online: 4 october 2019
modified: 4 october 2019

26 september 2019 Celtic names in England


how did it happen? (that Welsh names were given to streets in this part of London) . . . almost certainly they were chosen by Welsh people . . . naming bits of the capital where they were living or building and renting accommodations . . .

Llanvanor road
Crewys road
Nant road


the last one being the most attractive to me as the name of a stream or a small river or nant . . . the second one crewys looks like a Welsh name but could be an invention . . . whereas llanvanor is clearly altered for the occasion . . . (if vanor was a Welsh word it would be spelt fanor (v being unexisting in Welsh) . . .

these three attempts as reclaiming the welshness of what is now England is a sad story not inspiring to me . . . nor perhaps to others . . . but nevertheless a sign of resistance to minor colonialism . . .

these rather heavy thoughts are perhaps relieved by the freshness and modesty of the simple river name Nant . . . one can imagine that years ago it would have sounded as fresh as it does now . . . fresh and simple . . . recalling as it does the title of a famous poem nant y myndd meaning the name of the river that comes from a mountain . . .

its not easy or pleasant to correct such writing as this which is full of unpleasant (little memories . . . which those who named these streets were probably trying to avoid . . .

i am reminded of the renaming of Jack Price as the donkey man who provided visiting and native children with donkey rides . . . (though his more distinguished relative was the medical officer to the county). . . and of Emlyn another donkey man (of Borth) who was said to have occasionally slept in a hedge despite owning a street of houses in London . . .


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