(52) Names, Old and New

Mascy, Massle, or Massey. This is a name which occurs frequently "In Upton records and was originally a Norman surname. It first occurs in a list returned by Richard de Mascy to Edward I in 1500 in which R. Chaumpeer, a free tenant of Upton, is included. In the eighteenth century there are two mentions: -

1. Peter Massey, a voter from Upton, in the Poll book for Cheshire in the Parliamentary election of 1727.

2. In the will of Peter Massie of Upton, yeoman.

In the Tithe Commutation Award for 1839, S. Massey is named as an occupier of land under Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, and Richard Massey as a landowner.

It was Miss Massey who in the 1880s built the Dale.

Another old name - Ithell - is dealt with under the write up on "Upton Hall."

Field Names.

In the tithe map for Upton in 1839 over 180 fields are shown, each having its own name:

1. There are many fields names containing the word "croft" e.g. Pitch Croft, Black Croft, Waterpit Croft, Marl Croft, Massey's Croft.
2. The greater part of the names are agricultural e.g. Seven Acres, Rake Hay, Rye Grass Field, Hayfield, Brock's Hay.
3. As we would expect, there is considerable use of "heath" e.g. Nearer Heath, Further Heath, Middle Heath, Heath Hay.
4. Some Interesting names include:-

Fox Holes. In this field, near the Water Tower, a number of foxes have been seen by present Inhabitants.

The Boosans. The origin of this name may be from a "boozing'^ field where, after the Spring sale of a farm, the cattle are allowed to remain until the following May. (55)

Alderlooms. This may be a mistake for loons, or refer to loomy or fine sand.

Wet Reans and Ditch Loons. Loon sometimes written looms, was a butt in a field belonging to another owner, or in a common field. The rean or reean was a furrow or gutter between two butts.

Greets. In this field was probably found greet or grit, which was whitish sandstone pounded up and used for scouring wooden dairy utensils.

There are two Barnfields but we have not been able to find any record of a tithe barn.

In Salter Butts field archery may have been practised long ago, or the name may refer to the ownership of the strips or butts, and may have a connection with Salter's Lane in Picton.

Lastly, there are Singleton or Flint Hill, Sour Field, Claphatch and The Peg, the first two
being self-explanatory.

Road Names.

Where possible the names are in keeping with the old field names or suited to the locality. Many roads were named and numbered by the Rural District Council about 1934, when rapid development was taking place. The road names can be divided as follows:-

1. Those named after their route or destination, eg " Upton Lane, Newton Lane, Caughall Road.
   The latter used to be known as the Stoke-Wervin Road. According to the Oxford
   Dictionary of English Place Names, Caughall meant cock hill, i.e. a hill frequented by fowl.
2. Those whose names are obvious, e.g. Heath Road, Mill Lane, and Church Lane which, according to some of the older villagers, was known as Port Lane.
3. Those derived from the old field names, e.g. Walnut Close which was built on Walnut Field, so called because it contained a large walnut tree. Willow Close, which is to be a new road off Meadowsway; it will be thus named because it is being built on the site of the old cricket field. (54) Le Longe Meadowe, mentioned in Upton records of the time of Q,ueen Elizabeth, may have been the origin of Long Lane, and possibly Longfield Avenue.
4. Those named after people, e.g. Egerton Drive, after Sir Philip Egerton; Brooke Avenue after the owner of the land, a Mr. Brooke Edwards, also Meadowsway after the landowner. Sir John Meadows Frost, and Marina Drive after Princess Marina.
5. Some of the older names have interesting derivations, e.g. Butter Hill, although not actually in our Parish, has always been regarded by the inhabitants as part of Upton. It may have been so called because cattle used to graze there, but a more likely explanation is that the country folk brought their butter to the Plague Stone there in times of plague.

Flag Lane; this was an old trackway, leading from Butter Hill to Upton, over very marshy ground where wild iris or flags grew in profusion. Another version of the origin of the name given by an inhabitant was that when the snow came little flags were put to show the roadway amid marshy ground. This would have been before the road was developed and most of the houses were built.

Upton Lane was formerly composed, of two roads. The lower was Sand-pit Lane which was named, after the old sand-pit. It was also known as Frog Lane, presumably because it led to the Frog Inn. Smoke Street, the upper part, was thought to be so called, because of the smoke which drifted across the roadway from the low chimneys of the cottages on either side. The term "street" is unusual among so many lanes.

Acres Lane, an old road, is named after the Acres Farm, or possibly it is an old name handed down as there are records of sales of land of that name in 1587 and 1588.

Demage Lane is named after Demage Farm, to which it leads. This is a fairly common name for farms in Cheshire. We have been unable to find its meaning, although in an early nineteenth century map it was referred to as Damage. (35)

6. Other names such as Alwyn Gardens and Endsleigh Gardens were given by developers.

The word "oak" occurs in many names, both of roads and houses which may point to a large number of oak trees being found here, e.g. Oakfield Drive and Oakfield Avenue, named after the residence known as Oakfield; The Oaks, formerly Oak Banks, and Oak Cottages.

Of course Upton occurs frequently in the house names, e.g. Upton Cross, Upton Lodge, Upton Lawn, Upton Grange and Upton Heyes.

The names of the Inns and the derivations of "Bache" are dealt with in their own sections.