Place Name
A reference to the 12thCentury Claybury estate, the name was first recorded as Le Clayberye in 1270; in 1566 it was Cleyberye; and by 1804, Claybury. AD Mills in A Dictionary of London Place Names says it comes from the Old English clǣġ meaning clay and the Middle English word bury meaning manor house. By association with the former Clayhall manor, immediately to its south, the name could also derive from the family name of la Claie. In 1203, 4¾ virgates of land (approximately 135 acres) in la Claie were granted for life by Adam de la Claie to Richard de la Claie, probably remaining in the same family until 1313. By 1847 the estate was 178 hectares and included Claybury Woods as well as a number of properties including Claybury Farm on nearby Roding Lane North. In 1887 the estate was sold and Claybury Asylum was built by 1893, the first mental hospital built by the new London County Council. In 1997 the hospital estate was sold for a private housing development, renamed Repton Park, but about 55 hectares were retained and became part of a new public park, Claybury Park. This street was laid out in the first half of the 20thCentury.
