English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Temple Cowley

Major Settlement in the Parish of Cowley

Historical Forms

  • Temple Couele c.1200 S c.1280 Ch 1324
  • Templecouele 1278–9 RH
  • Covele Temple 1285 Ass
  • Templecouleya c.1300 Frid c.1425
  • Temple Cowley 1519 AD

Etymology

'Cufa 's wood or clearing,' v. (a)h and cf. PN Mx 32 and the references given there. Temple Cowley is so named from the Knights Templars, cf. Templars cxvi: “In 1086 Count Eustace II of Boulogne held three hides in Cowley of the king in chief. In 1139 his granddaughter and heiress, Queen Matilda of England, gave to the Knights of the Temple at Jerusalem all her land of Cowley.”