English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Crow Hill Plantation

Early-attested site in the Parish of Swaffham Bulbeck

Historical Forms

  • le Croyell' 1573 Ct
  • (the) Croyle 1637 BedL 1775 Map

Etymology

Crow Hill Plantation (6″). Near here and possibly identical in name with Crow Hill was a fen called le Croyell '1573Ct , (the ) Croyle 1637 BedLet freq to 1775Map . The topography is uncertain, but we probably have here OE  *crēowel , 'fork,' found in Croughton (PN Nth 51) and Cryfield (PN Wa 181–2). For these we have forms Croyle -, Crouel -, Crowell -. The form Crow Hill would then have arisen through popular etymology.