A back lane is a roadway often found in a planned medieval village running parallel to the main street at the other end of the Burgage plots. There may be a back lane on each side of the main street which together with the main street itself provide a rectangular framework for the development of the village. Although the burgage plot was used for small scale activities such as livestock or orchards, the back lane frequently divided the village from the main agricultural area - such as the open fields

Open field system

The open field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe from the Middle Ages to as recently as the 20th century in some places, particularly Russia and Iran. Under this system, each manor or village had several very large fields, farmed in strips by individual families...

.

The name frequently survives as a street name in a much enlarged urban settlement (there is an example in Wheldrake

Wheldrake

Wheldrake is a village and civil parish located south-east of York. Administratively it is in the unitary authority of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England....

), although it is not uncommon for the back lane to be reduced to a narrow pathway.