Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• castrum de Rosa 1404 NB

• The Roose Castell 1522,1523 LP

• Rosecastell 1620 Naworth

• la Rose 1230 Pat 1278 Ass 1288 Cl 1361 Pat

• (apud) Rosam 1272 Laner 1285 For

• Rosa 1331 1434 Pat

• Roos 1375 IpmR 1535 VE

• Rose 1408 Pat 1445 Fine

• Rosepark 1424 CCt

• the Rose 1454 Pat 1618 Naworth

• Roose 1647 MunRec

• the Rose Calsey 1569 CWxxxix

Etymology

It is difficult, if not impossible, to find a topographical explanation of this name. The modern pronunciation and the overwhelming majority of the medieval forms forbid derivation from Welsh  rhos , 'moor, hill,' from which Roos (PN ERY 56), Roose (PN La 202) and Ross (He and Nb, PN NbDu 169) take their origin. Rosemarket (Pemb) (NC PNW 73) does, however, come from rhos , though the ancient hundred was called Roose. It is in every way probable that the application of the name Rose to this site was a deliberate piece of name-giving, expressing the beauty of the bishop's residence by comparing it to the rose, the most beautiful of all flowers. Conceits of this kind were familiar in the Middle Ages. An example which admirably illustrates the naming of Rose Castle occurs in the singular inscription to the left of the entrance to the Chapter House at York—ut rosa phlos phlorum sic est domus ista domorum (c. 1290–1350 Harrison, York Minster , 70). In much the same way Henry II's mistress Rosamond Clifford was punningly styled Rosa mundi , non Rosa munda .