Little John Greave (Sheldon)

From International Robin Hood Bibliography
Locality
Coordinate Near 53.214461, -1.73843?
Adm. div. Derbyshire
Vicinity In Sheldon
Type Area
Interest Robin Hood name
Status Defunct
First Record 1767
Loading map...
Location of Sheldon in which parish Little John Greave was located.
The Greave (grove or copse) has not been located, but Sheldon is lovely all the same / Google Earth Street View.

By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2014-10-15. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2022-05-01.

Little John Greave is recorded in a 1767 enclosure award as a field-name in Sheldon (Bakewell, Derbyshire). "Greave" is from OE grǣfe: grove, copse, thicket.[1]

It is perhaps worth noting that "John a Greaves" occurs as a field-name in 1839 in Barlborough, 31 km ESE of Sheldon,[2] but apart from the (partial) similarity of name there is nothing to suggest a connection between the two localities. With access to the Sheldon enclosure award it should be possible to locate Little John Greave. Pending this, the coordinates I cite here are simply those for Sheldon, the parish within which the "greave" was located. Tithe awards for Sheldon, Ashford in the Water, Brushfield, Great Longstone, Monyash, Taddington and Prestcliffe have been checked; they do not include Little John Greave.

According to the editor of the English Place-Name Society's volumes on Derbyshire, this is the only Robin Hood-related field-name found in the county.[3] This is not true. His own work also lists 'Little John' as a field-name in Tibshelf (1846). 'Greave' is a fairly common element of Derbyshire place- and field-names.[4]

Gazetteers

Sources

Background

Also see


Notes

  1. Cameron, Kenneth. The Place-Names of Derbyshire (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXVII-XXIX) (Cambridge, 1959), pt. III, pp. 681, 730.
  2. Ibid., pt. II, p. 202, with the incorrect date '1830'. Their source must be the 1839 tithe award for the parish of Barlborough, online at the Genealogist, Piece 08, sub-piece 018, Image 011. #244 and #244a (£); accompanying map, online at the Genealogist, Piece 08, sub-piece 018, Sub-Image 001 (£).
  3. Cameron, Kenneth. The Place-Names of Derbyshire (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXVII-XXIX) (Cambridge, 1959), pt. I, p. 165; III, 760.
  4. See for instance ibid., pt. II, pp. 242, 253, 261, 267, 283, 290 (bis), 296, 308, 313, 326 (bis), 348, 350, 356, 375 (bis), 377, 380 (bis), 386, 387 (bis), 396, 398 (bis), 405 (bis), 407. No doubt many are also to be found in the other volumes of this work.