WhatHamWhichMouthWick-on-Shire

Confounded by UK placenames? It's simple.

There are the 'Fords'

• Oxford
• Bradford
• Stratford
• etc.

The 'Shires'

• The infamous Worcestershire
• Hertfrordshire
• etc

The 'Wicks'

• Chiswick
• Keswick
• ...

The 'Mouths'

• Bournemouth
• Plymouth
•   

The 'Hams'

• Birmingham
• Tottenham

The 'Sters'

• Gloucester
• Leicester

And the '-on-', '-under-', '-whatever-' places

• Stoke-on-Trent
• Bidford-on-Avon
• Newcastle-under-Lyme

Forget what these names mean, the biggest question is often How do you pronounce these places? It's apparently all down to the schwa, or 'neutral vowel'. Now you know.

What is a ‘schwa’ or neutral vowel?

What is a ‘schwa’ or neutral vowel?

What is a ‘schwa’ or neutral vowel?