Talk:Godmanchester

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Use of Huntingdonshire as the headline county[edit]

Surely 'Cambridgeshire' was correct? 'Huntingdonshire' is an historical county, but is now only a part of the modern county of Cambridgeshire. It's misleading to write 'Huntingdonshire' without explanation. Chris Jefferies, 10th December 2003.

There is no such thing as a "modern county" - there are adminitrative counties and traditional counties; they are seperate entities and and both current. I have specified that Godmanchester lies within both. 80.255 00:16, 11 Dec 2003 (UTC)
Is this a matter of opinion or can it be supported by evidence of some kind? I'm not willing to see these pages permanently changed without either evidence or a consensus view following open debate. Chris Jefferies, 11th December 2003.

Pronunciation[edit]

How is the name of the town pronounced? I would think (from the spelling) GOD-munn-ches-ter, or maybe gudd-MANN-ches-ter, but given that it's in England, I wouldn't be surprised if it were Gumster or Gunnaster. ACW 22:21, 26 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, most local people would say GOD-munn-chess-ter, although amongst young people, or when you say it quickly, it sounds more like GO-mn-chester.
Well, it's not so much a local thing. In most dialects, when the syllable "man" isn't emphasised, it will sound more like "mun", e.g. layman, postman, milkman. But yes the emphasis is placed on GOD, making it "GOD-munn-chess-ter" 193.117.31.1 (talk) 14:47, 21 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I heard most locals pronounce it as "Godster". Did they lie to me?

They don't anymore. Young people call it "Goddy". As for pronounciation, it may be helpful to know that a Godmanchester local is called a "Gumcestrian"

It would be very helpful if someone could provide details of the pronunciation in unambiguous IPA, and add the necessary information to the article with a source. I suspect that for most people the main point of confusion will be whether emphasis is placed on the first or second syllable. Old Man of Storr (talk) 06:19, 5 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I note that the IPA in the article is nothing like anything mentioned here, nothing like I've ever actually heard while living in the area, and justifies itself with an article from 1888 which is not a useful reference to any modern pronunciation. Removing it.--173.38.209.9 (talk) 17:36, 19 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
BBC America [1] writes it is spoken as Gumster. --Rosenzweig (talk) 12:30, 21 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know if it's helpful or not, but I've lived in Godmanchester for 18 years and never heard ANYONE call it "Gumster" - I found the oldest Gumcestrian (that term is used) I could find who had lived here all her life (now in her 80's and she's never heard it called "Gumster" either. She thought it may have some historical merit, but then so does Durovigutum and no-one calls it that any more either. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.77.1.222 (talk) 19:46, 10 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]
BBC America is wrong. "Gumster" was an old informal term for the town, derived from its ancient name of "Gumcestre". [2]81.106.31.237 (talk) 01:47, 30 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
This is very commonly said in intellectual and pub-trivia circles, it's just no one seems to have told the locals (at least not since about 1700). If it comes up in a quiz then say "it's pronounced Gumster" to get the point (because there's no telling some folk), just don't go there and say it or people will think you're weird! There are plenty of weirdly pronounced places in the UK (Towcester or Wymondham, for example), but Godmanchester is just pronounced in various ways which suggest there once was a Mr Goddman, and this is where he left his Chester 79.64.7.212 (talk) 18:09, 19 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

It was always my understanding that it was pronounced 'Godminster' with the stress on the first syllable. There are a number of oddities of this kind in England, such as Costessey (Norfolk: 'Cossey'), Postwick (Norfolk: 'Pozzick'), Mousehole (Cornwall: 'Mauzl'), Leominster (Herefordshire: 'Lem(p)ster' and of course all those towns and cities ending in -cester (e.g. Leicester, Bicester etc). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.59.159 (talk) 20:48, 16 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Don't forget Wymondham and (locally) Barnoldswick. Martinevans123 (talk) 12:48, 30 March 2021 (UTC) .... and it Towcester or Towcester?[reply]

Deitypersonchester[edit]

When I added to the main article, the statement that it had been seriously suggested that the name of Godmanchester be changes to Deitypersonchester (for reasons of political correctness), I was perfectly serious! Subsequent edits have now removed it ... I first heard this discussed (in Cambridge, as it happens) around 1998. The problem is that the only form of reference to back my assertion would be of the Personal communication variety. And alas, the person with whom I was discussing this over ten years ago is now dead. Therefore I am unable to contact him to ask for a letter which I might cite after scanning it in ... There is also the matter of my name vs. my Wikipedia User Name. I still tyhink that this possibility is well-worth mentioning in the article! Suggestions are welcome! Hair Commodore (talk) 13:58, 5 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I would suggest that someone was pulling your leg. This is obvious nonsense. The fact that you can't find a reliable source says a lot. Even if you could get the person who told you about this to write you a letter this would carry no more weight than you just saying it yourself. What we would need is something like a press report not dated 1st April quoting a council official as stating that a process of consultation had begun with a view to changing the name of the town to Deitypersonchester. I certainly won't be holding my breath. Old Man of Storr (talk) 06:19, 5 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Mind, it rings true if it was heard in Cambridge (I assume you mean the university). This is the kind of nonsense that is discussed and debated at Cambridge by particular students and dons who have nothing else to worry about. You will not have to stop at Godmanchester. What about Manchester, Godstone, Godalming, Mansfield, Manthorpe, etc? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.59.159 (talk) 20:53, 16 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

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Town rather than village[edit]

Godmanchester is generally referred to as a town rather than a village. It has a town council, two royal charters and the cricket club is Godmanchester Town. I'd suggest that we switch the six remaining uses of 'village' in the article to 'town', but wanted to check here before doing so. Gilgamesh4 (talk) 07:18, 23 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

That seems sensible. Settlement hierarchy#Low Density says "a town has a population of 1,000 to 10,000". Martinevans123 (talk) 21:31, 23 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
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