Cornish place naming

Nansledan reflects the culture and heritage of Cornwall not just through its architecture, but also through its place names. Nansledan itself is Cornish for ‘broad valley’ and thanks to the help of the former Cornish Language Partnership, every street, lane, square and quarter in Nansledan has a Cornish name.

Nansledan place names

During his time as Duke of Cornwall, HM King Charles III came up with the idea of using names from the Arthurian legends for Nansledan, as recorded in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur, which was first published in 1485. Nansledan is just 30 miles from Tintagel, where it’s believed King Arthur was conceived.

The Arthurian names have been supplemented by local field and place names suggested by local people or drawn from archive records. In all hundreds of possible options have been translated into Cornish, helping the Ducky to define places correctly and logically.

Names include Stret Trystan (Tristan Street), Stret Merdhin (Merlin Street) and Kay Arlodhes an Logh (Lady of Lake Quay). The main approach road to Nansledan from the south is called Stret Gwynnuwer, meaning ‘white, fair or holy’ and inspired by Guinevere, the name of King Arthur’s wife. The street signs in Nansledan are carved into Delabole slate, mined just four miles from Tintagel Castle.

Reviving the Cornish language

Mark Trevethan, Cornish Language Lead at Cornwall Council, aided by a team of volunteers at Cornish language organisation, Akademi Kernewek, has recorded sound files so that residents and visitors to Nansledan can learn to correctly pronounce the Cornish names of the streets that make up the development.

“Nansledan is a great opportunity to make the Cornish language part of the character of the development. Cornish language is evident in place names across Cornwall, and it is so great to see this carried on into new developments.”
Mark Trevethan