It seems that the Crowley surname has two origins – one in Ireland and the other in Cheshire on the west coast of England, but both these might ultimately be connected by immigration from the Irish locality to the English locality.

The Irish version of the Crowley surname, is, according to Wikipedia, derived thus:

“The Irish surname Crowley was first found in Moylurg, in the County Roscommon, where they started as a branch of the MacDermots. It is from Teige,a Prince of Moylurg, down to Cruadhlaoch that the line of descent for the Crowleys begins. A junior branch of the Crowley family also emerged and moved to the area of Dunmanway, in the west of County Cork. They eventually became a distinct sept with their chief at Kilshallow, thriving while their family of origin gradually decreased in number. The majority of the Crowley family came from the county of Cork, with three-quarters of the family originating from there.

“The Irish "O Cruadhlaoich" or "Ua Cruadhlaoich", a Gaelic name meaning "descendant of the hard hero" or "descendant of the hardy warrior", was anglicised to "Crowley" or"O'Crowley".”

                Ref:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowley_(surname)

The English version of the Crowley surname derived from a geographical locality. 'of Crowley,' a township in the parish of Great Budworth, Cheshire.  The name Crowley does not appear in the Domesday Book, however, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales 1870-72,described Crowley like thus:

CROWLEY, a township in Great Budworth parish, Cheshire; 5 miles N ofNorthwich. Acres, 1, 384. Real property, £2, 525. Pop., 183. Houses, 28.

According to the online History of Antrobus,

Antrobus

“Antrobus is situated in north Cheshire, seven miles south of Warrington and five miles north of Northwich. The village centre lies just over a quarter of a mile to the North East of the A559, formerly the old Roman road (King Street) that connected the two towns. It is a large parish with 33 roads and lanes that extend for some 36 miles criss-crossing an area of 4,145 acres of fertile agricultural land.

“Antrobus was mentioned in the Domesday Survey where it was referred to as Entrebus. There are many suggestions where the name comes from, but it is thought it comes from old French or Latin: entre bois – or amid the woods.

“Unlike Whitley or Stretton, there was no obvious village centre until the first half of the 19th Century. Instead, Antrobus was a village scattered across the entire parish in farmsteads and remote cottages.”  Ref:  https://antrobushistory.wordpress.com/about/

Crowley

“Crowley was a township in Great Budworth ancient parish, Bucklow hundred, which became a civil parish in 1866.

“In the second half of the 17th century, the Crown sold the township of Crowley and most farms became freehold. This led to mergers of farms to create viable dairy units, so by the time of 1740s the number of farms had reduced from thirty to seventeen.

“The tithes of Great Budworth parish were owned by Christ Church College, Oxford. However, it was practice in the 16th and 17th centuries of selling tithes in each township to local landowner for cash. Sir Peter Warburton bought tithes of the townships of Great Budworth, Aston by Budworth and Crowley in the 1740s.

“By 1750 none of Crowley was owned by the Arley Estate – despite being so close. All of the land lay in the hands of the 17 freeholders who let their land to tenants (all but one). The low number of owner occupiers was probably because Crowley was so isolated, with no main road, or church, inn or alehouse.The number of freeholders then declined, so area became increasingly unattractive for those who remained.

“The population was 147 in 1801, 169 in 1851, and 182 in 1901.

Ref: History of Antrobus,available on line at https://antrobushistory.wordpress.com/crowley/

The article is quite extensive and includes descriptions of various historic inhabitants who lived in and around Crowley as well as local landmarks such as

·        Crowley Gate Farm

·        Crowley Grange/Roadside Farm

·        Crowley Green

·        Crowley Hall

·        Crowley Lodge

Compiled by Geoff Blackburn OAM, Perth, Western Australia

This Crowley project was originally conceived to trace the ancestry of two illegitimate sons of Elizabeth Bodiford Crowley/Croley,widow of John R.C. Crowley/Croley of Chesterfield Dist., SC and Berrien Co.,GA.  The project was commenced in November 2001 but was without an Administrator for some time before the appointment of Geoff Blackburn in December 2018.