History Crowfield - a frontier forest settlement's history Early middle Ages The Normans determined the route from Winchester through Oxford to Northampton, which means that villagers could watch medieval kings going to Silverstone hunting, and later be subjected to history's armies trundling through. On the death of the 3rd Earl of Leicester, the lands were taken over by the de Quinceys, Earls of Winchester, and Brackley became a very powerful barons center. The barons who forced King John to sign the Magna Carta first met here. Brackley also became the center of national tournaments with boisterous consequences all over the area. Crowfield is mentioned as a landmark in the perambulations (marking of the boundaries) of the Royal Forests in the 13th Century In 1260 the Quinceys obtained for Brackley the borough charter and it very quickly became the 2nd biggest market town in Northamptonshire … all based on the wool of the neighboring Cistercian Abbey of Biddlesden and to a lesser extent its poorer neighbour the Benedictine Luffield Abbey in Syresham. The inclosed lands of Crowfield were no doubt used for sheep farming At this time the moated earthworks at " the old mountains" were built. (See the photos and details HERE ). The moat was there probably to collect water for fish rearing, rather than defence as it is not on high ground but is close to local springs. Possibly it was used as a monk's refuge or another theory as a hunting lodge for Astwell. The years after the Black Death years (1349 to 1362) must have been hard for the villagers. Crowfield cannot have escaped and the local landlords must have had their staff decimated. It is likely that the local landlords would demand the feudal dues that had fallen into abeyance, including the free labour in return for a holding of land. This was important as it later reinforced the right to freehold. Middle ages If the establishment of the monasteries was to have an affect on the area, the dissolution in 1538 had a profound affect. Unlike many villages Syresham and Crowfield were not sold off en bloc to a powerful individual who would then become the village squire and rule the village. Instead big chunks of the land ended up in the hands of Magdalen College and a very significant part was sold to a large number of freeholders. This produced a community of independent minded peasants that influenced the shape of Syresham and subsequently Crowfield for the next 400 years. Later records show a large amount of freeholders in Crowfield. One other local event during this time, which affected the local culture, was the martyrdom of John Kurde, a shoemaker in Syresham, by burning at the stake in 1557 for denying the catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. He was a "lollard" as were many in the area . Lollards were early non -conformists who studied the bible and were against the power of the priests and against the fundamental catholic belief in the mass. This was to have a long lasting affect on the religious beliefs of the locals for centuries and partly accounts for the evangelical faith of the chapel in Crowfield in the 19th century. Poor, fiercely proud and natural non-conformists the people likely saw this act as the corruption of the landed classes and gentry and their appointed priests High Cross was one of the taxation points on the medieval road from Oxford to Northampton