Christmas Pie
Encyclopedia
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Normandy
Normandy, Surrey
Normandy is both the name of a civil parish in the borough of Guildford in Surrey, England and the name of the largest village in that parish. It lies close to the western edge of the county of Surrey close to the border with Hampshire and just north of the chalk hill known as the Hog's Back...
in the borough of Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The curious name of Christmas Pie, which has excited much humorous comment, owes its name to property owned by a prominent local family named Christmas. There are many references to this family in the Court records of the Manor of Cleygate which date back to 1513 in the reign of King Henry VIII. Christmas's are often noted as serving as members of the Homage which was the Jury of the Court. The "Pie" part of the name comes from the Saxon term "pightel" or "pightle" meaning a small piece of arable land. Until the area was built up during the 1920s there was a small field called "Pie Field" near the Christmas Pie crossroads.[1].