When 'Ham' Becomes 'Hm'

This is a great resource for anyone new to the UK and Suffolk. If you've just PCS'd here and you're struggling with the place names we recommend the following: Simon Knott's Pronunciation of Suffolk Place Names. Here is an excerpt from his work with a link at the end. Enjoy!

Some placenames in Suffolk are not pronounced as they are written. This is an attempt to list all the placenames in Suffolk that are not pronounced exactly as they appear.

A few starting points. In common with other English placenames, Suffolk placenames are usually pronounced with the stress on the first syllable. Among towns in Suffolk, Saxmundham is the great exception.

Particularly for visitors from across the Atlantic, there is an issue with places ending in -ham, -ton, -by and -ford.

Contrary to American usage, and in common with other English placenames, -ham at the end of a placename is invariably pronounced -um, with a short u. Thus, Lavenham is Lav'n -um.

-ton is usually pronounced -tun, with a short u, best expressed as -t'n. Thus, Boyton is Boy-t'n.

-by is usually pronounced -bee. Thus, Ashby is Ash-bee.

-ford is usually pronounced -fud, with a short u, best expressed as -f'd. Thus, Playford is Play-f'd.

Simon did not try to include all -ham, -ton and -ford endings, where the pronunciation is otherwise obvious. Please accept the above as a general guide.

Also, most English people convert a middle T into a glottal stop, moving the consonant into the back of the throat. This obviously affects placenames like Boyton. These aren't included in the list below (unless there are other pronunciation issues).