Why is the Devon village of Indian Queen so called?
Indian Queens is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated close to the villages of Fraddon and St Columb Road. There are a number of stories which try to explain who the Indian Queen was. Each version concurs that the name comes from the name of a coach house or inn. The name cannot be traced earlier than the 19th century. The inn itself was built on a plot of land known as White Splat in the late 18th century. The Indian Queen Inn stood beside the road leading from Goss Moor to Fraddon, just below the top of the hill. The pub had a small porch and displayed as a sign the portrait of an Indian queen. An inscription on the porch told the story of a Portuguese princess who landed at Falmouth in packet days, and slept one night at this inn on her way to London. Her swarthy appearance gave the impression that was an Indian. It has also been suggested that the royal lady was Pocohontas (1595-1617), an American Indian princess. She was the younger daughter of P
