51 



CHAPTER II 



THE WARREN 



In its original sense the word 'warren,' old French 

 warenne and varenne, later garenne^ mediaeval English 

 {e.g. in ' Piers Plowman ') wareine, and Low Latin 

 warenna, signified a preserve in general, and came 

 subsequently to be restricted to an enclosure especi- 

 ally set apart for coneys and hares. ' Coney-close ' 

 (' Paston Letters,' iv. 426) had the same meaning, and 

 'coney-garth' (Palsgrave), 'garth' signifying in the 

 North of England, according to Ray, a small en- 

 closure adjoining a house. Halliwell, who also gives 

 this meaning,^ adds that of a 'warren.' In almost 

 every county in England, as remarked by the editor 

 of the ' Promptorium Parvulorum,' near to ancient 

 dwelling-places the name ' Coneygare,' ' Conigree,' or 

 ' Coneygarth ' occurs, and various conjectures have 



' Diet. Archaic and Prov. Words. 



E 2 



