Trow Fm and Trow Down
Early-attested site in the Parish of Alvediston
Historical Forms
- (to) trogan 955 BCS917 13th
- Troi 1086 DB
- Triwa 1167 P
- Trewe, Trewa c.1190 Wilton 1202 FF 1203 Cur 1225 SR 1288 Ass
- Trowe 1222 Pat 1230 1242 Fees 1293 Ipm 1332 SR
- Trowe juxta magnam Chalke 1282 Ass
- Trowe juxta Alvedeston 1409 ib
- Troe 1799 Recov
Etymology
This is a difficult name. It seems beyond question that trogan which is twice mentioned in BCS 917 refers to the great hollow which gives name to Trow Fm, Trow Bottom, Trow Clump and Trow Down above that hollow (see Grundy ii, 28–9, 38–9).The form should be troge (dat. sg. of the strong noun trog , 'trough') rather than trogan , as if from weak troga , but it is possible that trogan is for trogum , 'at the hollows.' As the charter is only found in a 13th-century cartulary we need not perhaps press this point. OE trogan or troge would explain all the early forms, except the series Triwe , Trewe , and would lead to the modern form Trow .
With regard to the series of forms Triwe , Trewe , examination of the contexts in which they occur makes it clear that some of them must quite definitely be taken as referring to this place and the probability is that all do. They must be explained as due to confusion with ME trow (e ), deriving from OE trēow , 'tree,' as illustrated in the history of Trowbridge supra 133 and to some extent in Bishopstrow supra 151, where we have common and legitimate alternation between ME trowe and trewe . When the significance of Trow as coming from troge was forgotten, alternation between trow and trew seems to have been established for this name also as though it really came from OE trēow .