My research has shown that the surname Crutchley is likely to be a topographical, reference linking the family to a particular location. It is believed that the name means or refers to a "dweller in a clearing with a cross". Presumably the clearing itself was located in woodland, with the cross marking an ancient site of some significance to Christians. The surname itself does undoubtedly originate within the United Kingdom.

The surname Crutchley is believed to have originated in the Anglo-Saxon era, with some early records showing that ancestors with various forms of the surname can be traced as far back in time as the twelfth or even eleventh centuries. The first recorded mention of Crutchley ancestors is believed to be found within the medieval records of the English county of Lancashire. During the nineteenth century, the largest populations of Crutchley's were living in the English Midlands, and the regions close by. Even today a significant proportion of the family continues to be resident in the English Midlands. For over three hundred years the Crutchley family has been a Black Country family, and as long as God wills it, we will remain so.

Today the English Crutchley population is widely dispersed around the globe, with many Crutchley's having long since emigrated from the shores of the United Kingdom. They are now living in most parts of the world, including the United States of America, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

Our family has always been devoted to Christ. Our ancestors were part of the Methodist movement of the nineteenth century, during that era they served the church in our area as ministers. Our Christian faith continues to this day, and is the sure foundation on which our lives are built and lived.

Gary S. Crutchley