Pathlow
Early-attested site in the Parish of Aston Cantlow
Historical Forms
- Pathelawe c.1200 AD 1236 FF
- Patthelauwe 1250 AD
- ad furcas de Patthelowe 13th CartMisc
- Pottelowe 1320 Ipm
- Pathlowe 1375 IpmR
Etymology
Pathlow is Pathelawe c. 1200AD , 1236 FF, Patthelauwe 1250AD , ad furcas de Patthelowe 13thCartMisc , Pottelowe 1320 Ipm, Pathlowe 1375 IpmR. See Pathlow Hundred infra 230. “The place which gave name to this Hundred or Liberty, is a Tumulus , or heap of earth situate in a lane on the top of an Hill, upon the left hand the road leading from Wotton Wawen to Stratford super Avon (about the midway betwixt these two towns, and about a Bow-shoot from the said road) in the very way betwixt Warwick and Alcester ; which High way thwarteth the other road; nere unto it being certain inclosed grounds that lie within the Parish of Aston Cantlow and bearing the name of Pathlows to this day” (Dugdale 488). The lane is the footpath which once formed part of the old Alcester-Warwick road and still leads on to that road at Gospel Oak where the parishes of Aston Cantlow, Bearley and Snitterfield in Ferncumbe Hundred meet the parish of Old Stratford in Pathlow Liberty. The tumulus stood at the top of a well-marked hill and doubtless took its name from the path leading up to it. The furcas are the Bishop's gallows (cf. infra 231).