English as she was pronounced

Cirencester or Sissister? St. Leger or Sillinger?

There’s a village near Sevenoaks, Kent, called Trottiscliffe. Not everyone can agree on the name, however. Some of the locals say “Trossley”, others don't.

So thanks to the St Bride Foundation for sharing this vintage list from the US Saturday Globe newspaper of how to pronounce some English locations. Date uncertain, although the paper stopped publication in 1924. Most still obey these rules, but not all. Which shows that English was once an even more slippery language than it is now.

Talbot is pronounced Tolbut.

Thames is pronounced Tems.

Bulwer is pronounced Buller.

Cowper is pronounced Cooper.

Holburn is pronounced Hobun.

Wemyss is pronounced Weems.

Knolloys is pronounced Knowles.

Cockburn is pronounced Coburn.

Brougham is pronounced Broom.

Norwich is pronounced Norridge.

St. Leger is pronounced Sillinger.

Hawarden is pronounced Harden.

Colquhoun is pronounced Cohoon.

Cirencester is pronounced Sissister.

Grosvenor is pronounced Grovenor.

Salisbury is pronounced Sawlsbury.

Beauchamp is pronounced Beecham.

Marylebone is pronounced Marrabun.

Abergavenny is pronounced Abergenny.

Majoribanks is pronounced Marchbanks.

Bolingbroke is pronounced Bullingbrook.

Cholmondely is pronounced Chumly.

Derby is pronounced Darby.

Pall Mall is pronounced Pell Mell.

St. John is pronounced Sinjin.