The name comes from one of the 17th century families who were allotted tracts of rough heathland for low-level agricultural use, e.g., grazing animals, gathering of furze, coppice management etc.
On the Petwyn there are two Lest We Forget Benches (in commemoration of the centenary of the end of WW1), provided by the Town Council in October 2018.
At the far end of the Petwyn by Queens Close, is a memorial donated by a local resident.
The War Memorial
As in many communities elsewhere across this country, West Moors suffered its share of losses in the
two ‘World’ wars. After the Great War (1914-1918), towns and villages across the United Kingdom raised money to erect permanent memorial stones to honour those who had died in that conflict.
In West Moors the Memorial was erected at the junction of Station Road with Pinehurst Road in September 1920. When the memorial was erected in the 1920s this corner was a quiet spot with only occasional passing (and relatively slow) local traffic. With the dramatic residential development across the former St. Leonard’s Common (either side of Pinehurst Road) and a general increase in traffic along Station Road, it became too difficult to arrange the annual Remembrance Service at this spot and the memorial was re-located to its present position on The Petwyn.
See Remembrance Sunday in the events section for details on this annual service/parade.