Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Baresfeld(e) 1091–1104 MontC p1305 MontC 1100–18 Ch p1305 MontC 1100–22 1270 1135–37 p1305

• Baresfelt, Boresfeu[d] c.1155 p1305 ib

• Boresfe'rne e13 Queens

• Boresfen 1288 Ass 1332 SR 1372 ChrP 1406,1438 Queens

• Boressen 1316 FA 1469 Midd

• Boreswain 1546 Hutch3

• Bareswayne 1590 Drew

• Bowerswayne 1795 Boswell

• Boreston 1372 ChrP

• Boreson 1575 Saxton 1774 Hutch1 1869 Hutch3

• Barston Moor 1841 TA

• Bower Ditch 1841 TA

• Borysdych 1330 FF

Etymology

The first el. of this name is probably an OE  pers.n. Bār , as suggested by Ekwall DEPN for Barsham Nf, Sf, Husbands Bosworth Lei, rather than OE  bār2 'a boar (wild or domestic)', though both are formally possible; the pers.n. occurs once in DB (spelt Bar ), once as a byname (Æilmar Bar 1087–98), and may well be a nickname from the animal name (v. Ekwall DEPN s. n. Barsham, Tengvik 359, Smith EPN s. v. bār 2 , cf. Feilitzen 192). The earliest forms (Baresfeld , Baresfelt ) represent 'Bār's open country', v. feld . However, from the 13th cent, the el. fenn 'fen, marsh, marshland' is apparently substituted for feld ; the farm, situated by the Gussage stream near its confluence with R. Allen, is low-lying. It is from these forms (Boresfen , etc) that the present name Bowerswain, with some influence from popular etymology, is derived. A third framing tradition may be evidenced in the forms Boreston , Boreson , Barston , in which the second el. is apparently tūn 'farm'. However this is not certain, since Boreston may be an error for Boresfen ; Boreson may be a form of Boresfen , Boreswain with weakly stressed final syllable (cf. also the alternative local pronunciation cited); and Barston may be a rationalization of this on the analogy of -ston > -son in other names, e.g. Kinson par. supra , Herrison 1340, Bhompston 1367, etc. The change from feld to fen is probably not simply 'a curious corruption' as suggested by Fägersten 92 (presumably he had in mind scribal confusion whereby feld > feud > fend > fen , this in turn influencing pronunciation); it is more likely that Baresfeld and Boresfen were from the beginning distinct though related names for adjacent parts of the same manorial unit, or that there was genuine substitution of one el. for another in the name of the unit itself at the end of the 12th cent.; and if tūn is also to be reckoned with, a further partial substitution of tūn for fenn may have taken place during the 14th cent. The f.n. Bower Ditch 1841TA also belongs here; it is Borysdych 1330 FF (p), 'Bār's ditch', v. dīc .