Croft (land)

A croft is a traditional Scottish term for a fenced or enclosed area of land. It is usually small and arable, and typically, though not always, includes a crofter's dwelling. A crofter is a person who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer in rural areas.

In Northern England, "crofter" was a term associated with tenant farming and rural employment. For example, in the textiles industry, it referred to someone who bleached cloth prior to dyeing by laying it out in fields known as "crofts".