There are many places in Sussex where the pronunciation of place names is nothing like the spelling, eg, Alciston [AL-CIS-TON] which often appears as Alston, and Selmeston [SEL-MES-TON] which can appear as Simpson. However, Isfield should correctly be pronounced IS-FIELD to avoid confusion with Ifield near Crawley, although locals might well refer to ISFIELD as Ifield. Similarly, many Sussex place names ending in LY, or LEY are pronounced LIE as in ARDINGLY, and LEY as in BECKLEY. All very confusing for genealogists researching in Sussex who do not have a local knowledge. Mawr & Stenton's "Place Names of Sussex" is a useful if somewhat old guide to pronunciation before the 1920s giving many examples of spelling from original documents. Michael Burchall > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2012 07:50:58 -0400 > Subject: Re: [SFHG] Pronunciation - help please > > Hello Christine, I have always pronounced it not sounding the s. We were > evacuated there in 1940 from Seaford, when the invasion was imminent. Mother > got fed up with it after a couple of weeks and we went back home to Seaford. > Dad had to stay behind, as it was women and children only and he was a Bus > driver. The concern was, I believe, that our coastal area would have been > bombarded prior to any invasion and Seaford, as I have since learned was > right in the middle of the proposed landing front. Regards to all, John > Green, 9502, in Ontario, canada. > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Christine Jackson" <[email protected]> > To: "SFHG" <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2012 10:24 PM > Subject: [SFHG] Pronunciation - help please > > > Can some local lister please tell me how to pronounce the name of the parish > of ISFIELD? (next to Barcombe). > > Is it pronounced just how it is spelt, or is the 's' not pronounced (like > Ifield)? > > Any advice much appreciated, > > Thank you > Christine Jackson, SFHG 397 > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in > the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message