I think the Pilch Lane in Adstock is likely to be a secondary formation, since it leads to an area formerly known as Pilch Common and Pilch Field.
The earliest reference I've found to the name in Adstock is a 1600 estate map of the lands of Sir John Fortescue of Salden, which labels the northeastern corner of Adstock parish as Pilch Field. It doesn't show a Pilch Common, but then it again it is not a very detailed map. Thomas Jefferys' 1770 map of Buckinghamshire, which shows the landscape in more detail (though with very few minor place-names), depicts the northeast corner of the parish as part of a series of large (mostly un-named) contiguous commons extending from west to east along the watershed from Padbury to Whaddon Chase. I am confident these are an ancient landscape feature, so it may be that Pilch Field was so-called because it was adjacent to Pilch Common.
I don't know much about Adstock's landscape history, but I do know a bit about the next adjacent stretch of watershed common, in Great Horwood parish. By the 17th century this was probably largely clear of trees (except in the fenced-off coppices), but it seems likely that it originated in the medieval period as a western extension of the woodland of Whaddon Chase which by overgrazing and fuel-gathering was gradually turned into, first, rough scrubby bush and then finally open grassy pasture. If, as is likely, Adstock's Pilch Common went through the same metamorphosis then 'rough common' would have been an accurate description.
Thank you to everyone for their suggestions and comments.
Matt Tompkins
-----Original Message-----
From: The English Place-Name List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Keith Briggs
Sent: 22 January 2012 13:07
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Pilch [was: RE: EPNL Digest - 12 Jan 2012 to 20 Jan 2012 (#2012-5)]
That interpretation would also make sense for Pilcheredyngge 1325 in Sibton (Sf); i.e. 'ragged clearing'. See pages 41, 44 of the publication below.
Keith
@book{Suffolk-Records-Society-2,
title= "The Sibton Abbey estates: select documents 1325--1509",
editor= "A. H. Denney",
volume= "2",
year= "1960",
publisher= "Suffolk Records Society",
address= "Ipswich",
keywords={primary_source},
}
______________________________
From: The English Place-Name List [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jeremy Harte [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 21 January 2012 14:58
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: EPNL Digest - 12 Jan 2012 to 20 Jan 2012 (#2012-5)
There seem to be a lot of Pilch Lanes – four or five of them at a cursory online search – as if this were a meaningful compound rather than just a secondary formation from fields called Pilch. Maybe ‘rough texture’ has something to do with it.
Jeremy Harte
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