Some of these names really trip people up
There’s not much worse than looking at a place name and having no clue on how to pronounce it. Cambridgeshire is home to some tricky names that trip up both visitors and locals alike.
Forget trying to pronounce places like Gonville & Caius College phonetically – you’ll need to be in the know to get that right.
We’ve gathered up some of the most commonly mispronounced village, town, street and other local place names so you can save yourself that embarassment.
You’ll soon be speaking like someone who has lived in Cambridgeshire all their lives!
Audley End
This is one that regularly trips up the tourists. The 17th century country house near Saffron Walden, Essex, typically attracts quite the crowd, especially for its WWII weekend. You might be tempted to say “ahhd-ley end” but the English Heritage property is really pronounced “ordlee end”.
Babraham
The village in South Cambridgeshire is actually not pronounced as it’s spelled. Rather than being “bay-bra-ham”, the more acceptable shortened form is just pronounced as “bay-br’m”. It is similar to Brum but don’t say the ‘u’.
Comberton
Those whose relatives have resided in the area for years pronounce it “Come-Berton” as opposed to “Com-berton” but technically people say the latter is correct.
Coton
Just west of Cambridgeshire, this village’s name will definitely trip you up if you say it like the cotton fiber. The correct pronunciation is “Coe-t’n”.
Gonville & Caius College
The fourth oldest college at the University of Cambridge is located right in the centre of Cambridge, and was named after physician John Caius. However, his surname and the name of the college are pronounced simply as “keys”.
Godmanchester
This is one that people mispronounce quite often. The small town of Godmanchester isn’t pronounced in the same way as the northern metropolitan city of Manchester. Instead, it’s said without the “a”, as “God-mnnnn-chester”.
Great Wilbraham
This small rural village in the east of Cambridge shouldn’t be pronounced as “Will-bra-ham”, but rather as “will-brum”.
Gwydir Street
Just off Mill Road in the centre of Cambridge, this street is pronounced as “gweye-der”, rather than “gweye-deer” or “gwee-deer”.
Guyhirn
Similarly to Gwydir Street, this small village near Wisbech is pronounced as “guy-hirn”.
Haslingfield
The civil parish in South Cambridgeshire isn’t pronounced as “haz-ling-field”, but rather “haze-ling-field”.
Isleham
Isleham is a small village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire but people just can’t seem to get the name right. The correct pronunciation of the village of Isleham is “Eye Z-L’um” but some say “Eyes-Lum” and some even “Isle-ham.”
Lode
Sat between Quy and Swaffham Bullbeck, Lode is, in fact, pronounced how it sounds as “load”.
Magdalene College/Street
Magdalene College and Magdalene Street aren’t pronounced as “mag-da-lin”, but instead it’s “maud-lynn”.
Manea
In the Fenlands, near Ely, the village of Manea should be pronounced as “main-eee” rather than “man-ear”.
Over
Over near Swavesey, apparently back in the day when it was more of farming community it was pronounced by locals as “uver” but now the majority of people just go with “Over.”
Soham
Although Soham is a small town, the area is historically fascinating. However, it shouldn’t be pronounced as “so-ham”, but rather “so-em”.
St Neots
Located within the historic county of Huntingdonshire on the banks of the River Ouse, St Neots should be pronounced as “sunt-nee-uhts”.
Stow-Cum-Quy
Situated under five miles north-east of Cambridge, the area is regularly just referred to as Quy. However, this would be pronounced as “kwai”, with the full name being “stowe-come-kwai”.
Swaffham Prior
Swaffham Prior is a village in East Cambridgeshire, lying five miles west of Newmarket. The prior part of the name is not what people struggle with it’s the Swaffham section.
People who live there say it is “Swafham” not “Swarfam” or “Swaff-ham.”
Swavesey
This village of just over 2,000 people thrives off the farming industry. It should be pronounced as “swavez-ee”.
Thriplow
Eight miles south of Cambridge, there is no “th-” sound in this village. Instead, it’s simply pronounced as “trip-low”.
Wilburton
According to residents Wilburton always gets pronounced incorrectly now. It’s not “Wilber-ton”, it’s “Wil-Bur-Ton.”
Wisbech
The market town and inland port of Wisbech is not pronounced as “wis-beck”, but instead it’s “wis-beach”.
Wyboston
This Bedfordshire village has a similar pronunciation to Gyhirn and Gwydir Street, and is pronounced as “why-boston”.
Wyton
Unsurprisingly, much like Wyboston, the village of Wyton is pronounced as “whi-t’n”.
