Critchet Field
Early-attested site in the Parish of Thursley
Historical Forms
- (on) crudan sceate 909 BCS627 c.1150
- Crudes(s)ate 1245 Rental 1279 Ass
- Crudes(c)hate 1299 Rental 1332 SR
- Crodesete 1331 Ass
- Kershott 1524 SR
- Crochet 1583 Musters
- Critchet Field 1846 TA
Etymology
For the interpretation of this name we have the parallels of crudan scypsteal in an original Mx charter of 962 (BCS 1085), crudes silba in a 9th century Kentish charter (BCS 536) which survives in Curlswood (KPN 222), and probably Curbridge (O), Crudebrug (1240Ass ). Wallenberg (loc. cit.), on the strength of the Kentish place-name where there is no stream, and the Oxfordshire one where there is no hill, hesitates between a word crud (e ) meaning a hill, or a similar word meaning a stream, but as no such toponymic is found in OE or in the other Germanic languages, and as it is never found as the second element in a place-name, or used independently, we may doubt its existence.Further, the assumption of an OE crude , whether it denotes a hill or a stream, involves the assumption of exceedingly doubtful genitival compounds crudan scypsteal and crudan sceat . So it is probable that we have a lost OE personal name Crud (a ). This may be related to the OE vb. stem crūdan , 'to press,' which perhaps gave us the recorded Crēoda from a different ablaut grade, but the history of that name is uncertain (cf. Redin 89–90). Hence probably 'Cruda 's nook of land,' v. sceat .