Cowers Lane Explained

Country:	England
Coordinates:	53.019°N -1.545°W
Map Type:	Derbyshire
Official Name:	Cowers Lane
Shire District:	Amber Valley
Shire County:	Derbyshire
Region:	East Midlands
Post Town:	BELPER
Postcode District:	DE56
Postcode Area:	DE
Dial Code:	01773 55
Os Grid Reference:	SK306469
Civil Parish:	Shottle and Postern

Cowers Lane is a settlement in Derbyshire bordering Shottle, within the civil parish of Shottle and Postern, near Belper, Derbyshire England along the A517 road.In Norman times, Shottle Park was one of the seven parks within Duffield Frith.^[1]

It was the site of a large shelter for cattle belonging to the Duchy of Lancaster who owned the Frith. It is generally believed that the name is the local dialect equivalent of "Cow House Lane".^[2]

Notes and References

1. Turbutt, G., (1999) A History of Derbyshire. Volume 2: Medieval Derbyshire, Cardiff: Merton Priory Press
2. Bland, J., (1922) Duffield: Village, Church and Castle, Derby: Harpur and Son
   "Cowhouse Lane has a post-office, and the official Post-Office Guide prints the name "Cowers Lane." My father, who deplored the loss of old associations. once asked the then post-master there how this came about. His answer was to this effect: "One day a letter came from the head office, asking me which was the correct name, 'Cowhouse,' or 'Cowers,' so I counted the letters which had come that morning, and as there were more addressed ' Cowers' than 'Cowhouse,' I replied that Cowers was correct." It therefore became and remains, officially, Cowers Lane; so carelessly are place-names distorted and historical connections lost."