Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Pedwarau - The 400m Hills of Wales

Gaer Fach (SO 009 366)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Pedwarau, and the following details are in respect of a hill that was surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 on the 18^th August 2015.

The criteria for the list that this name change applies to are:

Y Pedwarau - These are the Welsh hills at and above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, and the introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appeared on the 30th January 2017.

The hill is a part of the Mynydd Epynt range, which is a group of hills situated in the south-eastern part of mid and west Wales.  The hill is positioned between the small communities of Merthyr Cynog to the west north-west and Lower Chapel to the east south-east.

Gaer Fach (SO 009 366)

The hill appeared in the 400m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the partly invented name Pen Gaer Fach, with an accompanying note stating; Name from summit hillfort.  During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to either invent a name for a hill, or use a name that appeared near to the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put Pen, Bryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance, use the name of the summit hillfort and add the word Pen.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with research either conducted locally or historically an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found.

Pen Gaer Fach

415m

SO009366

160

188

Name from summit hillfort

  

As an appropriate name for this hill already exists on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps; Gaer Fach, the invented and prefixed word of Pen is wholly unnecessary and therefore the name this hill is now listed by in Y Pedwarau is Gaer Fach.  

Extract from the current Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map

Please note, the current Ordnance Survey enlarged map hosted on the Geograph website gives the composition of this name as Caer fach, in this instance it is appropriate to use Gaer with a ‘G’ and Fach with a capital ‘F’.

Extract from the current Ordnance Survey enlarged map on the Geograph website with inappropriate composition

  

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Epynt

Name:  Gaer Fach

Previously Listed Name:  Pen Gaer Fach 

Summit Height:  413.3m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  160

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 00915 36622 

 

Drop:  35.9m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

For details on the survey of Gaer Fach

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (August 2016)

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Stiperstones

28.08.16  Burway Hill (SO 440 942, previously Trimbled))

Burway Hill (SO 440 942)

Burway Hill is easily accessible if wanting a relatively quick ascent as it is positioned beside the minor road that makes its way west from Church Stretton over the Long Mynd to the East Onny valley.

The closeness of this minor road does not detract from the appeal of the hill, as its northern and southern slopes are steep sided plunging down to the Carding Mill and Townbrook Valley’s respectively.

Its eastern ridge descends to the outskirts of Ashbrook and Church Stretton, whilst its western slopes are sharp and steep leading down to its connecting col, from here the land continues toward the highest part of the hill range; Pole Bank.

Today the Long Mynd was a hive of activity with a multitude of cars squeezing past one another on the steep minor road; mountain bikes were either being pushed or their riders were struggling uphill whilst walkers were dotted on distant horizons seemingly on each and every path and summit.  We were a part of the car influx, and as the day was beautifully warm with sunshine highlighting the purpled heather we stopped and Lou and I took the opportunity to visit the summit of Burway Hill.

We parked beside the col, which along with the hill’s summit had previously been Trimbled whilst on a walk with Charlie Leventon in February 2014.  A grassed path leads from the col to the attractive rocky summit, and although steep it is no more than a head down and a bead of sweat on brow ascent.

Lou - ready for all eventualities

As I followed Lou up the rubbled path I smiled as she stopped and expressed concern that there may be snakes in the heather, between my smiles I encouraged her onward.

Looking out for snakes

The summit was soon reached and we stayed on top for ten minutes or so admiring the view, away to the north-east the distinct profiles of Caer Caradoc Hill and The Lawley bulged up from the greenness of the valley below, their profiles led the eye toward the distant Wrekin, which is an outlier of the Shropshire hills.

Lou at the summit of Burway Hill

The view north with Caer Caradoc, The Lawley and The Wrekin

As we descended we looked beyond Pole Bank where he sky was massing grey, its darkened colour foretelling heavy rain, and yet on the Long Mynd the walkers, picnickers and cyclists were out, bathed in sunshine.

The descent proved fun; thankfully we didn’t encounter any snakes and made it down to the car in one piece.  Our drive continued eastward toward the Stiperstones where the rain seemed embedded for the remainder of the afternoon, looking back the upper part of the Long Mynd was now cloaked in grey cloud and decidedly wet, we’d timed our visit well.

Survey Result:

Burway Hill (significant name change)

Summit Height:  402.8m (converted to OSGM15, from previous Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 44061 94220 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Col Height:  372.9m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 43980 94263 (LIDAR)

Drop:  29.85m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

Dominance:  7.41% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

For details on the survey of Burway Hill

For details on the 3rd visit to Burway Hill

For further details please consult the Trimble survey spreadsheet

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau

Cae Boncyn (SJ 238 193)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 100m Twmpau, and the following details are in respect of a hill that was surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 on the 8^th August 2015.

The criteria for the list that this name change applies to are:

100m Twmpau - All Welsh hills at and above 100m and below 200m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.

The hill is a part of the Carnedd Wen range, which is an extensive group of hills situated in the southern part of north Wales.  It is positioned between the small communities of Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain to the north-west, Llanymynech to the east north-east, Four Crosses to the east and Ardd-lin (Arddleen) to the south south-east.

The green field of Cae Boncyn (SJ 238 193) above Gelli Farm

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Cae Boncyn

The hill appeared in the 100m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under an invented name of Bryn y Gelli, with an accompanying note stating; Name from farm to the South-West.  During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to either invent a name for a hill, or use a name that appeared near to the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put Pen, Bryn or Moel in front of them, and in this instance it was that of Gelli Farm.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with research either conducted locally or historically an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found.  

Bryn y Gelli

142m

SJ239194

126

240

Name from farm to the South-West

When I visited this hill with Alex Cameron we asked permission to do so from Mel Jones, the owner of Gelli Farm, who was sitting outside the farm house enjoying the afternoon’s sunshine.  As we descended to the awaiting car which was parked in the farm yard I took the opportunity to ask Mel about the name of the hill and he said that he had something that might be of interest to us.  He then disappeared in to the farm house and re-appeared with a Field map of Gelli Farm, dated January 1924.

The Gelli Farm Field map, dated January 1924

The Gelli Farm Field map

The map outlined the property adjoined to Gelli Farm and named each individual field, for someone interested in upland place-name research it was like unearthing a treasure trove, and Mel explained that his father had passed the Field map down to him.  I asked about the high point of the hill above Gelli Farm and Mel knew what field it was situated in and told us that it is known as Cae Boncyn.

The Field map names each individual field

Although I scribbled down some of the information Mel gave me it was easier to take photos of the Field map which he kindly let me do, as well as giving me permission to reproduce them on this site.

Mel Jones with the Gelli Farm Field map

One would imagine that the details on the Tithe map would match those on Mel’s Field map of Gelli Farm; in the main they do not.  There may be a number of reasons for this, but the most likely is that the field names known at the time of the Tithe map compilation were in the main not passed down to following occupants of Gelli Farm and by the time of 1924 the occupant of Gelli Farm knew many of the individual fields by different names.

The name of the field that takes in the summit of this hill on the Tithe map is Little Bank Field.  The term Tithe map is generally given to a map of a Welsh or English parish or township and which was prepared after the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act.  This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods.  The Tithe maps gave names of owners and occupiers of land in each parish and importantly for place-name research they also included the name of enclosed land.  This enclosed land is usually based on a field system, however not every field is given a name, but many are and especially so in Wales.

Accessing information on the Tithe map is simplified by the use of a split screen enabling the summit to be pinpointed on the map on the right and for the same point to appear on the Tithe map on the left

The enclosed land where the field named as Little Bank Field is situated is given the number 1155 on the Tithe map, this can be cross referenced against the apportionments; it is these apportionments that give the name of the owner or occupier of the land as well as the name of the land.  The land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Little Bank Field on the Tithe map and described as Arable; it appears in the county named as Montgomery and in the parish of Llansanffrraid ym Mechain.  

The land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Little Bank Field on the Tithe map

It is important when studying these apportionments to compare the number given on the Tithe map with the information given in the apportionments, as in this instance there are two adjacent fields given the number 1155, the westerly placed field is named Little Bank Field and the easterly placed field is named Bank by John Foulkes.

It is also interesting comparing the information on the earlier Tithe map with that on the 1924 Gelli Farm Field map, when doing so there are two fields whose names can be considered that match; Field under house on the Tithe map and Field below house on the Gelli Farm Field map, and The Maes on the Tithe map and Maes on the Gelli Farm Field map.  However, there is also an example where the same name is used but for different fields, this is; Sideland.  We can deduct from this that at least some of the names used when the Tithe map was compiled are still in use today, whilst many others have been supplanted by new names, including that of Cae Boncyn.  

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Carnedd Wen

Name:  Cae Boncyn

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn y Gelli 

Summit Height:  142.1m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  126

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 23849 19306  

Drop:  44m

For details on the survey of Cae Boncyn

Myrddyn Phillips (August 2016)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau

Gors Leasow (SJ 228 180)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 100m Twmpau, and the following details are in respect of a hill that was surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 on the 8^th August 2015.

The criteria for the list that this name change applies to are:

100m Twmpau - All Welsh hills at and above 100m and below 200m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.

The hill is a part of the Carnedd Wen range, which is an extensive group of hills situated in the southern part of north Wales.  It is positioned between the small communities of Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain to the north, Llanymynech to the north-east, Four Crosses to the east and Ardd-lin (Arddleen) to the south-east.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Gors Leasow

The hill appeared in the 100m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under an invented name of Bryn Trewylan, with an accompanying note stating; Name from hall to the South.   During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to either invent a name for a hill, or use a name that appeared near to the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put Pen, Bryn or Moel in front of them, or as in this instance, use part of the name of Trewylan Hall, a large residence to the south of the summit.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with research either conducted locally or historically an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found.  

Bryn Trewylan

162m

SJ229181

126

240

Name from hall to the South

The name this hill is now listed by is Gors Leasow, and this was derived from the Tithe map.  The term Tithe map is generally given to a map of a Welsh or English parish or township and which was prepared after the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act.  This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods.  The Tithe maps gave names of owners and occupiers of land in each parish and importantly for place-name research they also included the name of enclosed land.  This enclosed land is usually based on a field system, however not every field is given a name, but many are and especially so in Wales.

Accessing information on the Tithe map is simplified by the use of a split screen enabling the summit to be pinpointed on the map on the right and for the same point to appear on the Tithe map on the left

The enclosed land where the summit of Gors Leasow is situated is given the number 1406 on the Tithe map, this can be cross referenced against the apportionments; it is these apportionments that give the name of the owner or occupier of the land as well as the name of the land.  The land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Gos [sic] Leasow and described as Arable; it appears in the county named as Montgomery and in the parish of Llansanffrraid ym Mechain. 

The land where the summit of this hill is situated is named Gos Leasow on the Tithe map

It is important when studying these apportionments to consider the spelling of each word and in this instance the word Gos precedes that of Leasow.  The latter word means Pasture or Meadowland, whilst the former has no meaning either in English or in Welsh.  However, the Welsh word Cors (mutated to Gors) when translated in to English means Bog or Marsh and local pronunciation favours the ‘r’ becoming silent.  Therefore Gors Leasow can be translated as Marshy Pasture or Boggy Meadowland.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Carnedd Wen

Name:  Gors Leasow

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn Trewylan 

Summit Height:  161.6m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  126

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 22864 18055 

 

Drop:  c 51m

For details on the survey of Gors Leasow

Myrddyn Phillips (August 2016)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau

Gravel Pit Field (SJ 233 171)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 100m Twmpau, and the following details are in respect of a hill that was surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 on the 8^th August 2015.

The criteria for the list that this name change applies to are:

100m Twmpau - All Welsh hills at and above 100m and below 200m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.

The hill is a part of the Carnedd Wen range, which is an extensive group of hills situated in the southern part of north Wales.  It is situated in the district known as Deuddwr and is positioned between the small communities of Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain to the north, Llanymynech to the north-east, Four Crosses to the east north-east and Ardd-lin (Arddleen) to the south-east.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Gravel Pit Field

The hill appeared in the 100m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Ty-Top.  During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to either invent a name for a hill, or use a name that appeared near to the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put Pen, Bryn or Moel in front of them, or as in this instance, use the name of what was presumed to be a near house.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with research either conducted locally or historically an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found.  

Ty-Top

154m

SJ233172

126

240

 

The name this hill is now listed by is Gravel Pit Field, and this was derived from the Tithe map.  The term Tithe map is generally given to a map of a Welsh or English parish or township and which was prepared after the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act.  This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods.  The Tithe maps gave names of owners and occupiers of land in each parish and importantly for place-name research they also included the name of enclosed land.  This enclosed land is usually based on a field system, however not every field is given a name, but many are and especially so in Wales.

Accessing information on the Tithe map is simplified by the use of a split screen enabling the lay of land as it is today on the map on the right to be compared against the lay of land as it was during the time of the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of Gravel Pit Field is situated is given the number 1521 on the Tithe map, this can be cross referenced against the apportionments; it is these apportionments that give the name of the owner or occupier of the land as well as the name of the land.  The land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Gravel Pit Field on the Tithe map and is described as Arable; it appears in the county named as Montgomery and in the parish of Llansanffraid ym Mechain. 

When cross referenced in the apportionments the enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Gravel Pit Field

Please note; this is the second consecutive entry under the Significant Name Changes heading that has detailed a hill with the name of Gravel Pit Field, to complicate matters both hills were surveyed on the same day and both appear in the same survey post on this site.  However, they are different hills.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Carnedd Wen

Name:  Gravel Pit Field

Previously Listed Name:  Ty-Top 

Summit Height:  153.4m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  126

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 23345 17175 

 

Drop:  37m

For details on the survey of Gravel Pit Field

Myrddyn Phillips (August 2016)