The questions are firstly how do you pronounce the name Cuckfield and secondly how did it get it’s name?
Firstly, many people mispronounce the name Cuckfield and pronounce it the same as the town of Uckfield, 12 miles away in East Sussex. It is actually pronounced as though it was spelled “Cookfield”.
Secondly, there are several interpretations as to how the name Cuckfield was derived and it likely has roots in both personal names and the natural environment.
1. Cuckoo filled clearing. It was first written Kukefeld in 1092, followed by Cucufeld in 1121. Cuckoos were called cuc or cuccu by the Normans so it is thought the name could mean “a clearing full of cuckoos”. An alternative, but less poetic, meaning is “land surrounded by a quickset hedge”.
2. Cucafeld. Another theory suggests that the name Cuckfield is derived from the Saxon personal name Cuca combined with the word “feld”, meaning “field.” Thus, it would be Cucafeld. Over time, the spelling evolved: in 1121, it was recorded as Cucufelda, and by 1633, it had practically arrived at its present form of Cuckfield.
3. Field of the Cuckoo. Thomas Barlow, a resident of Holborn, London, published a book in Latin that referenced “Ager Cucula” as the “Field of the Cuckoo,” rather than “Lucus Cucula,” which translates to “Clearing of the Cuckoo.” Barlow’s role was that of a compiler, assembling the book from manuscripts that had come into his possession. The book purported to be the unedited “papera” of Lucius Falvio Sedulus from Roman times. Now, the question arises: Was the clearing within the forest, or did the forest encroach upon the clearing?
4. Cuckoo Clearing. An intriguing interpretation proposes that Cuckfield was situated in a forested area where cuckoos were frequently heard. According to this view, Cuckfield would be “Kuku-field”, signifying “the clearing of the cuckoo”. In the thirteenth century, the name was even simpler: just “Kuku”, resembling the earliest way of writing the town’s name.
5. Place Names and Forests. Additionally, the name Cuckfield might be related to other place names. The suffix “field” appears in 27 villages and towns in the district. Similarly, “Hurst” is connected to around 40 other places, indicating a dense forest. For example, Hurst-Pierpoint means “the thick forest of the Pierpoints”.
On the outskirts of the village is a sign showing a cuckoo on a tree.
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I had definitely been pronouncing it wrongly.
ReplyDelete!!!! So many people do
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