Travel with Angela Lansbury: St Patrick

Showing posts with label St Patrick. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Placenames in the UK, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Europe, named after famous people

Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

In England we have Hadrian's Wall after Roman Hadrian, and cities such as Chester named after the Roman for fort.

In London we have George V road named after the king who was in power during the First World War.

I recently, in 2026, learned that Constantinople was named after Roman Constantine. I wondered, how many more cities are named after famous people from the past? In the UK we have museums along Hadrian's Wall and inYork the Jorvik Centre recalls Viking times.

Where individual Romans are not recorded, you can still think of groups of them and where they lived which are all around in place names. Many English cities have names ending in chester, from caster or fort, from Roman times. Manchester, Chester, Chichester, Doncaster, Gloucester, Lancaster, Leicester, Rochester, Winchester, Worcester.

United Kingdom & Scotland

England

Nelson (Lancashire): Named after Admiral Horatio Nelson (originally named after a public house, The Lord Nelson, built in his honor).
In London we have Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square.
Telford (Shropshire): Named after famous Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford, who designed roads, bridges, and canals throughout Great Britain.
Petersfield (Hampshire): Named after Saint Peter, to whom the local parish church is dedicated.
Grimsby (Lincolnshire): According to local legend and the Grimsbytale, founded by a Viking fisherman named Grim.
Bishop's Stortford (Hertfordshire): Named in connection with the Bishops of London, who owned the manor from the 11th century.

Scotland

Fort William (Highlands): Named after King William III (William of Orange).
Fort Augustus (Highlands): Named after Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (son of King George II).
Alexandria (West Dunbartonshire): Named in honor of Alexander Smollett, local landowner and MP.
Helensburgh (Argyll and Bute): Named after Lady Helen Colquhoun, wife of Sir James Colquhoun, who founded the town in 1784.
Maryhill (Glasgow): Named after Mary Hill, an heiress who inherited the estate and laid out the settlement in the late 18th century.

Wales & Ireland

Wales

Llandudno: Named after Saint Tudno, the 6th-century patron saint of the Great Orme.
St Davids (Pembrokeshire): Named after Saint David (Dewi Sant), the patron saint of Wales.
Llangollen: Named after Saint Collen, a 6th-century monk who founded a church beside the River Dee.
Tredegar (Blaenau Gwent): Named after the Morgan family of Tredegar House (specifically Sir William Morgan).

Ireland

Portlaoise (formerly Maryborough): Historically named Maryborough after Queen Mary I of England ("Bloody Mary").
Daingean (formerly Philipstown): Historically named Philipstown after King Philip II of Spain (husband of Queen Mary I).
Cobh (formerly Queenstown): Renamed Queenstown in 1849 to commemorate a visit by Queen Victoria, before reverting to Cobh in 1920.
St. Patrick's Well / Kilpatrick: Dozens of towns and landmarks across Ireland are named after Saint Patrick.

Europe

France

Louisbourg / Saint-Louis: Many towns carry the name of King Louis IX (Saint Louis) or King Louis XIV.
Albertville: Named after King Charles Albert of Sardinia, who incorporated the town in 1836.
Charleville-Mézières: Named after Charles de Gonzague, Duke of Nevers and Rethel.

Germany & Central Europe

Karlsruhe (Germany): Named after its founder, Margrave Charles III William (Karl) of Baden-Durlach.
Ludwigsburg (Germany): Named in honor of Eberhard Louis (Ludwig), Duke of Württemberg.
St. Petersburg (Russia): Named after Saint Peter the Apostle (though founded by Czar Peter the Great).
Kaliningrad (Russia, historically Königsberg): Renamed after Bolshevik leader Mikhail Kalinin in 1946.
Zelenogradsk / Formerly Cranz (Russia): Numerous Soviet-era renamings across Eastern Europe honored historical figures like Vladimir Lenin (Leningrad, Ulyanovsk) and Joseph Stalin (Stalingrad, now Volgograd).

Netherlands, Belgium, & Southern Europe

Eindhoven / Willemstad (Netherlands): Willemstad was fortified and named after William the Silent (William I, Prince of Orange).
Charleroi (Belgium): Named in honor of King Charles II of Spain (who ruled the Southern Netherlands at the time).
San Sebastián (Spain): Named after Saint Sebastian.
Valletta (Malta): Capital city named after Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, who defended the island during the Great Siege of 1565.

I then tried another search, which capital cities in Europe were named after famous people?

I got these results.

Several European capital cities are named after historical figures, monarchs, commanders, or patron saints:

Named after Monarchs & Rulers

Valletta (Malta): Named after Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, who successfully defended the island against the Ottoman Empire during the Great Siege of 1565.
Vaduz (Liechtenstein): Named in connection with the noble ruling House of Liechtenstein and historical counts of Vaduz (specifically originating from Faduzes, linked to historical local rulers/owners).
Kyiv (Ukraine): According to medieval tradition and the Primary Chronicle, the city was founded by and named after Kyi, the eldest of three brothers and a legendary prince of the East Slavic Polans tribe.

Named after Christian Saints

San Marino (San Marino): Capital (and country) named after Saint Marinus, a Christian stonemason who founded a monastic community on Mount Titano in 301 AD.
Minsk (Belarus - Historical Legend): Local folk legend attributes the city's name to a legendary heroic giant and founder named Menesk (or Minyash).

Named after Mythological Figures & Ancient Gods

Athens (Greece): Named after Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, warfare, and handicraft, following a mythical competition between Athena and Poseidon to become the city's patron.
Rome / Roma (Italy): According to Roman mythology, named after its founder and first king, Romulus, who built the city alongside his twin brother Remus in 753 BC.

How many more do you know? Please contact me through comments.
Interesting places to visit
Romans - Hadrian's Wall. St Albans.
Vikings - Jorvik Museum in York.
Useful Websites on Language and Placenames
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_(placename_element)
-ends-
This post will be updated later today and in the future.
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Tuesday, March 17, 2026

St Patrick's Day Shamrock Symbol On Planes, Buildings, Stamps And Souvenirs

Yesterday I photographed jolly balloons in green, white and orange, outside Wetherspoons pub in Hatch End, near Hatch End railway station, in NW London, England.

The colours of the balloons are the colour of the flag of Eire, the Republic of Ireland, the south, from Wikipedia which tells you more.

The main colour in the north is green, from the Emerald Isle. Green because of the abundant vegetation, like Wales (where a famous book was How Green Was My Valley). The west gets the rain which grows the abundant plants, grass, and trees. And lakes, and rivers.

Green is the colour of the shamrock.

Shamrocks

St Patrick used the shamrock to convey the idea of the trinity, and you can see the shamrock on a stained glass window of St Patrick holding a shamrock, in a church.

#Shamrocks are displayed on British coins, stamps, and on Buckingham Palace, and aeroplanes.

You can buy hats and tee shirts featuring shamrocks. to be prepared for next year, or any other Irish gathering, you can buy a dress or cardigan with green shamrocks from Amazon.

I bought flip-flops with shamrocks from a poolside shop in Singapore, to be seasonally dressed for a Toastmasters International speakers' club.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day

Armagh, Northern Ireland, and St Patrick

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Armagh

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Patricks-Women-Clearance-Outerwear-Sweatshirt/dp/

Updated March 19th 2026.

Sunday, March 20, 2022

St Patrick's Day Worldwide and St Patrick Who Supposedly Banished Snakes

St Patrick's Day has been celebrated worldwide. I have seen green in the pond beside the White House in the USA.

Parades have been held in Chicago, USA, and Montreal, Canada. New York has a St Patrick's cathedral.

Naturally, St Patrick's Day is celebrated in Northern Ireland which has the statue of St Patrick on a hilltop in Saul. Green is the colour for the celebration worldwide.

St Patrick established Christianity in Ireland. Many church windows show St Patrick. At least one shows him banishing snakes. The story goes that St Patrick banished the snakes from Ireland which is why you don't have snakes in Ireland. An archaeologist established that, indeed, since the time of St Patrick there have been no snakes. But she also found no fossils of snakes from before the time of St Patrick. As the saying goes, why let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Up north in Belfast, capital of Northern Ireland, the Titanic Belfast Museum, about the building and sinking of the Titanic ship, was bathed in green coloured light.

Down in Dublin, capital of the Republic of Ireland, celebrations feature the Irish flag, which is green, white and orange. Their dream is of reuniting with Northern Ireland. That is why their flag includes the orange colour of William of Orange, who was the king of UK and Northern Ireland. His ancestors came from Anjer in France. Nothing to do with oranges. But the word sounds like oranges in English. So by accident at first and eventually by choice the name became pronounced as orange with the orange colour to match the name.

Indians and others living in Asia see similarities between the flag of India and the flag of Ireland. Both have the colours green, white and orange. The Irish flag has three vertical bands or blocks of colour. The Indian flag has the colour horizontal, with the addition of a lozenge in the middle.

Singapore

Singapore has a Molly Malone pub. You can enjoy the Irish atmosphere all year.

Belize

Belize used to be called British Honduras and still has a British garrison. Among the British troop were some Irish troops who had enjoyed Irish food and drink in the canteen and bar. Some of the Irish soldiers retired and stayed on in the country they had lived in for years and where they felt at home. Guinness is manufactured locally, officially, under license. On St Patricks Day the locals enjoy celebrating, any excuse for a party, says my friend from Belize, Edward,but more than that, they even enjoy kilts and pipes.

The British royals, Kate and William, arrived in Belize (part of a visit around the area which would include Jamaica) in late March. On their itinerary were the popular tourist sites of the former governor's house, now the House of Culture and Museum. Out a sea, you see the Great Barrier Reef, and the Blue Hole.

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Sayings of St Patrick of Ireland and Northern Ireland

St Patrick, church window

Luck is when an opportunity comes along and you're prepared for it.

May good luck be with you wherever you go, and your blessings outnumber (or be more than) the shamrocks which grow.

May the light always find you on a dreary day.

May the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends gathered below never fall out.

Useful Websites

https://kidadl.com/articles/saint-patrick-quotes-from-the-apostle-of-ireland

USA

Places to visit include St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Eire. St Patrick's Cathedral, New York.

https://stpatscathedralgiftshop.com/irishjewelry-2.aspx

Sunday, March 6, 2022

Where to Celebrate St Patrick's Day, in Ireland, England, English-speaking Belize, Singapore and Irish pubs and pubs worldwide

You can celebrate St Patrick's Day all over the world, especially places with Irish pubs. In fact, many pubs celebrate St Patrick's day. 'If you're Irish, come into the parlour,' as the old song says. But, as as a modern pub proclaims says, 'today everybody is Irish!'

On St Patrick's Day, I hope you will have ' the luck of the Irish'. Drink a pint of Guinness, and have the gift of the gab.

Ireland is home of the Blarney stone and known for its writers. The poet William Butler Yeats wrote: Tread softly for you tread on my dreams.

You can read the dreams and daydreams of other famous Irish writers. Alliteratively named James Joyce wrote Ulysses, which starts on a day in Dublin. Oscar Wilde was Irish and is known for his wit. Brendan Behan, another alliterative name. Jonathan Swift had his little people, in Gulliver's travels. Edna O'Brien. In modern times you find Maeve Binchey. Irish sounding names, Brendan, O'Brien, Maeve.

Go to a pub for a Craic and sing along. Drink Guinness, or whiskey. Eat simple soda bread. Or salmon.

Irish pubs have spread far and wide. So have Irish celebrations.

Singapore

Singapore has a street festival from the 15th to the 17 of March 2020.

I recall seeing St Patrick's Day being celebrated in Singapore at an Irish pub in Orchard Road. Singapore has several Irish pubs. Molly Malone, named after the alliteratively named and therefore memorable heroine of the song about Dublin's fair city. Another pub with a popular Irish name is Murphy's.

When I was back in London, England, I took this photo of Wetherspoons pub in Hatch End in 2018. Notice the big Irish flag, the rows of Irish flags, triangular and oblong, on the bunting, and the balloons in the flag colours of orange, green and white. I have explained the flag in another post.

Wetherspoons pub, the Moon and Sixpence, in Hatch End, London, England. hotot by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

In London, as I took the train home, on St Patrick's Day, the carriage was full of Irish people wearing green, and green hats given away by pubs, singing Irish songs.

Over in Ireland you can see a statue of St Patrick in Northern Ireland, at Paul. How alliterative.

St Patrick was a real person. However, it is not true that he was responsible for ridding Ireland of snakes. A geologist says there are no fossils of snakes, so there were never any snakes.

Thinking of hot countries, over in Belize, which is English speaking, being a former British colony, now independent, the pubs celebrate St Patrick's Day enthusiastically, especially the pub on the British army base. As my friend Edward Young, who is from Belize, enthuses, 'any excuse to party!'

I am preparing for St Patrick's Day. In Singapore, I bought green Irish shamrock theme sandals in size 4. I spotted them in a small supermarket in a condo, amongst the other flip-flops. I bought them in a small size 4. I buy boots in size five, and can wear socks to pad them out to the right size. I prefer adjustable sandals and shoes as my feet swell up in the heat and then shrink in cold weather or air conditioning. However, you need to buy toe-post shoes a size smaller. Too large and you are gripping them and getting hammer toes.

Or the sandals slip off. You fall. Or risk falling. Inconvenient. Unnerving. Inelegant.

When I wore the sandals they were not comfortable. But I consoled myself with the thought that I didn't like my first pair of Crocs when they were new, and now Crocs are my favourite footwear. You may know the saying, don't cook anything new for a dinner party. The same applies to shoes.

Good advice for travellers is: don't wear new shoes when travelling. Even her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has somebody with the same size feet wearing in her majesty's new shoes to wear them in for a day before wearing them out and about. Not wearing them out. (Ruining them.) Unintended pun. Wearing them in before wearing them out. Oh, the English language.

I shall wear my sandals on St Patrick's Day. You can't see your sandals when they are on your feet under a desk. Nobody else can see them on Zoom, unless you stand up and draw attention to them, or hold them up. What you need to be seen in green is a green tee-shirt or top or a green hat or headband. (And a green background.)

Tee-shirts from teeshirtplace have lots of amusing messages. My favourite witty Irish sounding saying is: World's tallest leprechaun. Here are a few of my favourites.