All in one article written by Jackie Rickenberg for the Parish Magazine in August 2023
Whilst rummaging through the archives the other day, I came across a couple of amusing little articles, which piqued my interest. The first one is an article from The Farnham Herald, date unknown but by deduction the year is 1967.
“Pink Floyd Man in Flying Visit. On a flying visit to his native land last week, was Nicky Mason of the Pink Floyd Pop Group (sic), who has been staying with the Rutter family at Millhanger, Thursley. Lindy Rutter has won praise for her choreography of the Farnham Youth Theatre production “Double Take” and for her solo dance which opens the show. She is to teach at Frensham Heights and will also be taking movement classes at RADA. Nicky has just made an LP with the Pink Floyd, “The Saucerful of Secrets” which is number nine on the LP charts. The group has also recently ended a tour of the USA where they are becoming very popular. The trip took them from New York, through Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle etc, etc and but for the election rumpus in Chicago, they would have made a return trip there. Nicky spoke to Youth in Action on Friday, the day before he flew to Belgium to take part in a music festival. A busy life and rather different from what he imagined it would be like when a student of architecture at Regent Street Polytechnic, where the Pink Floyd originated three years ago. The group has been professional for about 18 months”.
A quick Google search has since revealed that “Nicky” as he is called here, but now known as Nick Mason, and Lindy were married the following year, 1968, and had two children, before divorcing 20 years later. She is an accomplished flutist. He is the only remaining original member of the famous band. Note how the journalist refers to them as The Pink Floyd! Of course, they are known today as simply Pink Floyd. Another strange twist is that Millhanger was, of course, latterly purchased by Roger Taylor of Queen, who lived there until around 10 years ago. And the following article, date and publication unknown, will be of particular interest to the cricketers of Bowlhead Green.
“Bowlers or Bowlhead. Controversy has long proceeded, following the right name of what the Ordinance Map calls Bowlers Green, the signpost, Bowlhead Green, and some of the older inhabitants, Bowler (as Boughler) Green. To settle the point Mr J C Squire wrote to Professor Allen Mawer, secretary of the English Place-Name Society.
Professor Mawer replied: - “I gather you would like a note upon the relative merits of Bowlhead and Bowlers. There is no doubt that the former is correct. Mr Gover, who is working for us, draws my attention to thirteenth and fourteenth century forms Bouelithe, often misprinted Bonelithe, which are clearly to be identified with Bowlhead and are the source of the name. Bowlith by a process of popular etymology has clearly been corrupted to Bowlhead. The name means “above the slope” and is derived from Old English, bufan hlithe. Other similar names are Boveridge and Bucknowl for Boveknowl in Devon”.
Mr Squire adds :- “That seems to decide the matter, though it may be argued that if the name can change from bufan hlithe to Bowlhead, it may equally be allowed to change from the meaningless Bowlhead to Bowlers, which has a pleasant smell of cricket”. It is rather amusing , and a warning to those who assume that English place-names mean what they appear to mean, that the name, as it were, has been turned round. The “head” part really refers to the slope, and the “bowl” to the top.”
