c1500. Broadmead

Maunsells Farm – Site of. c1423. John Maunsell husbandman in the Court of Common Pleas at

Westminster and a prosperous London lawyer

Moors Lane – c1500. Land on a slope or hill. Moors meaning heath, gorse, furze covering a large area.

Also Thomas Moors c1770

Mount Pleasant – c1460. Pleasing visual qualities of the landscape. Hurst End

Marks Piece – c1703 John Marks. Also OE mearc, meaning the old boundary between Chicheley and

Great Crawley. By Little Crawley

Mears – OE mearc (boundary) Parish and country boundary with Cranfield and Bedfordshire. On Shire

Lane

Murtlands Farm – c1580. Referring to marshy land in the surrounding area. Shire Lane

Mirky Lands – OE merse, marsh. Shire Lane

Moutier Farm – Site of c1770. David Moutier. Hurst End by Brockwell Close

Meisy Stocking – c1166. Robert de Meisy was head of a knightly family. Gomery Lane

Mondays Meadow – c1300. The “one day” service was conventionally held country-wide on Monday

during Rogation Week. In the parish of Hardmead by Chicheley Brook

Moat Farm – site of Broughton Manor house. William de Broughton c1180. John Newman Hobbs

c1770. Little Crawley

Midsummer Ground – c1500. Land usually limited to summer grazing. Little Crawley

Merrils Ley – ME marels, morris. A rustic game played outdoors by two people with counters on a

figure marked on the ground. Also five penny morris game. Hartwells Hill

Monks Wood Lane – c1100. To Dollars Grove Farm from old Stagsden Lane

Manor Farm – c1120. On the site of the old moated Filliol Manor house. By Pinfold Lane

Maxi – By north-east boundary next to Jubilee

Millfield – c1700. Site of a windmill next to Benchwell by Newport Gate

Millers Field – c1770. By Maple Mead on Folly Lane

Mill Hill Field, Rig Mill Field, Little Mill Field – Pre-Enclosure. On western parish boundary by

Starker Land and Chicheley Brook

Norfolks – c1231.May allude to Simon Norwich, clerk to Henry 111 who gave him land in

Buckinghamshire. Could also mean in-comer from another county

Nashes Pightle, Top Nashes, Bottom Nashes – c1773. Michael Thomas Edward Nash. Pinfold Lane

Newtons Piece –c1590. Dr Roger Hackett, Rector of St Firmin’s. Could relate to Newton

Blossomville. By Old Rectory

Newport Gate – c1580. By western parish boundary with Newport Pagnell. Tickford

New Pasture – c1770. Richard Lowndes. By Gomery Lane. See notes

Navvy (The) – c1700. May relate to original excavation of nearby site of old horse ponds, now filled in. Hurst End

Oxenhall – c1400. Oxelemsowe, a name referring to pasture for oxen and their importance as draught

animals until the early 1900s. At Broadmead

Oak Tree Close – c1700. By Austens at Little Crawley

Ochre Meadow – Pre-Enclosure. Refers to a natural mixture of iron oxide and clay, widely used in the

marking of sheep. By Murtlands Lane

Orchard (Wood) – Pre-Enclosure. On Old Stagsden Lane, next to Argents Grove, on the eastern

Parish boundary

Orchard — Pre-Enclosure. On Town Street at Brook End

Orchard – Pre-Enclosure. By Patteshall Manor at Up End

Orchard – Pre-Enclosure. By the site of the Old Horncastle Farm at Up End

Pathy Land – OE Paeth. Alluding to route, course or line along which people or cattle move. By The

Ridings, Little Crawley

Polecat Alley – Footpath to Cradle Plank and Broadmead. Alongside Baxi

Pebble Pond – Chicheley Brook at Ringtail. Used for washing horse-drawn coal carts and for

Tightening wooden wheels in dry weather before returning to coal depot at Newport Pagnell

(1830 canal,1880 railway)

Parish Path – Pleasant short path running alongside Chicheley Brook on charity land. At Broadmead

Pound Lane – Pre-Enclosure. Leading to Gomery Lane also to the Wash Brook in Hardmead parish.

By Chicheley Brook

Pelly – OE peall. Hill with steep sides. John Bolding 1773. East End by Stagsden Brook

Prize Fight – Pre-Enclosure. Alluding to bare fist boxing on neutral ground. Mondays Meadow,

Hardmead

Palmers Croft – Perhaps relating to Palmers Yardland, ten acres of land on the eastern parish

boundary

Pugs Hook – Pre-Enclosure. Pugging, the working of clay in brickmaking

Potters Corner – OE referring to a burial ground reserved for strangers and friendless poor. Hurst

End.

Plough Barres – c 1440. Arable land next to Long Close by Old Stagsden Lane

Parkes – c1400. By Patteshull Grove, Up End

Parsonage – c1200. Site of building by Peter de Wintionia who was Clerk of the Royal Household and

Keeper of the Wardrobe to Henry 111. He was also Rector of St Firmin’s. At Broadmead

Patteshull Manor – c1200. Site of a moated manor house with stew ponds, built by Simon de

Patishull. At Up End

Pinching Brook –OE pincheneroc, minnow, small. On Crawley moor down to Brook End and into

Chicheley Brook.

Pinfold Lane – OE pound for stray cattle. East End

Queen (Anne) Close – c1702-1714 . Income from the rent of this land used to support poorer clergy.

Alternatively could be associated with Queen Victoria 1837-1901

Quakers Farm – c1666-70. Society of Friends. Near to the Quakers Graveyard at Tapps Green

Ridings The – OE Rideing, ruding. A clearing or assart. By Town End Close, Little Crawley

Ringcroft Farm – c1200. Alluding to an ancient circular enclosure. Cringlands. Old Norse Kringla –a

circle or ring. On Cranfield boundary.

Rolles The – OE on a small road. Folly Lane

Riggs Farm – c1770. Frances Riggs. Also may allude to ploughing soil into ridges. Site of. Hurst End

Rookery Farm – c1615. Joseph Hutton. On Old Stagsden Lane. Broadmead

Rectory Old – c1800. Site of old Haudlo Manor. Rectory built to replace old dilapidated parsonage on

Broadmead

Ringtail Farm – Pre-Enclosure. Ringtail referring to contours of road, lane and brook. On Chicheley Brook

Rough Close – Pre-Enclosure. Next to Ochre Meadow, Shire Lane

Road Close – Pre-Enclosure. Referring to nearby old Turnpike Road to Newport Pagnell and

Bedford. Next to Dean Field. Up End

Sand Hill/Barn – Pre-Enclosure. Referring to the nature of the soil. By Chicheley Brook at bridge

Stocking Corner – c1770. John Burge. Stocking referring to land still covered with tree stumps or land

where tree stumps have been removed. Gomery Lane

Sandpits – c1770. Referring to the nature of the soil. On Crawley Moor, next to Burystead

Sewage Shed – Site of, c1800-1900. Referring to the processing of night soil before being spread on

fields

Shoulder of Mutton – Pre-Enclosure. Shape of field or three-cornered close. Hurst End

Slade – c1400. A shallow marshy valley

Starkers Lane – Pre-Enclosure. Referring to harsh unyielding land. George Annesley c1599. Little

Crawley

Starvation – Pre-Enclosure. Dearth of crops on poor land. Monks Wood Lane

Surrey Close – c1770. Reverend Doctor Atterbury. By Gomery Lane

Slate Field – c1720. Site of the house of the Rev Philip Burt, Rector at Flitton. In the occupation of a

slater. Up End

Slipe The – c1600. A long strip of narrow land. Along the south side, back of High Street

Stapeley Field – c1600. A clearing in a wood where poles were gathered. Up End

Sand Field – Pre-Enclosure. By Brook End Farm

Scratching Hills – Pre-Enclosure. Ambrose Reddal. OE Stroute Hill. Disputed borderland. By

Tickford Field

Sow Meadow – c1580. On Crawley Moor by Pinching Brook

Smiths Mead – c 1770. ME Smeethe. Thomas Smith (Mondays Meadow) Hardmead

Show Field – Site of Crawley Show 1970-80 by Lodge Farm on the Cranfield Road

Sengalec – OE Tufts of grass, Sengel. Old lane to Astwood

Shire Lane – c1300. Eastern parish and county boundary. Crawley/Cranfield, Bucks/Beds

Shammocks Pightle – c1500. Alluding to idle, poor quality land. On old Crawley Moor by Hurst End.

Skinners Leys – c1700. Where it is said gypsy men skinned a boy and covered him in barley chaff.

Next to Thurphy Wood

Screen The – Pre-Enclosure. Long narrow plantation of trees on high ridge between Crawley and

Chicheley

Sheep Walk – Close, pasture. OE Sleight. Next to Benty along Chicheley Brook

St Turins – c1681. Could be Centurion or St Trunions, referring to the Holy Trinity. Trinit
There is a section in the Enclosure Award of 1773 which describes all the Roads and Highways at that time which is as follows:

next Sunday after Whitsun a one-time feast in honour of the Holy Trinity. Little Crawley

Tapps Green – Richard Tapp 1371, Thomas Tapp 1412 who was co-feoffee to Sir John Cornwayle,

Lord Fanhope. Old Stagsden Lane, East End.

Twixt Woods – Between Parsons Wood and Coldsplash Wood. East End

Trinces – ME trenche, a path cut through a wood. Old Stagsden Lane by Quakers Farm

Town Street – Pre-Enclosure. From Brook End to the village centre

Tindery Field – ME an enclosure of waste (furze, heath) by Hurst Green on the old Crawley Moor.

Also William Foskett c1771a bitter opponent of the Enclosure. Buried on Finnals Farm

Town End Field – Pre-Enclosure. The original boundary of Great Crawley and Little Crawley. By

Willow Close

Ten Acres – OE Theacres. C1180. By Allosey Hill, north-eastern boundary

Tandys – c1540. Stripping bark from oak trees, near place of felling, prior to steeping to extract

tanning

Tansy Herne – Pre-Enclosure. An odd-shaped piece of land, a bend or corner. Tansy a bitter aromatic

plant of the chrysanthemum family

Thurphy, Field/Wood – Thursput (OE Thore, ME Putte Thuris pit) Roger de Tersput c 1214

Tebboths – c1655. Tebeths, a celebration of the tenth month of the Jewish Ecclesiastical year.

December/January, incorporating Christmas. Next to Wolfeys Mead by Chicheley Brook and bridge

Town Land – c1830. Allotment land, the Feoffee United Charities. On Folly Lane

Up End Green – Uplands, a homestead. On Cobb Lane, by the site of Lipend Farm

Volles – Pre-Enclosure. OE a clump of trees standing on the crest of a hill. By Folly Lane

Vauxs Field – c1412. John Vaux, co-feoffe with Sir John Cornwayle (Lord Fanhope). Granted landin

Hardmead and the neighbouring villages. By Bakers Bushes, Little Crawley

Wellan – Pre-Enclosure. A spring, well or stream in the vicinity. Chicheley Brook by Murtlands Farm

Wheeler – c1380. By Ringtail

Windy Middle – Pre-Enclosure. High flat land exposed to the elements. By Murtlands Farm

Wellslade – c1200. Slade, a valley. Next to Stagsden Brook. East End

Whiting Close – c1290. May allude to Peter de Wintonia, Rector of St Firmin’s. By Up End

Wolfeys Mead – c1300. Place where wolves lurked. Wilveshall 1278, Wollacre 1372.Alternative

General Wolfe’s vistory at Quebec 1760

Warren, The – c1400. Rabbit warren. By Shire Lane

Westie Field – ME Enclosure of waste (furze and heath). On Old Crawley Moor at Hurst End

Watern Stocking – Pre-Enclosure. Deep pond on corner of field. On Gomery Lane

Wheatcroft – c1580. John Battams, Hardmead. Income from land to support Walter Mabley’s charity,

now incorporated in the United Charities. East End

Water Mill – c1185. Site of mill on Chicheley Brook. By Bulls End

Walkers Close – Wakes Fee. Roger Wake died in 1504 and bequested his property in Little Crawley to

found a chantry at Blisworth, Northants, the chantry priest being named Walker. This Close was

listed in 1526 as being in the possession of “the community of Little Crawley”

Willow Close – c1500. Species of trees found on damp ground. Used on basket-making. Little Crawley
Windmill – c1770. Sited in Volles on Folly Lane opposite Maple Mead

Windmill Field – Pre-Enclosure. Along Hartwell Hill at Up End

Here is a sample of standard field names found countrywide, though with a variation ion the spelling.

Abbreviations: OED – Oxford English Dictionary; OE – Old English; ME – Middle English; AN –Anglo-Norman; OF – Old French.

New Close Pasture — c1300. Recently broken ground

Sand Close/ Field/Pit – OE Saenoe. A sandy place

Plough Land – c1400. Arable land

Park – ME. A tract of land surrounding a mansion, kept as a pleasure ground, stocked with game and

deer. Also a stretch of grassland with specimen trees.

Grange –Land belonging to a monastery sometime worked by tenants

Stew Ponds – Medieval fish ponds used for a fresh fish diet especially during Lent

Croft – ME. A small enclosure for growing particular crops like wheat and beans

Hopyard – OE Gearde. Covers a quarter of an acre containing 500 hop plants.

Riding – c1200. A clearing in a woodland for horse riding

Spinney – c1200. A plantation of thorn trees.

Pinfold/Pound – An enclosure maintained by a manor or vestry to confine stray animals. A fine was imposed to retrieve them.

Home/Close/Field –c1200 Le Homfeld. A standard throughout the country for an enclosure nearest to

a farm house or settlement.

Garden Field –Usually small enclosure, especially near dwellings for growing specialised crops such as vegetables and soft fruit

Leyes –OE Leah. Woodland clearing

Grater – Relating to a hurdle fence

Baulk – A strip of earth left standing between different parts of an excavation (ploughing).

Mear – OE Mearce. A mark relating to a boundary between parishes or counties.

Stocking/Stubbing – Land from which tree stumps have been removed, also land which is still covered by tree stumps.

Bullsend/Hillwood – c1200 Bullehalith. Boarswood. The Bull’s nook of land. Parishes and

rectors kept bulls and boars for parish use.

Hade –ME Old term for a headland

Banky –Alluding to a sloping field or bank

Rogation –Various field names have connections with religious festivals, celebrations and

processions, notably Rogation Week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). Monday

(the one day service). Thursday (Ascension Day, Holy Thursday, also noted for the beating of

the bounds, gang days). Rogation Sunday the festival for the “invention of the cross” also

known at Crouchmas.

Old Acre – c1300. An acre of land was the area a yoke(two) of oxen could plough in a day. There

were also large old acre fields, such as Eighty Acres which ironically applied to very small

field closes. When the acre was standardised in the reign of Edward 1, eighty old acres

worked out at approximately three new acres!

Allotment – Land distributed by the Enclosure Commissioners in exchange for rights and holdings

held in the open field system. It could also mean land given to a parish or manor official.

Glebe – Land assigned to the parish Rector as part of his living and endowment of the church.

Fiddlers Green – In the days of sailing ships the fiddler was member of the crew who would sit on the

capstan playing rhythmic jigs for the heavy manual work involved in hauling up the anchor

and setting sail

Lodge Farm – An old name often used referring to an established dairy farm and not to be confused

with a lodge associated with a manor, grange or large house

Assart – A piece of woodland which had been cleared, enclosed and converted into arable land.

Brandon (Torch) – Brand Erith/Brand Erth. Field burnt over prior to tilllage

Dault Manor – Braybrook cartulary, a register of lands and privileges granted by charter

Silver Street – Chequers Lane. Name of a small thoroughfare leading to pure water in either springs or wells

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