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V. MANNING — PLACE-NAMES AND FIELD-NAMES 



£uit, e.g. " Colney Butts," " Butt Field." A short piece of arable 

 lying across the butt or end of one of the " acres " in an open 

 field. An "acre" was said to "butt on" its boundary, 

 e.g. "two acres buttinge upon the Warren Hedge " (Terrier 

 of 1638, Clothall, Herts; H.G., ii, 225). 



Close, e.g. "Lady's Close," " Orchard Close." An enclosed piece of 

 land, held in individual ownership, as distinguished from 

 the open fields, which were held in common. 



Croft, e.g. "Barn Croft," "Golden Croft." A small enclosure, 

 generally adjoining a house. 



Ground, e.g. " Furze Ground," " Grazing Ground." A piece of 

 meadow or pasture, often of rough character. 



Zand, e.g. " Tooley's Land," " Sidelands Mead." Originally an 

 open space cleared in a wood for cultivation, cf. English 

 lawn, Welsh llan : applied (1) to arable land in general; 

 (2) in a restricted sense, to the ridges into which arable 

 land is thrown up in ploughing, e.g. "a shott [i.e. j)ortion] 

 of 3 landes" (Terrier of 1638, Bennington, Herts; H.G., 

 ii, 109). 



Zea (or %), e.g. " Lea Mead," " Lay Pightle." (1) Meadow land 

 in general, e.g. "One close of ley ground" (Deed of 1629, 

 relating to Dame Morison's Charity at Watford] ; (2) a strip 

 of grass pasture in an open arable field, e.g. " Grasse in the 

 little fielde ; one ley against Harrowden Brooke " (Terrier 

 of 1751, Orlingbury, Northants). 



Fickle, Pightle, 



" Lower Pickel," "Dell Pightle." A small 



enclosure near a house, e.g. " a garden, a little pickle of 

 ground adjoining to it" (Terrier of 1638 at Aldenham, 

 Herts; H.G., ii, 23); "one pightell of Pasture adjoyning 

 to y^ Rectory" (Terrier of 1686 at Ayot St Lawrence, 

 Herts; H.G., ii, 71). "Pickel" or "pickle" seems to 

 mean a small piece of land picked off from an open field. 

 One can see the word in process of formation, e.g. : " One 

 roode and half being a pickt headland to some part of 

 the 8 acres piece" (Terrier of 1638 at Caldecott, Herts; 

 H.G., ii, 225). " One peece of Earrable land called Piked 

 peece" (Terrier of 1638, Ashwell, Herts; H.G., ii, 67). 

 " One Picle Leye at the lane's End" (MS. Terrier of 1751 

 at Orlingbury, Northants). All these passages refer to 

 pieces of land in open fields. "Pightle" or "pightel" 

 seems to come from the verb pitch, through its obsolete 

 past participle pight, and probably means a piece of ground 

 pitched or set out, to separate it from the open field. 



Piece, e.g. "Bridge Piece," "Payne's Piece." A division of arable 

 land in an open field, e.g. " One peece of Earrable land 

 called Piked peece" (Terrier of 1638 at Ashwell, Herts; 

 H.G., ii, 67). 



Plat (or plot), e.g. " Plat Field," " Margaret's Plot." KJlat piece 

 of land. 



