Boden Street

[Rhymester 25]

On the 77 bus the other day and the young girl on the stop announcement system was doing a grand job until we got to Boden Street. I spent my formative years in Radford and went to Bentinck Primary. We went swimming at Boden Street Baths. Everyone I knew pronounced Boden as if it was spelt Bowden. The voice on the bus said Boddun. She may be right but it just sounded wrong. Anyone know how it should be pronounced and where the name came from?

[mick2me 3,033]

Always the former for me but the latter is propper Notts.

[ValJay 7]

Always Bow-den to us Radford folk....never ever heard it pronounced any other way! We lived nearby and used to buy sweets from a little shop on that street...ran by two sisters (hence we called it 'The Sisters'...they were quaint, silver hair waved in those old clips of the Edwardian days.....can't hazard a guess at their age as they seemed ancient to me as a young un...now, probably put them in their fifties!!!

[StephenFord 866]

Standard rule of English pronunciation (which means, of course, that there are many exceptions!) - a vowel is long if it is followed by a consonant and then another vowel - i.e. bow-den street (with bow as in arrow, and not as in curtsey !!) The vowel is normally short only if followed by two consonants. Or to put it another way, It is only pronounced Bodden if it is spelt Bodden - if you see what I mean.

[katyjay 5,091]

I remember my brother and I talking to my aunt, who as a kid had lived on Beauchamp St in St Anns. She said yes, I lived on 'bo-champ' St, we corrected her and said it was pronounced Beacham, she said no, everyone round there called it Bo-champ when she lived there.

[tomlinson 879]

You should have swum at Victoria Baths. Much simpler.