105 



formerly the site of one or more Stone Circles or Druidic Eings, 

 within which was conducted the worship of some of the ancient 

 Celtic Deities. These stone circles, or the remains of them, being 

 found here, the Saxons conferred upon the wood in which they 

 stood the very appropriate name of Godeshagh or Godshaw, 

 which gave its name to the district and was subsequently trans- 

 lated or transformed into Goodshaw Booth. 



Descending the valley we come into the Crawsbaw Booth, 

 which is derived from the Saxon crawe, shaw and booth, literally 

 the Crow-icood- Booth : the word craw being the vernacular for all 

 birds belonging to the genus Carvua. At the back of the Old 

 Crawshawbooth Mansion House, dated 1610, lately taken down 

 and now rej)reseuted by the Mansion House Buildings, there was 

 a Rookery, and the adjacent houses are still known as the Crow 

 Trees, or Craintrees. 



The Township of Lower Booths, consists of the booths of 

 Constablelee, Oakenhead Wood, Eawtenstall, Coupe, Lenches, 

 New Hall Hey, and Hall Carr. 



At what is now known as Lower Constablelee, stood probably 

 the residence of the Constable of the Forest, the officer, who 

 under the De Lacys had the charge of the forest and the admin- 

 istration of the forest-laws. In a document by which Roger de 

 Lacy gives to the Abbot and Monks of Stanlaw the Pasture of 

 Brandwood, and in a grant for the cutting of hay, in each grant 

 he speaks of Rossendale as " my forest." Rossendale was the 

 largest division of the forest of Blackburn, and therefore it is veiy 

 probable that the Constable would have a ley or lee, " a pasture 

 for horses and cattle " in it, and also a house for his accommoda- 

 tion during his hunting and other visits to "his forest," which 

 house would be the residence of his Constable of the Forest. 

 Constablelee then, means the Constable's Pasture. 



Oakenheaved Wood, or " Oak-height-wood," now Oakenhead 

 Wood, ''the Oak-wood on the Height" is a small booth and 

 village at Cribden End. 



Rawtenstall, formerly spelt Routandstall, and having adjoining 

 to it Eoutand Clough, according to Dr. Whitaker, means " the 

 brawling brooks." We prefer the Cymric Celtic rhawter, and the 

 Gaelic Celtic and Fr. ruta, the former meaning " a crowd," the 

 latter, a "herd, rout," and the Ger. and Du. rotten, " to com- 

 bine together, to plot, to assemble; " the general meaning of rout 

 being a rabble or multitude. So much for Bout, which in some 

 parts of the country still means the annual assembly of the 

 people, at the Feast, Wake or Fair of the town or district. Stall 

 in Sax. is " a place, a seat, a station." Routandstall or Eawten- 

 stall then, means " the place or station of the Rout," and, being 

 a central place in the forest, it would be the most likely one for 

 the annual public assembly of the people for sports, &c. 



