Old field names?

[martian]

And my farm is called Egypt House Farm, apparently the Egypt bit is from Gypsies who were called Egyptians when they first appeared in the country in the sixteenth century, and a group of them settled here long ago!

Interesting. Our neighbours farm a big field called Eygpt, it is thought that the name came from the Knights Templar who owned all the Parish 900 years ago. There are other links, like Knight's Close, Damask Close (from Damascus) and even the town of Baldock, which they built on the corner of this Parish, whose name is said to be a corruption of Baghdad.
A lot of the old names would never have been written down, so passing down the generations misunderstandings creep in

 

[Netherfield]

We have the end field and the 2nd end field. Lots of imagination used!

We had the wood field, and then the one one next to the wood field.

Then there was the 'long field' which was slightly shorter than the one at the side of it.

 

[puppet]

We have a golf field. The club next door is closing so in 50 years everyone will be puzzled

 

[som farmer]

we have a map from 1725, lot of the fields still have the same names. slaits, oatcroft, cowleaze, horse ground. foxcub, a field that is a ancient monument, still called trinity, its nice to think that the fields are still called by their original names centries later

 

[Y Fan Wen]

Some people contend that Tenterhooks (or even Tenderhooks) are actually derived from the hooks that kippers hang on in the smoke house.

Anyway, mine are all Welsh too including Cae Pwll Gwyddau - Goose or Geese pool field plus all the usual field names such as Cae Mawr, Cae Dan Ty, Cae Gors, etc

.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenterhook

 

[A1an]

The Green Knolls, the Lodge Field and The Target, everything else is just hill.

 

[wr.]

Some old names on this site. https://places.library.wales/
18th century field names are on our deeds.

 

[david ll]

West park, corny croft, ferny croft, south hill, fog meadow, sheep dip, pond field, kiln park, shore field,gutt, bracken bank

 

[Getnthair]

Ours are mainly named after people or features (eg Brown's, Pit Field etc) One neighbour has a California and the other neighbour has, what are probably my favourites, Stoney Furlong and Holme Park Nooking.

I have a California too. When trying to trace how the farm was setup - as in the present day, laid out in the 1820s - I met a geography professor - who was also trawling through the estate archives. He said California (in Old Scots - or Olde Eeenglish in Yellowbelly's case?)means "west of" - hence California in the US.

I have an 18acre which has 22 acres in it - but an old Scots acre was equivalent to 1 1/4 acres in new money. So that figures....

Nethertoon shows a small settlement in this field - but there is no trace of it. Either turf houses or absolutely every stone was removed?

I can trace the farm name back to the 12th century. The farmhouse was burned down in 1601 in a family dispute and the farmer killed. This is bandit country where the Border Reivers fought each other every bit as much as across the border.

 

[Cows 'n grass]

When my aunt died in her 90s, I think the old field names on the family farm were lost with her passing. All going into houses now, so lost for sure!

Do the fields on your farm have names and how far back do they go?

Where are you?

In Devon the tithe maps from 1834 are available on the county council website. The have every field name in the county on and most of ours are unchanged

 

[yellowbelly]

I have a California too. When trying to trace how the farm was setup - as in the present day, laid out in the 1820s - I met a geography professor - who was also trawling through the estate archives. He said California (in Old Scots - or Olde Eeenglish in Yellowbelly's case?)means "west of" - hence California in the US.

Very interesting.
Our neighbour's California is on the eastern boundary of the farm - maybe it's the exception that proves the rule Or maybe it originally belonged to the next farm along

 

[haggard143]

Where are you?

In Devon the tithe maps from 1834 are available on the county council website. The have every field name in the county on and most of ours are unchanged

Norfolk cc have historic-maps.norfolk.gov.uk/mapexplorer/ tithe maps (1946 photo maps quite interesting)on the tithe maps the fields are numbered no names do your maps have names

 

[Getnthair]

Very interesting.
Our neighbour's California is on the eastern boundary of the farm - maybe it's the exception that proves the rule Or maybe it originally belonged to the next farm along

That's easy explained .....

My California is to the north of the farm. My professor, come adviser, had a very simple answer - "But it is west of somewhere....."

Can't argue with that.

 

[Ioan annwyl]

All Welsh names here of course, translated into big field, small field, house field etc. There is also pwll y broga (frog pool) and one that the man in the National Library translated as "the field full of leeches". Not seen one yet.

Do you know Jimmy Pwll y Broga? quite a character!

 

[farmgineer]

We have one called "the castard" on the tithe maps it was a group of fields called "the castards". No idea what this word means, and google just corrects the c to a b which is of no use!! If anyone out there knows, I would be very grateful if you told me.

 

[Sharpy]

We have one called "the castard" on the tithe maps it was a group of fields called "the castards". No idea what this word means, and google just corrects the c to a b which is of no use!! If anyone out there knows, I would be very

grateful if you told me.

Castards appears to be a Wiltshire surname, it's a start maybe.

 

[primmiemoo]

We have one called "the castard" on the tithe maps it was a group of fields called "the castards". No idea what this word means, and google just corrects the c to a b which is of no use!! If anyone out there knows, I would be very grateful if you told me.

An old orchard, maybe? There's a variety called Costard, iirc, as in costermonger.

 

[primmiemoo]

Where are you?

In Devon the tithe maps from 1834 are available on the county council website. The have every field name in the county on and most of ours are unchanged

Thanks for this. I didn't know they'd digitized the maps.

Just looked up where I'm to, and it's great to see it. Now know where the roundhouse was, and also the name of the tenant at the time. I now also realise the very old wine bottles found in a hedge have his initials on!

 

[Cows 'n grass]

Norfolk cc have historic-maps.norfolk.gov.uk/mapexplorer/ tithe maps (1946 photo maps quite interesting)on the tithe maps the fields are numbered no names do your maps have names

Yes, our maps have all the names on. This farm has only had about a hundred metres of hedge taken out since 1834 as well.

What's amazing is what is classified as arable. Some of the you can barely walk up they're so steep.

 

[farmgineer]

Thanks for the feedback, the name seems to come from apple seller too! I think there could be something in this as there was an old hall with a moat a couple of fields over, it might have been something to do with that