MR Challis (Letters, December 9) is wrong about MorwellHAM being an Americanism. His comparison with Nottingham is fallacious as there are two elements 'ham' in English place names.  By far the majority, including Nottingham, contain '-ham' meaning 'homestead' and the stress is as he states. A few, however, contain 'ham(m)' meaning 'flat land by a river', and MorwellHAM (as opposed to nearby Morwell Down) is one of these.

Interestingly, when West Ham and East Ham combined to form the London Borough of Newham, everyone was told it was NewHAM, but it is often pronounced New'um.

David Jowett

Deer Park Road, Tavistock

I WOULD like to make a few comments on M Challis' letter regarding Morwell-HAM.

I can only assume he is an in-comer to Devon and doesn't like our accent. The word Ham means a field beside a river.

All the farms in the Tamar Valley with fields bordering the river have fields named with their farm name with the word 'ham' after it, not joined, back in history the same would have applied to Morwellham.

If M Challis was to travel the area he would find we also have Morwell Down, Morwell Rocks and Morwell Barton, these names show the words are not joined so the American tourist wouldn't be able to alter the way they pronounce them.

I suspect Nottingham should be written the same way.

As to taking the Mickey of mine and other Devonians of their accent I take offence, I have lived in the Tamar Valley for almost 70 years and am proud of my accent. We say words we can understand when talking, which happens in whichever area of Britain you live.

Listen to the way we speak it's easy to understand and you don't need straw in your mouth either.

M Bennallack

King Street, Gunnislake

REFERENCE the letter from Mike Challis, of Buckland Monachorum, commenting on the way to pronounce Morwellham.

I was born at Morwellham over 60 years ago and spent the early years of my life there and have since always lived in the parish of Bere Ferrers, so I think I can comment on the correct way that the locals pronounce it, Devonshire accent and all.  It is MorwellHAM and to imply that people with a Devonshire accent cannot pronounce the HAM part does Mr Challis no credit at all.

I, like everyone I know, cringe every time I hear the commentator on Edwardian Farm mis-pronounce it, even though I am told, some of the local people taking part in the programme told the film makers the correct pronounciation.

Frank Mackie, Bere Ferrers

SO Morwellum is really Mor-well-ham, and no doubt Lanson is Lawn-cess-ton, scones are scons, Plimuth is Ply-mouth, etcetera. 

Some of us locals refuse to ape our betters — maybe we aren't entirely convinced that they're better at all.

Chris Lawrey

The Nook, Tavistock

CONCERNING the recent correspondence about the correct pronunciation of Morwellham; when I was a boy there was no controversy about this.

Everyone pronounced it with the emphasis on the last syllable — Morwell-AM. Presumably because, when I was a boy, there weren't that many arrogant incomers who thought they knew how to pronounce local words better than the locals.

As my father told me, you can tell an emmet by how they say Morwellham, Albaston or Launceston (Lance'UN by the way).

Mark Carter, Calstock

CONSIDERING the pronunciation of Morwellham, referring to a map of the county of Devon dated 1765, the spelling was Morlham, with a manor farm nearby called Morle.

So one can see why the locals would pronounce it with the emphasis on the HAM. So often in this area, local pronunciation tells something about the places history more so than the way it is currently spelled.

Pete Thompson, Calstock