Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• (the house called) Julian Bower, Julyan Bower 1668 CliffordL 1708 PR(Clb) 1823 M

• Goulen bower 1790 Hothf

• Julian Boore, Geillen bour 1791 ib

Etymology

Julian Bower, (the house called ) Julian Bower , Julyan Bower 1668 CliffordL 129, 131, 1708 PR(Clb), 1823 M, Goulen bower 1790Hothf (A. 1), Julian Boore , Geillen bour 1791 ib. v. būr 1 'cottage, dwelling'. NB 278 identifies this name with 'Julian of the Bower', mistress of Roger de Clifford (t.Ed 3). But the name Julian-bower is also found in Hu, K and L, and is given to certain ancient circular earthworks, esp. those in the form of a maze or labyrinth (cf. EDD s.v.); the name Julian alludes to Ascanius lulus and his games in Aeneid v, 545–603; a parallel to a classical name being used of circular mazes is the English Troy and Troy Town (cf. NED s.v. Troy ) and the Scandinavian Tröjeborg similarly applied to labyrinths (cf. G. Knudsen, 'Navnet Trælleborg' in Nordiske Fortidsminder (Copenhagen 1948), iv, part 1, N. Sundquist, 'Tröjeborg i Uppland' in Upplands Forn - minnesförenings Årsbok (Uppsala 1956), 39–59, N. Ödeen, Studier i Smålands Bebyggelsehistoria (Lund 1927), 282 ff s.n. Tröjemåla ).Tröjemåla was associated with the games and dances of Trinity Sunday, but no evidence of such an association is to be found for the Julian Bowers.