Tre, Pol and Pen

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,[1][2] a version of which was recorded by Richard Carew in his Survey of Cornwall, published in 1602.[3] 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.[4]

Examples in Cornish surnames

Tre

Pol

  • Ross Poldark, fictional character in series of the same name
  • James Polkinghorne
  • Richard Polwhele

Pen

Examples in Cornish place names

Tre

Pol

Pen

See also

  • flagCornwall portal

References

  1. ^ Tre, Pol and Pen - The Cornish Family by Bernard Deacon
  2. ^ Cornish surnames - By Tre, Pol and Pen shall ye know all Cornishmen
  3. ^ Richard Carew, The Survey of Cornwall (Page 48)
  4. ^ Words & Phrases, West Penwith