Belvoir Castle named as one of UK’s 15 most mispronounced place names

A new survey found that people unfamiliar with the Vale of Belvoir tend to say it phonetically as Bel-vwar Castle when, of course, it should sound like Beaver Castle.

The research was carried out by LeaseCar.uk and was based on place names which confuse a motorist’s sat-nav.

The company’s Tim Alcock said: “The English language can be challenging at best.

The Vale of Belvoir, with Belvoir Castle in the distance, viewed from the village of Knipton EMN-200213-164626001

“Not only do we have words that are spelled and pronounced the same but have different meanings – read, bank, bat and bear are good examples – to complicate things further, some words contain heaps of letters that just aren’t needed.

“You see this a lot with place names like Leominister, which might as well be spelt Lemster, and Happisburgh, which sounds more like Hays-bruh, rendering the majority of the word useless.

“In order to prevent confusion, we’ve listed 15 places around the UK that are most often mispronounced, so that drivers can travel with ease and as little embarrassment as possible.”

The other 14 in the list with the incorrect and correct pronunciations are:

1. Marylebone (London)

Incorrect: Ma-ree-lee-bone

Correct: Mar-lee-bone

2. Teignmouth (Devon)

Incorrect: Tane-mouth

Correct: Tin-muth

3. Bicester (Oxfordshire)

Incorrect: Bi-ses-ter

Correct: Bis-ter

4. Hunstanton (Norfolk)

Incorrect: Hun-stan-ton

Correct: Hun-ston

5. Cholmondeley (Cheshire)

Incorrect: Chol-mon-de-lee

Correct: Chum-lee

6. Godmanchester (Cambridgeshire)

Incorrect: God-man-ches-ter OR Gum-ster

Correct: God-munch-ester

7. Southwell (Nottinghamshire)

Incorrect: South-well

Correct: Suth-ul

8. Magdalen College (Oxford/Cambridge)

Incorrect: Mag-de-lain

Correct: Maud-lin

9. Leominister (Herefordshire)

Incorrect: Lee-o-min-ster

Correct: Lemster

10. Shrewsbury (Shropshire)

Incorrect: Shrews-bury

Correct: Shroos-bree

11. Happisbrugh (Norfolk)

Incorrect: Happ-is-bruh

Correct: Hays-bruh

12. Gloucester (Gloucestershire)

Incorrect: Glos-es-ter

Correct: Glos-ter

13. Ruislip (Greater London)

Incorrect: Roo-i-slip

Correct: Ry-slip

14. Gateacre (Liverpool)

Incorrect: Gate-acre

Correct: Gatt-a-ker