North Crawley
Encyclopedia
North Crawley is a village
and civil parish in the Borough of Milton Keynes
and ceremonial county
of Buckinghamshire
, England
. It is located near the border with Bedfordshire
, about three and a half miles east of Newport Pagnell
.
The village name 'Crawley' is an Old English language
word, and means 'clearing frequented by crows'. In the Domesday Book
of 1086 the village was referred to as Crauelai. In manorial
records in 1197 the area was split into Great Crawley and Little Crawley. The prefix 'North' was added sometime before 1398, probably to distinguish the village from the town
of Crawley
in West Sussex
. The hamlet
of Little Crawley still exists under that name.
'House of Cluniac monks: The priory of Tickford or Newport Pagnel', A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 1 (1905), pp. 360–365. URL: Date accessed: 16 December 2009
Anciently North Crawley was the location of a monastery
dedicated to Saint Firmin. The monastery was recorded in the Domesday Book, though had fallen into such decay by the Dissolution of the Monasteries
that little notice was taken of it, and it fell into ruin shortly afterwards.
The village has many different societies. They range form the Women's Institute to the Historical Society. There is also North Crawley Cricket Club and North Crawley Bowls Club.
There are two public houses in North Crawley. One named The Cock, the other named The Chequers. There also used to be a third pub named The Castle in North Crawley. All of these are mentioned in the song written about North Crawley named Hasten The Day by Jim Lancaster whilst he was in Burma.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish in the Borough of Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes (borough)
The Borough of Milton Keynes is a unitary authority and borough in south central England, at the northern tip of the South East England Region. For ceremonial purposes, it is in the county of Buckinghamshire...
and ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, 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...
. It is located near the border with Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, about three and a half miles east of Newport Pagnell
Newport Pagnell
Newport Pagnell is a town in the Borough of Milton Keynes , England. It is separated by the M1 motorway from Milton Keynes itself, though part of the same urban area...
.
The village name 'Crawley' is an Old English language
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
word, and means 'clearing frequented by crows'. In the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 the village was referred to as Crauelai. In manorial
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
records in 1197 the area was split into Great Crawley and Little Crawley. The prefix 'North' was added sometime before 1398, probably to distinguish the village from the town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
of Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
. The hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Little Crawley still exists under that name.
'House of Cluniac monks: The priory of Tickford or Newport Pagnel', A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 1 (1905), pp. 360–365. URL: Date accessed: 16 December 2009
Anciently North Crawley was the location of a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
dedicated to Saint Firmin. The monastery was recorded in the Domesday Book, though had fallen into such decay by the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
that little notice was taken of it, and it fell into ruin shortly afterwards.
The village has many different societies. They range form the Women's Institute to the Historical Society. There is also North Crawley Cricket Club and North Crawley Bowls Club.
There are two public houses in North Crawley. One named The Cock, the other named The Chequers. There also used to be a third pub named The Castle in North Crawley. All of these are mentioned in the song written about North Crawley named Hasten The Day by Jim Lancaster whilst he was in Burma.