River Tove


The River Tove is a river in England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. Rising in Northamptonshire about a mile north of Greatworth, it flows for about north and east of the town of Towcester near Bury Mount before meeting the Ouse south-east of Cosgrove just north of Milton Keynes. Its final form part of the border between Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, running alongside the Grand Union Canal. The river ultimately flows into the North Sea.

Etymology

The Old English name of Towcester, which is named for the River Tove, is Tófe-ceaster, suggesting that the Old English name for the Tove was some form of Tófe. Bosworth and Toller give the "Scandinavian proper names" Tófi and Tófa for comparison. Tófa, in turn, is a shortened form of Thorfrithr, meaning "beautiful Thor" or "peace of Thor."