Co. Name on van "Luga Baruga"

Towcester pronounced Toaster Leominster pronounced Leminster

I always used to think Towcester was pronounced Towster (first syllable rhymes with cow), on the grounds that *surely* the town doesn't share a name with a kitchen appliance ;-)

Then you've got the exception to the rule (every good rule needs an exception!): Cirencester is (now) pronounced as-spelled: Siren-cess-ter. Only the very oldest residents still call it Siss(i)ter: that's from my brother-in-law who was born and brought up in "Siren".

Isn't Leominster pronounced Lemster?

and Worcester pronounced Wuss-ster

and I know of Leominster and I have heard the locals pronounce it as Lem-ster

Tacolneston is pronounced Tackle-ston Cogenhoe is pronounced Cook-noe Silverstone is pronounced as Silver-stonn (silent e) Loughton (in Milton Keynes) is Pronounced Luff-ton Woughton (in Milton Keynes) is pronounced Wuff-ton and Wofferton is pronounced Wofferton so this one is phonetic.

Norfolk has some good ones: Happisburgh pronounced Haze-buruh, Stiffkey pronounced Stooky, Wymondham pronounced Wind-um.

What about that little place which is the only one with an ! in the name? Westard Ho!

Brian

The one below where the transmitting station is, was always pronounced as it was spelled by the IBA transmission bulletins they used to put out before we got daytime telly. Brian

It didn't help that I always mis-read it as Talconeston (which I pronounced as TAL-co-NES-ton) rather than Tacolneston (ta-col-NES-ton or ta-CO-nes-ton) ;-)

And Kent/Sussex has some too: Wrotham (ROOT-um, not ROTH-um), Trottiscliffe (TROSE-lee) - sometimes actually spelled Troseley nowadays), and all the places ending -LY which have a long I - lie, not li/lee.

Yorkshire has Slaithwaite, pronounced (at least by the locals) as SLOW-It (first syllable rhymes with cow).

Then there are places where the spelling has changed to match the pronunciation: Wyrardisbury -> Wraysbury, Brightelmstone -> Brighton, Bristowe -> Bristol (Bristol dialect tends to add an L sound to a vowel sound: "area" -> "areal", "window" -> "windowl" etc).

Wherwell near Andover Hampshire is pronounced Wurral.

Another Kent one is Meopham - Mep-um with a short e.

I was recently irritated by "Holborn" being pronounced "Hol-burn" not "Hobun" as I grew up hearing it (in London).

Same as "Mary le bone" which I was bought up as "Marr le bone".

And I am sure there is a school of thought that "Shewsbury" is actually "Shroves-bury".

Bosham near Chichester is pronounced Bozz-'am, but Cosham near Portsmouth is pronounced COSH-HAM.

We betide anyone called Bosham BOSH-HAM.

Name pronunciation in the UK was best summarised in 1970 with:

"It's spelt Raymond Luxury Yacht but pronounced Throat-Warbler Mangrove."

You are correct :) When I was on holiday nearby and it was suggested that I could find something in Lemster and my Sat Nav failed to find it, and I couldn't find it on a paper map.

It was also on the same holiday and when in Wales I turned on my Sat nav and thought it had reconfigured itself for some obscure foreign language. Nothing seen on the screen had any vowels :)

On local radio stations, many local names get mangled by the naive readers of news and traffic bulletins. 'Hoe-bun' or 'Hoe-burn' is certainly one of them.

I always knew it as it was spelled, ie Marry-le-bone.

I thought it was whether it was 'Shrews-bury' or 'Shrows-bury' (even among the its natives)?

Probably apocryphal, but it is supposed to be how and American visitor asked to be taken there.

A Shroe, a Shroe, my Dingkom for a Shroe.

Scotland has a few,

Mingavie - Mulguy

Anstruther - Ainster.

Avoch - Och as in Loch

Strathaven - Straiven

Garioch - Geery

Culzean- Culane

Friockheim -Freekum

Aberchirder - Foggyloan

Brian

Fark. Not as bad a chumly tho.