North Crawley
Major Settlement in the Parish of North Crawley
Historical Forms
- Crauelai 1086 DB
- Craule 1151–4 Fr 1210 Fines 1231 FF 1241,1247 Ass 1284 FA 13th ADii 1351 Ch 1386 ADii 1404 IpmR
- Crawele 1197 Fines 1247 Ass 1388 ADii
- Crawle 1202 Fines 1393 ADii
- Croule(ia) c.1218 WellsR 1247 Ass 1284 FA 1313 Cl
- Crowle 1284 FA 1425 IpmR 1434,1459 Pat
- Crawley 1432 IpmR 1455 LDD 1490 Ipm 1535 VE
- Crowley 1460 IpmR 1520 LP 1574 Foster
- Croley 1542 BM
Etymology
'Crow-clearing' v. crawe , leah . There has been considerable hesitation in the development of this name. Some forms show preservation of the original a -vowel which had been shortened in the first element of the compound and this is the form that ultimately developed to modern Crawley . Others, probably under the influence of the independent word, show the usual change of that word from crawe to crowe . These forms have not been traced beyond the 16th cent.