Troy Fm
Early-attested site in the Parish of Somerton
Historical Forms
- Troy House 1797 Davis
Etymology
Troy Fm is Troy House 1797 Davis. Cf. E. Carleton Williams, Companion into Oxfordshire , 43: “Troy Farm…has a relic of earlier days. This is a maze, cut in the turf of a meadow….Only about seven of these turf mazes survive in England and their age and origin is much debated. The name of the farm is of especial interest, because the weight of opinion inclines to the view that they are a legacy of the Roman occupation of Britain, and were cut by Roman colonists to play the Troy Game lusus Trojae , which they had enjoyed as youths in the Circus Maximus in Rome.” The NED, however, puts the use of Troy Town meaning 'maze' under the figurative use of Troy to mean 'a scene of confusion.' According to EDD, which gives an example of Troy Town referring to one of these turf mazes, the term is a west country one.