History Crowfield - a frontier forest settlement's history The Chapel see a photo here In 1872 William Bloomfield, a farm labourer moved to Crowfield. A self taught simple man with incredible zeal and a big smiling face, he quickly won over the locals and held services in his kitchen every Sunday, fitting this in with his duties with the cows. In 1881 the Gearys moved into Staplegate farm and gave him support as he was asked to become a preacher on the Dedddington Circuit. He died in 1885 aged 75, a great age for the time. Mr. Geary gathered support and organized the locals and in August 1896 the Bloomfield Memorial Hall, accommodating 90, was opened. A Sunday school was opened and Mr. Geary was the representative on the Towcester and District Sunday Scholl Union. It continued as an important part of village life until the 1950's. Earnest "Charlie" Griffiths, a one time footballer for Swindon, was one of 6 soldiers posted to Syresham to guard it during the First world war .It seems they were forgotten as they stayed for the duration. After the war Charlie Griffiths moved to Syresham and was made responsible for Crowfield Chapel in the late 1920's. The chapel sought to rectify the promiscuity and drunkenness of local life by replacing many traditional activities - with some success. Drunken "harvest homes" was replaced with the Harvest Festival. Carol Singing replaced the Mummers (the ancient winter fertility rites!!). The Methodist virtues of thrift, self help and enterprise were well received here. The deep division between Churchgoers and Chapel members was less marked here in Crowfield thanks mainly to the chapel and the fortunate succession of good ministers who preached here. In late Victorian times and early 20th Century Church and chapel people didn't intermarry. Eli Green was a shoemaker in Crowfield who became a supporter of the chapel and had a big family, whose descendent are still strong in the chapel (at Syresham) today. The Parish Council of Syresham was established in 1894, and one of the recurrent items on the agenda was the state of repair of the path from Syresham to Crowfield. Springs made it subject to flooding and cattle made it practically impassable at the Syresham end. A footbridge at Crowfield end needed frequent repair and on several occasions (e.g. 1904 and 1936 the Council paid for the path to have a surface of stone and gravel .The path was ploughed up in 1949! The path was a crucial part of village life in Crowfield. Besides the normal trade traffic of village life, over the centuries since the establishment of the church, the path was the route all coffins had to take for burials! Names asociated with the chapel also include George Hollyoak and the Miss Peters and Miss Goodwin who lived together in Crowfield It is beleived the chapel closed late 30's See William Bloomfield's Gravestone here