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Tre, Pol and Pen

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The phrase Tre, Pol and Pen is used to describe people from or places in Cornwall, UK. The full rhyming couplet runs: By Tre Pol and Pen / Shall ye know all Cornishmen, a version of which was recorded by Richard Carew in his Survey of Cornwall, published in 1602. Many Cornish surnames and place names still retain these words as prefixes, such as the surname Trelawny and the village Polzeath. Tre in the Cornish language means a settlement or homestead; Pol, a pond, lake or well; and Pen (also Welsh and Cumbric), a hill or headland. Cornish surnames and placenames are generally pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable.

Contents

Examples in Cornish surnames

  • Squire Trelawney, character in Treasure Island
  • Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet
  • Petroc Trelawny
  • Arthur Tremayne
  • Henry Trengrouse
  • John Trevaskis
  • Richard Trevithick
  • Richard Trevithick Tangye
  • James Polkinghorne
  • Richard Polwhele
  • Edward William Wynne Pendarves
  • David Penhaligon
  • Charles Penrose
  • Guy Penrose Gibson
  • Dolly Pentreath
  • Examples in Cornish places

  • Trethevy
  • Tregony
  • Polzeath
  • Penzance
  • Penryn
  • References

    Tre, Pol and Pen Wikipedia