One of the earliest recorded forms of the name is Croweshagh, documented in 1324. By 1507, records show the spelling Crowshaboth, recognisably closer to the name used today.
Crawshawbooth is a village in Rossendale, Lancashire, situated between Rawtenstall and Loveclough. Its unusual name has roots stretching back more than 700 years, to a time when the surrounding landscape was part of the Forest of Rossendale.
A name recorded in the Middle Ages
These early spellings provide clues to the village’s origins.
What does Crawshaw mean?
The name is generally understood to derive from two Old English words:
- Crāwe — meaning crow.
- Scaga — meaning a small wood, grove or thicket.
Together, they suggest a wooded place associated with crows.
The name Crawshaw also became a surname, although the historical place-name evidence does not establish that the village was named after a particular Crawshaw family.
Where does Booth come from?
The second part of the name, booth, is associated with a temporary shelter or dwelling.
In medieval Rossendale, areas of the forest were used for cattle farming. These farming settlements, known as vaccaries, often had names containing the word booth.
Other local examples include Goodshaw Booth and Wolfenden Booth.
The name Crawshawbooth therefore reflects both the earlier wooded landscape and the agricultural activities that helped shape settlement in the valley.
From Croweshagh to Crawshawbooth
Over the centuries, the spelling changed as the settlement developed.
By the nineteenth century, Crawshaw Booth was an established village with manufacturing businesses, places of worship and a growing population.
Today, the name survives as Crawshawbooth, preserving a connection to the landscape and farming settlements of medieval Rossendale.
Sources
- Eilert Ekwall, The Place-Names of Lancashire (1922), p. 92, recording Croweshagh in 1324 and Crowshaboth in 1507.
- Nigel Smith, Settlement and Field Patterns, discussing medieval vaccaries and the use of booth in Rossendale place-names.
- Slater’s Lancashire Directory (1879), describing Crawshaw Booth as a manufacturing village.