Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-31
Some Specimens Of tAs oldest Ones and
How the Land Came to Be
II g
So Designatedst a.


"Knap," which Bailey naively defines to be
1.-THE top Of an hill, or anything that sticks
out" originated spontaneously, as 1t were,
and have come down from early saxon
days. They have served to lend dignity,
not only to the spots thus designated, but
to the families who dwelt near. Plain Tom
O. the KNAPP became in process Of time
Thomas KNAPP. under which patent OF re-
spectability he figured In the parish regis
ters. During the sixteenth century, partic-
ularly after the dissolution of the monas-
teries. when considerable a portion Of
the churchs possessions fell into lay hands,
large tracts of common land were inclOsed
and held in severalty. The occupation
passed in this way from the lord of the
manor to small copyholders, and the conse-
Quent increase of Occupiers would necessi-
tate a more particular specification in the
holdings and their various parts.
Natural Characteristics.
1t is probable. therefore, that many of the
field names date from this period Occa-
sionally the new lessee would call the lands
after their own names; more frequent
custom. however, was to utilize any conve-
nient natural popularity. Differences of
soil, shape, size and situation were noted
and In the same map may be found
the appellations "Redlands," "Blacklands,"
White Field" "Nettle Hill," Picked or
POINTED Piece" and "Stone-pit Furlong"
cropping out in unexpected places is marked
by Sandy Furlong'' and CLAY Ground"
The "Htther Feeding Ground has about it
an archafc ring, recalling early settlers.
lack imagination. "Starve-all Furlong' and
Blanket Mead the latter denoting soft
Woolly pasture, convey the nature Of the
nelds they represent with an impressionist
touch: while homely and unpoetical though
the title "Pig-trough Bottom be, it is at
least expressive, presenting to the mind a
picture of the trough-like hollows that
cieave the sides of the downs, and that are
devils dykes
Equally opposite is 'Honey-pot Piece"
which lies in rich low ground, where the
SEED brings forth abundantly and helps to
atone Tor the meager yield of STONY Fur
long, flash Of rustic humor which still
has power to move the laborer to mirth is
perceptible in the names Cock" Hen
and Chick Piece" They were bestowed
upon three tracts of arabic land of varying
size lying near one another and according
70 an agr1culturist who remembers when
they were commonly used, they Indicate a
large field. lesser and a little one-father,
mother and child, in short. Where natural
FEATURES, owing to dull uniformity Of sur
race and soil, afford no scope for invention,
ARTIFICIAL aid is invoked. building fulfills
the double purpose of a shelter and a dis
tinguishing term. The "Sheep-house" lends
Itself simultaneously to the great, the little
and the middle pasture, and we find the
homestead following it's example in the
Upper Ham Field the Poor Ham, and
the Lower Ham," The farmyard is work
ed for all 1t is WORTH" as the American OBJ
served when watching Oxford undergradu-
a ate at. play upon their little river
Ramsleaze," "Bullock's Bush" Goose
lands. Calf Ground Ducks Nest Pas
ture, all find q place in the enumeration
compounds in which the horse plays a part
are rarer; the present writer has never
happened to come across one.
Recall Events.
OF deeper interest than the names en-
braced in the categories mentioned are
those that recall associations and events
which otherwise would be forgotten. Cos
pei Leaze' keeps green the memory of the
pious lord of the manor, who bequeathed
certain lands for the maintenance of the
chantry-prfest for ever" In one village
the Abbey Of st. John of Jerusalem, which
owned property there is remembered only
by the name ''St Johns Close" and the
Immunity of the abbey lands from 1.-THE,
they having been enfranchised at the disso-
luton OF the greater monasteries. The
moat or hsh-pond, once so important an
adjunct of religious house and manor,
would be unrecognizable in the weedy pond
OF today, upon whose stagnant water the
ducks rock lazily, were it not that the ad-
3acent strip of land, under its title of 'Moat
fiece' hands on the tradition of past
glories. With a meadow called THE
Butts which lies outside a Wessex viii
lage, tradition has taken a more practical
direction. The name suggests that on this
spot was held the archery practice which
local magistrates as late as 1541 were bid
den by statute to enforce, and 1t is sig
nlncant TO learn In this connection that
from time immemOrial the youths of the
parish nave exercised a prescrfptive right
TO the neld Tor their games and sports. Not
only do they play cricket and foot ball in
The Butts, but they celebrate the 9Th Of
November there, and all occasions of ma
tional rejoicing. Nor does the occupying
fho lot
though 1t must commend itself but little
to him.
Strange legends grow round field names.
A certain healthy tract remote and soli-
tary, is known as "Deadman'S Half" the
prefix being a surname that ocurs in the
parish registers. The surface of the field
Is, In countryman's words, "all humpy,
an covered wi want (mole) huls an EN-
mutt heaps" The uneven appearance,
coupled with the name and tie circum-
stance that the locality is a favorite camp
ing place for gipsies and other travelling
folk" have bred in the minds of the rustic
a conviction that Dead Mans Half" as
| they have 1t, is 1.-The GiIs buryin' ground
where they buries one another" They're
bound = die same as We do, an who ever
heard of gtppo ben' buried in the church.
yard? Is the argument whereby they sup
port their belief. A dreary road which the
wanderers themselves call THE Long
Drag leads to their solitary costing place.
"Blood Close"
The tradition that was formerly lied
with Blood Close" by which unsavory
| appellation pasture near the Berkshire
| town Of Vantage is represented in the
| 1.-THE schedule. has almost, If not quite,
died out of remembrance. In the "Biblio-
theca Typographical Britannica, No. 10,
printed in 17S3 Mr. G. Woodward. writing
| on the subject, states that the soil Of this
field dyed the boots red of those persons
who crossed it during sunshiny weather.
He goes on to say That the country people
told him that many hundreds of years be-
fore great battle between the Saxons and
the Danes had been fought on the spot.
which retained in its name a memory of
the slain. The writer, however, rejects
| this theory, and believes for his parO that
Blood Close was SO styledfbecause the
"loom' just here was OF more purplish
TINT than the surrounding earth
A probable explanation may be found in
the fact that large shambles formerly ex-
listed but short distance from the field,
possibly even within Its confines. for Horn
Lane" one side of which was bounded by