Help Us Put Scilly’s Place Names on the Map
From rocky outcrops and winding tracks to fields, coves and forgotten hamlets, the Isles of Scilly are full of place names that don’t always make it onto modern maps - but live on in memory, family stories and everyday conversation. The Scilly Place Names Project is all about gathering those names before they’re lost, and we’d love your help.
Until March, you’ll find the project based at the front of the Steamship Office on Hugh Street, where we’re inviting islanders and visitors alike to share their knowledge of the places they know best.
What we’re collecting
We’re looking for historic and local place names of all kinds - not just the towns and islands we know today, but also names for:
Rocks, reefs and shoreline features
Fields, tracks and paths
Small settlements, hamlets and local landmarks
Places known only within families or small communities
Some names might be remembered from grandparents, others might appear on old documents, photographs or sketch maps. Some may only exist as spoken words, with pronunciations that don’t quite match the spelling. All of it matters.
Bring your stories with you
We’ve put together a collection of historic maps of the islands, each paired with its own notebook. These are there for you to add to - with stories, memories, drawings, photographs, quotes or notes about how a place got its name and what it meant to you or your family.
Museum staff will be on hand to chat and help on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10am-1pm.There’s no need to prepare anything formal - just bring what you have, even if it’s simply a name and a memory.
Why place names matter
Place names are far more than labels on a map. They carry echoes of lost languages, changing landscapes and ways of life. On Scilly, names preserve traces of the medieval Cornish-speaking community, whose language survives in familiar names like Tresco, Bryher, Peninnis and Pelistry. Later English names, shaped by island life, tell their own stories too - of working landscapes, coastal hazards, flora and fauna, and even rising sea levels that turned one landmass into many islands within human memory.
Together, these names help us understand not just where things are, but how people have lived, worked and understood this place over time.
About the project
The Scilly Place Names Project aims to collect, record and interpret place names - large and small, old and new - across the islands. It builds on a substantial archive of historical material gathered by the late Professor Charles Thomas, alongside new contributions from the community.
Running from Autumn 2025 to Spring 2028, the project is a collaboration between the English Place-Name Society, the Universities of Wales and Nottingham, and the Isles of Scilly Museum, which is leading the community engagement. It is generously funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
The project will culminate in an exhibition in the new museum, alongside publications for both general readers and academic audiences.
Get involved
If you’d like to contribute, you can:
Pop into the Steamship Office on Tuesday or Thursday mornings (10am-1pm)
Or email Jo Hathway at johathway@iosmuseum.org
Whether you have a single name, a story passed down through your family, or a bundle of old photos and maps, your knowledge can help build a richer picture of Scilly’s past - and ensure these names are remembered for generations to come.
