In a message dated 09/08/2004 22:15:32 GMT Standard Time, eve@varneys.demon.co.uk writes: ah eng, yes - but ing? > Could it have been 'ling' or an abreviation of it? Makes sense for East Anglia - although Genuki has this for the parish of Duffield, Yorkshire: "About 300 acres on the Ings and Carrs are laid down in meadow. This land, which lies low, is frequently flooded in winter, and sometimes in summer in wet seasons, when considerable damage is done to the hay crops." Genuki also has this written in 1892 by the Rev M C F Morris about Yorkshire dialect "Nearly every parish in the district that has a river flowing through it possesses its ings, which is the same word as the Danish enge, eng being a generic word signifying low ground, flooded now at times or not as the case may be, but always near water, and divided by ditches into fenner varying considerably in size" I have not found a more recent definition however.. I know I've seen "ings and carrs" referred to in my research for Brandon, Suffolk and always wondered what they were! Regarding 'open' arable and 'common' arable which started this thread off - I have since discovered that Joan Thirsk in her work on Midlands farming systems made the distinction between the open fields which had no evidence of common rights ever having been attached and those which had - the former she described as 'open fields' and the latter as 'common fields' - however since then only a few have followed her in the usage of these terms because the meaning of 'open fields' and 'commons' has already become so generally used that to change to her definitions would become confusing - certainly confused me. Kind regards Leigh