Crowcroft

Recorded as Crocroft, Crowcroft, and possibly Crowcrox, this is almost certainly an English locational surname. If this is the case it originates from a place called Crowcroft or similar spelling, except that no such place is known to have existed as nothing has been found in the gazetters of the country for the past three hundred years. This not unusual, maps in the past were at best erratic, but what is perhaps surprising is that is estimated that as many as five thousand surnames of the British Isles originate from similar now "lost" locations. There are many reasons as to why villages or even small towns have disappeared since Medieval Times. These include changes in agricultural practices, draining of the fens and wetland areas, plagues, war, and one which continues to find a place in the forefront of the media even today, coastal erosion. The name Crowcroft would suggest that it was a farm or small settlement as the name means "Crows farm," and is similar to the surviving Crowcombe in Devonshire, which means "Crows valley". Whether these were places which contained a lot of crows, or were named after a person called Crow, is unclear. Early recordings of this surname include Henry Crocroft at the church of St Faith under St Pauls in the city of London, on June 1st 1657, during the "reign" of Oliver Cromwell, and John Crowcroft, whose daughter Mary Ann was christened at St Andrews Holborn, on May 6th 1810.