Cornwall Council adds apostrophe to Land's End

Land's End now has an officially recognised apostrophe.

Cornwall Council has voted to add an official apostrophe to "Land's End".

Clarification on the punctuation was needed because of proposed changes to electoral boundaries that left some council ward areas needing new names.

A debate on ward names lasted 90 minutes, and included grammatical input from a Cornish history expert.

Councillors heard Land's End has been spelled with the apostrophe in two different places or not at all, which has led to the uncertainty.

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Businesses in the area are currently using apostrophes in two different places, or not at all.

The vote to officially add the apostrophe was proposed by Councillor Sue James, and received unanimous support from the council, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Land's End is the most westerly point in England, and a popular tourist attraction.

If you type "Land's End" into Google, it currently asks: "Did you mean Lands End", and businesses in the area have a variety of spellings, including "Lands' End".

Ms James, who represents St Just in Penwith, said she was not an expert on apostrophes but had consulted with Craig Weatherhill, a historian who has published books on west Cornwall.

She explained he had agreed that Land's End should have an apostrophe and asked for the new divisions for the area to have one.

The boundary changes will see the number of county councillors reduced from 123 to 87 in 2021.