The Duchy of Cornwall is celebrating Cornwall’s rich history by specially selecting Cornish names to feature throughout its Nansledan development. The suggestion came from HRH The Duke of Cornwall, who is keen to preserve local legend.
Nansledan, which is Cornish for ‘broad valley’, already embodies the Duchy’s philosophy of championing traditional architecture and reviving the use of Cornish materials like slate and granite by skilled local craftsmen.
Now, with the help of MAGA, the Cornish Language Partnership, every street, lane, square and quarter in Nansledan will have a Cornish name.
HRH The Duke of Cornwall came up with the idea of using names from the Arthurian legends 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 according to Geoffrey of Monmouth’s 12th century History of the Kings of Britain, King Arthur was conceived.
The Arthurian names are being supplemented by local field and place names suggested by Newquay Town Council or drawn from archive records. In all MAGA has translated hundreds of possible options into Cornish and helped the Duchy to define places correctly and logically.
The street signs in Nansledan are being carved into Delabole slate, coincidentally mined just four miles from Tintagel Castle.
Names include Stret Trystan (Tristan Street), Bownder Morgana an Fe (Morgan le Fay Lane); 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.
Jenefer Lowe, Cornish language development manager for MAGA, said: “This has been a brilliant project and we’ve been working with the Duchy since 2012 to identify, research, and translate each name into Cornish.
“It’s so rare to be able to name an entire development in such a joined-up way. We hope it will reinforce the resurgence we are seeing in the Cornish language by enshrining it in a place that is so committed to using local materials and is designed to sit so well in the Cornish landscape.”
Tim Gray, Estate Surveyor to the Duchy of Cornwall said: “Bringing the Cornish language into the place names at Nansledan is yet another way of reflecting the culture and heritage of Cornwall, including one of its most enduring myths.
“Nansledan owes its existence to the vision and inspiration of His Royal Highness to prove that development can be successful and popular and do great things for a community. At Nansledan we really hope to reflect the heritage of Cornwall and language has an important role at the heart of that.
“I am indebted to Jenefer and Nev Meek at MAGA without whom this would not have been possible. It has been much more than translation in that MAGA has developed a deep understanding of the scheme and in choosing names has helped to make the place.”
The name Nansledan was first suggested by former geography teacher and Newquay resident Reg Roberts. Nansledan is being built mainly on Duchy owned land to the east of Newquay and in time will comprise some 4,000 new homes and a similar number of jobs, with shops, community facilities, including a new school and a new church, and workspace combining to create a sustainable urban extension to Newquay.
