Havering-atte-Bower is a village and outlying settlement of Greater London, England. It is located in the far north of the London Borough of Havering, on the border with Essex, and is northeast of Charing Cross. It was one of three former parishes whose area comprised the historic Royal Liberty of Havering. Havering-atte-Bower has been the location of a number of palaces and large houses including Bower House, The Round House, Pyrgo Palace and Havering Palace. Etymology The name is of Saxon origin and is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Haueringas. The last syllable is the only clear difference in pronunciation as v was written as u in Middle English and Anglo-Norman orthography. It is an ancient folk name meaning settlement of the followers of a man called Hæfer. The history of Havering-atte-Bower today is inextricably linked with Edward the Confessor and comparison can be made with Old Windsor in Berkshire, which had a Saxon Palace that predated Windsor Castle as both villages are situated on high ground and have great views into London. It has been suggested that Edward the Confessor would have travelled to and from his palaces at both Havering-atte-Bower and Old Windsor. A story relating to the return of a ring to Edward the Confessor and attributing the name Havering to the words "have ring" was widely recounted in the 17th century, but is now considered to be no earlier than the 15th century, the story of the return of the ring predating this explanation of the place name by several hundred years. The name is recorded as Hauering atte Bower in 1272 and from this time Havering and Havering-atte-Bower are used interchangeably. The atte Bower suffix is taken to mean at the royal residence and to refer to Havering Palace which was situated here, although some link the use of Bower to other locations in Essex such as Bowers Gifford where Bower means a rural dwelling. Circumstantially it has been suggested that a different meaning of the word Bower relating to a dwelling specifically set aside for a woman could relate to the use of the Palace by Eleanor of Provence, mother of Henry III, when she was Queen Dowager although there is no documentary evidence for this interpretation. Whichever meaning is correct, it appears that the great house here was known as "The Bower" in the late 13th century. History The history