Wednesday, 6 December 2017

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales


Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales  Significant Name Changes

Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales are the Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 40om in height that have a minimum drop of 30m, with these hills forming the 300m height band within the listing of the Twmpau (an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward).  Accompanying the main P30 list is a sub list entitled the 300m Sub-Trichant with the qualification to this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop, with the Introduction to the re-naming of this list and its publication history appearing on Mapping Mountains on 13.05.17.

The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the posts that have appeared on Mapping Mountains detailing the significant name changes to the main P30 list and the sub list appear below presented chronologically in receding order.







Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Fridd Top Llety (SJ 089 167) - 35th significant name change

Survey post for Ffridd Top Llety

Summit Relocations post for Ffridd Top Llety


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the summit height, summit location and drop of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH survey which took place on the 5th April 2018.

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

Y Trichant – All Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and the re-naming and publication history was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Y Berwyn range of hills which are situated in the south-eastern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A4), and is positioned between the B 4393 road to its north and the B 4382 road to its west, and has the small community of Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa towards the west.

Ffridd Top Llety (SJ 089 167)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Bryn, with its 347m map heighted summit positioned at SJ 085 168.  Since this hill was first listed the Ordnance Survey Interactive Coverage Map hosted on the Geograph website has become available and this map shows a second 347m map heighted summit positioned at SJ 089 167, these will be referred to as the westerly top and easterly top respectively in parts of this article.


Bryn    347m    SJ085169    125239


As these two summits of this hill comprise bounded land the details for each were examined on 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.

Extract from the Tithe map showing the name of the westerly field

Extract from the apportionments showing the name of the westerly field

The enclosed land where the westerly top of this hill is situated is given the number 738 on the Tithe map, and the enclosed land where the easterly top of this hill is situated is given the number 663 on the Tithe map, these 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 the westerly top is situated is named as Cae Mawr, and the land where the summit of the easterly top is situated is named as Cefnydd, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the county named as Montgomery and in the parish of Llanfihangel.

Extract from the Tithe map showing the name of the easterly field

Extract from the apportionments showing the name of the easterly field

However, these names were those known for the enclosed fields at the time of the Tithe, and for listing purposes the names used should be those that the enclosed fields are nowadays known as, if indeed different to those from the time of the Tithe.  And the person to verify the present day name for each field is the local farmer whose land the westerly and easterly top of this hill is situated on, and the local farmer is Martin Davies.

When descending the hill I flagged Martin down who along with a colleague was driving a quad bike up the track to retrieve a dead lamb.  Martin is aged 54 and farms from Penisarllan, which is to the west of the hill and on the periphery of Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa.  Martin explained that his Great Grandfather moved to Penisarllen as a tenant farmer in the 1930’s and that his father had bought the land from Sir Watkins Williams-Wynn in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  During our conversation Martin gave me a number of field names, including Cae Llan which was the field where we were standing and which at the time of the Tithe was known as Cae y Llan, however all other field names that Martin gave me were different to the time of the Tithe except for Cae Mawr, but this was the name given to a field a little north-east of his farm and not to the westerly top of the hill.

Martin Davies

The other field names that Martin gave were; Cae Llwybr which he said was a four acre square field, Ffridd Dan Fence which is not surprisingly the field under the fence and placed adjacent to the easterly top and Cae Chwarel which is the field adjacent to the old disused quarry.

I then asked Martin about the two higher fields, with the westerly one being above us from where we were standing, he said that this field is known as Bryn as it was adjoined to the old farmstead of Bryn which is situated to the south-east of the field, whilst the easterly one is known as Ffridd Top Llety as it was adjoined to the Llety farm, which is situated to the north-east of the field.

Therefore, as LIDAR analysis and Trimble data give the easterly field as higher than the westerly field the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Ffridd Top Llety, and this was derived from local enquiry.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Ffridd Top Llety


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Y Berwyn

Name:  Fridd Top Llety

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn 

Summit Height:  346.6m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 08997 16748 

Drop:  69.6m (converted to OSGM15)



Myrddyn Phillips (May 2018)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Foel Caerynwch (SH 772 179) - 34th significant name change

Survey post for Foel Caerynwch


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH survey which took place on the 26th February 2018.

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

Y Trichant – All Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and the re-naming and publication history was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Aran range of hills which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and is positioned between the A 494 road to its north and the A 470 road to its south, with the B 4416 road to its north-west, and has the small community of Brithdir to its north and the town of Dolgellau to its west.

Foel Caerynwch (SH 772 179)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Y Foel, this is the name given it on Ordnance Survey maps of the day as well as on current maps.


Y Foel
      343m
      SH772180
      124
23


Even an established map name is worth investigating either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research the established map name can be validated, however it can also be queried and in some cases the name can be expanded from its shortened map version.

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

When visiting this hill I met Dewi Thomas; a contractor, who along with a colleague was rebuilding one of many stone walls in the area.  After introducing myself and explaining my interest in upland place-names I pointed toward this hill and asked about its name, Dewi gave the name of Foel Caerynwch for the hill and kindly spelt the name for me.  Although not a farmer, Dewi is local to the area and lives in Dolgellau.

Dewi Thomas

After visiting and surveying the summit of this hill I met Marion and Terry Ogden who were outside their house of Tyn-llidiart.  During our conversation Marion named the hill as Foel Caerynwch and asked if I had seen the wooden marker post beside the path that I had just descended, I had, but had not examined it; Marion said I should as the name of the hill appears on it.

Terry and Marion Ogden

I backtracked and found an information board erected by the Snowdonia National Park, a finger post and the wooden marker post, with the last two no doubt also having been put in place by the National Park, and all naming the hill as Foel Caerynwch.

Snowdonia National Park information board

Finger post

Marker post

As the summit of this hill comprises bounded land the details for it were examined on 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.

Extract from the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 58 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 Caerynwch, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the county named as Merioneth and in the parish of Dolgelley [sic].

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Foel Caerynwch, and this was derived from local enquiry, substantiated by the Snowdonia National Park, with the bounded land where the summit of the hill is situated confirmed by the Tithe map.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Aran

Name:  Foel Caerynwch

Previously Listed Name:  Y Foel 

Summit Height:  342.9m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 77261 17997 

Drop:  38.9m (converted to OSGM15)


The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Foel Caerynwch

For details on the survey of Foel Caerynwch

Myrddyn Phillips (April 2018)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Ffridd y Waun (SH 688 171) - 33rd significant name change


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the criteria for the list that this name change applies to being:

Y Trichant – Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and the re-naming and publication history was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Cadair Idris range of hills which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it overlooks the stream valley of the Gwynant to its south-west and the A 493 road to its north and has the town of Dolgellau towards its east.  

Ffridd y Waun (SH 688 171)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Dolgledr.  During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on a map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to and used many names that seemingly applied to a hill and whose placement was nearest the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  Therefore I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are inappropriate, and as the name of Dolgledr applies to a township associated with Dolgellau it is not appropriate for the name of this hill, and it was a local farmer who has lived the whole of his life close to this hill that gave the name of Ffridd y Waun for the land where the summit of the hill is situated.


Dolgledr
      309m
      SH689172
      124
23


The local farmer is Emyr Rees who is aged 70 and is a Welsh speaker and has lived all of his life at Tynyceunant (SH 688 152), this farm is situated to the south of the hill.  When we met at the start of the access track leading to his farm Emyr was in the process of fixing a post with a large mallet, after introducing myself and explaining my interest in upland place-names, I pointed to the hill to our north and asked Emyr its name, he explained that it is a part of Waen Fechan (SH 686 166) land and known as Ffridd y Waun (the spelling of the word Waun follows standard modern Welsh).  Emyr also gave me a number of other names for near hills or the bounded land where the summit of each was situated, these have been detailed in previous Significant Name Changes posts.

Emyr Rees of Tynyceunant

As the summit of this hill comprises bounded land the details for it were examined on 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.

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

Extract from the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 198 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 Waenfechan, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the county named as Merioneth and in the parish of Dolgelley [sic].

Extract from the Apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Ffridd y Waun, and this was derived from local enquiry, with the bounded land where the summit of the hill is situated confirmed by the Tithe map.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cadair Idris

Name:  Ffridd y Waun

Previously Listed Name:  Dolgledr 

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Height:  308.2 (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 68863 17174 (LIDAR)   

Bwlch Height:  230.85m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 69638 16763 (LIDAR)

Drop:  77.3m (LIDAR)


Myrddyn Phillips (April 2018)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Moel Fynydd (SH 697 161) - 32nd significant name change


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that appears in the following lists; Y Trichant and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the criteria for the two listings that this name change applies to are:

Y Trichant All Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and the re-naming and publication history was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales – All Welsh P30 hills whose prominence equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.  With the criteria for Lesser Dominant status being those addition Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is 33% or more and below 50% of their absolute height.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the start of the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 3rd December 2015.

The hill is adjoined to the Cadair Idris range of hills which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it overlooks Llyn Gwernan to its east south-east and the town of Dolgellau to its east north-east. 

Moel Fynydd (SH 697 161)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Craig y Castell.  During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on a map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to and used many names that seemingly applied to a hill and whose placement was nearest the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  Therefore I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are inappropriate, and as the positioning of the name Craig y Castell on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps implies, that part of the hill is known by this name and is directly associated with an ancient fortification, and in the case of the hill whose summit is positioned at SH 697 161 it was a local farmer who has lived the whole of his life under this hill that gave the name of Moel Fynydd.


Craig y Castell
321m
124
23
Marilyn. Clem/Yeaman. aka Moel Gwernan.



The local farmer is Emyr Rees who is aged 70 and is a Welsh speaker and has lived all of his life at Tynyceunant (SH 688 152), this farm is situated to the south-west of the hill.  When we met Emyr was wielding a large mallet and was in the process of fixing a post.  We met at the start of the access track beside the narrow road that leads to his farm and this hill was directly above us and therefore after introducing myself and explaining my interest in upland place-names, all I had to do was point and say ‘what about that one, has it a name?’, Emyr replied ‘that’s Moel Fynydd’.  Emyr also gave me a number of other names for near hills or the bounded land where the summit of each was situated, some have been detailed in previous Significant Name Changes posts, the one that has not will be detailed in a forthcoming one.

Emyr Rees of Tynyceunant

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales is Moel Fynydd and this name was derived from local enquiry.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cadair Idris

Name:  Moel Fynydd

Previously Listed Name:  Craig y Castell 

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Height:  321.4m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 69777 16198 (LIDAR)   

Bwlch Height:  167.8m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 70838 16524 (LIDAR)

Drop:  153.6m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  47.78% (LIDAR)


Myrddyn Phillips (April 2018)







Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail (SH 674 147) - 31st significant name change

Bwlch survey post for Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail 


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the criteria for the list that this name change applies to are:

Y Trichant – Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and the re-naming and publication history was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Cadair Idris range of hills which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it overlooks the double lakes of Llynnau Cregennan which are to its west south-west and is situated between the small community of Arthog to its west and the town of Dolgellau to its east north-east.  

Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail (SH 674 147)

The hill appeared in the 200m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the partly invented name of Bryn Nant-y-gwyrddail with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings 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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and as the summit of this hill comprises bounded land the details for it were examined on the Tithe map.


Bryn Nant-y-gwyrddail
312m
124
23
Name from buildings to the South-West


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.

Extract from the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 168 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 Nantgwyrddeil [sic], with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the county named as Merioneth and in the parish of Dolgelley [sic].

Extract from the apportionments

The name given this bounded land relates to a farm named Nant-y-gwyrddail that is positioned at SH 671 143 and to the south-west of this hill’s summit.  Having visited a number of neighbouring hills and surveying the critical bwlch of this hill I then visited this farm and met Ceri Williams and her young son and daughter.  Ceri and her husband; Gwern, had moved here recently from the Garndolbenmaen area north-west of Porthmadog, she explained that the farm is tenanted from the National Trust and confirmed their boundary, which takes in the land where the summit of this hill is situated.  As Ceri is a newcomer to this area she suggested I should visit Emyr Rees who farms from Tynyceunant (SH 688 152).

Ceri Williams of Nant-y-gwyrddail and family

As I pulled up in my car at the access track that leads to Tynyceunant, Emyr had just pulled up in his Landrover and was wielding a mighty mallet readying himself to work on a new fence post.  Emyr is aged 70 and has lived at Tynyceunant all his life and is a Welsh speaker.  After introducing myself and explaining my interest in upland place-names, we talked about the hills and their names.  Emyr told me that the land where the summit of this hill is situated is a part of Nant-y-gwyrddail and known as Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail.  Emyr also gave me a number of other names for near hills, which will be detailed in later Significant Name Changes posts. 

Emyr Rees of Tynyceunant

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail, and this name was derived from local enquiry, with the bounded land where the summit of the hill is situated confirmed by the Tithe map and substantiated with the present resident of the farm of Nant-y-gwyrddail.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cadair Idris

Name:  Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn Nant-y-gwyrddail 

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Height:  311.5 (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 67419 14719 (LIDAR)
 
Bwlch Height:  237.7m (Leica GS15 & Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 66210 13444 (Leica GS15 & Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Drop:  73.8m (LIDAR summit and Leica GS15 & Trimble GeoXH 6000 bwlch)



Myrddyn Phillips (April 2018)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Llain (SO 031 628) - 30th significant name change

Survey post for Llain


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that was surveyed for Sub-Trichant status, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 2nd February 2018 and subsequent LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

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

Y Trichant – Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and the re-naming and publication history was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Hirddywel range of hills which are situated in the northern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and is positioned above the A 4081 road which is to its south-east, and has the small community of Llanllŷr to its east and the town of Llandrindod to its east south-east.

Llain (SO 031 628)

This hill was not listed in the sub list that accompanied the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website as it did not meet the criteria used at that time, and therefore this hill has never appeared in a published hill list, but the name given to the bounded land where the summit of the hill is situated is worth documenting as it does not appear on an Ordnance Survey map and has been 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.

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 655 on the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 655 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 Llain and described as Pasture in the apportionments accompanying the Tithe mapit appears in the county named as Radnor and in the parish of Llanyre. 

When cross referenced in the apportionments the enclosed land is named Llain

Therefore, the name this hill is now documented as is Llain and this was derived from the Tithe map.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Hirddywel

Name:  Llain

Previously Listed Name:  not previously listed 

Summit Height:  360.6m (converted to OSGM15) (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

OS 1:50,000 map:  147

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 03132 62802 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 
 
Drop:  19.4m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)



Myrddyn Phillips (March 2018)







Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Mynydd Bach (SJ 051 123) - 29th significant name change

Survey post for Mynydd Bach


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips which took place on the 26th January 2018.

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

Y Trichant – Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and the re-naming and publication history was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Y Berwyn range of hills which are situated in the south-eastern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A4), and is positioned between the Afon Banwy to the south and the Afon Efyrnwy (River Vyrnwy) to the north-east, with the A 458 road to its south-west and the small community of Dolanog which is to its east north-east. 

Mynydd Bach (SJ 051 123)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Pen-y-graig.  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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them, or as in this instance, use the name of a building which I thought that of the hill.

Pen-y-graig    323m    SJ051123    125  239

This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and in the case of this hill it was a local farmer who owns the land where the summit of the hill is situated who gave the name of Mynydd Bach.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Historical map
The local farmer is Trefor Jones who farms from Maes Celynog which is situated towards the south of the hill.  Whilst visiting this hill and its adjacent P30 I was fortunate to meet Trefor who was on his way up to the lower field of this hill in his tractor.  He stopped and we chatted for a number of minutes with him explaining that the hill is known as Mynydd Bach and it is on land that he owns having bought it off an adjacent farm.  Trefor is a Welsh speaker and gave me the translation of the hill’s name as small mountain.

Trefor Jones

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Mynydd Bach and this name was derived from local enquiry.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Y Berwyn

Name:  Mynydd Bach

Previously Listed Name:  Pen-y-graig 

Summit Height:  324.9m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 05100 12325 
Drop:  28.5m (converted to OSGM15)


The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Mynydd Bach


Myrddyn Phillips (February 2018)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Cromwell Hill (SJ 182 048) - 28th significant name change

Survey post for Cromwell Hill


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the summit height and drop of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips which took place on the 7th January 2018.

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

Y Trichant – Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and its re-naming and publication history was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Carnedd Wen range of hills which are situated in the south-eastern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A4), and the hill is positioned between the A 458 road to its north and the A 483 road to its south-east, and has the town of Y Trallwng (Welshpool) to its north-east.

Cromwell Hill (SJ 182 048)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name Pen-y-parc.  Hill list authors are prone to list a hill by the name that appears nearest to its summit on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps, without much consideration for its local or historical confirmation, or whether map placement is appropriate, and in the case of this hill the name of Pen-y-parc that appears on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps is that for the old farm situated just below this hill, and not to the hill itself.


Pen-y-parc    343m    SJ183049    136216


This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and in the case of this hill the name of Cromwell Hill was derived from local enquiry.

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

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Cromwell Hill and this was derived from local enquiry. 


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Carnedd Wen

Name:  Cromwell Hill

Previously Listed Name:  Pen-y-parc

Summit Height:  343.2m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 18222 04885 

Drop:  39.3m (converted to OSGM15)


The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Cromwell Hill


Myrddyn Phillips (February 2018)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Carneddau (SO 076 543) - 27th significant name change

Survey post for Carneddau

Hill Reclassifications post for Carneddau


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 6th October 2017.

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

Y Trichant – Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and its re-naming and publication history was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Fforest Glud range of hills which are situated in the eastern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and the hill is positioned between the town of Llanfair-ym-Muallt (Builth Wells) to the south-west and the small community of Hundred House to the east.

Carneddau (SO 076 543)


The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the invented name of Moel Cilberllan, with an accompanying note stating Name from buildings to the East.  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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and in the case of this hill it was four local farmers who told me that the land where this hill is situated is a part of the Carneddau, and this is substantiated by historical and contemporary Ordnance Survey maps.


Moel Cilberllan    376m    SO076543    147200    Name from buildings to the East



The first local farmer I asked about this hill and its name was Sandy Price who farms from Upper Pentre which is below the hill to its south, Sandy told me that this hill is a part of the Carneddau (pronouncing it as the Car-neth-ee) hill and that he had never heard separate names for any of the hills that I was describing.  This is where the mind of a hill bagger is distinctly different to that of a farmer / grazer, as Sandy thought of all this land as one hill, whist a hill bagger would distinguish the land taking in the Carneddau hill as four separate P30s.  Sandy suggested I visit Colin Wheel who farms from Ddole.  I then visited Rhiwlas; the farm above Upper Pentre, Sandy’s neighbour was out early in the morning and smiled as I huffed and puffed up the steep lane, he also confirmed that the hill is a part of the Carneddau hill.  Later in the day after I’d visited the various P30s taking in the Carneddau hill I visited Colin Wheel and his brother Jim.  Colin is aged 71 and Jim 85 and both were doing work on their farm, Colin on a quad bike and Jim tending to a tractor.  They have farmed this area all of their lives and were a delight to speak with, with smiles and hospitality, and also the same information given me earlier in the day, the hill is known as the Carneddau and this takes in all of the land that today is designated open access land and some of the enclosed land on its eastern side, and that there are no separate names for any of the P30s, as in a farmers / grazers mind they are a part of the one hill, which is known as the Carneddau.   

Colin and Jim Wheel, a delight to meet and speak with


This information is substantiated by a number of historical maps, some of which are presented below.

The name is presented as Caernedde Hill at the time of the Tithe map


The name appears as the Carneddau Rocks on the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map


The name is given as Carneddau on the Ordnance Survey One-Inch 'Old Series' map


Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Carneddau and this name was derived from local enquiry and substantiated from various historical and contemporary maps. 


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Fforest Glud

Name:  Carneddau

Previously Listed Name:  Moel Cilberllan

Summit Height:  375.0m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  147

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 07652 54311
  
Drop:  30.3m (converted to OSGM15)


The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of the Carneddau (SO 076 543)

For details on the survey of Carneddau

Myrddyn Phillips (December 2017)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Y Graig (SO 133 590) - 26th significant name change

Survey post for Y Graig


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the summit height of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 3rd October 2017.

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

Y Trichant – Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and its re-naming and publication history was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Fforest Glud range of hills which are situated in the eastern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and the hill is positioned between the town of Llandrindod (Llandrindod Wells) to its west north-west and the small community of Hundred House to its south south-west.

Y Graig (SO 133 590)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name Blaen Edw Bank, this name appears on Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer maps to the north-east of this hill’s summit and comprises land associated with the buildings named Blaen Edw (SO 14643 59322) on Ordnance Survey maps.


Blaen Edw Bank    370c    SO134591    148200


During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on a map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to and used many names that seemingly applied to a hill and whose placement was nearest the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  Therefore I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are inappropriate.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and in the case of this hill it was one of the local farmers whose family has lived in this area for over 100 years who gave the name of The Graig for this hill.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 historical map


Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map

The local farmer is Keith Williams who farms from Hendy, which is situated directly below the hill to its south-west.  Keith is aged 50 with his family moving to this farm in 1902; he told me that the hill is a part of the land of Graig, which is the farm next along from Hendy and nearer to and directly below the hill to its south-west.  I met Keith whilst surveying the bwlch of Bwlchau Bank and he had stopped his vehicle on the narrow lane that crosses the bwlch to ask what I was doing, we chatted for a number of minutes and he was good enough to give me his time and also gave me the name of Bwlchau Bank, whose summit I hoped to visit before making my way to the top of Y Graig.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Y Graig and this name was derived from local enquiry. 


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Fforest Glud

Name:  Y Graig

Previously Listed Name:  Blaen Edw Bank 

Summit Height:  371.5m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  148

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 13372 59020 

Drop:  c 60m


The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Y Graig

For details on the survey of Y Graig

Myrddyn Phillips (December 2017)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Bwlchau Bank (SO 117 587) - 25th significant name change

Survey post for Bwlchau Bank

Hill Reclassifications post for Bwlchau Bank


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 3rd October 2017.

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

Y Trichant – These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant, with the criteria to this sub list being all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop, with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Fforest Glud range, this group of hills are situated in the eastern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and the hill is positioned between the town of Llandrindod (Llandrindod Wells) to its west north-west and the small community of Hundred House to its south.

Bwlchau Bank (SO 117 587)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the invented name of Moel Bwlchau, with an accompanying note stating Name from buildings 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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and in the case of this hill it was one of the local farmers whose family has lived in this area for over 100 years who gave the name of Bwlchau Bank.


Moel Bwlchau    348m    SO118588    148200    Name from buildings to the South


The local farmer is Keith Williams who farms from Hendy, which is situated directly below the hill to its east.  Keith is aged 50 with his family moving to this farm in 1902; he told me that the hill is a part of the land of Bwlchau, which is the farm directly below the hill to its south.  I met Keith whilst surveying the bwlch of this hill as he had stopped his vehicle on the narrow lane that crosses the bwlch to ask what I was doing, we chatted for a number of minutes and he was good enough to give me his time and also gave me another name for a hill that is unnamed on Ordnance Survey maps and one which I was heading to after visiting Bwlchau Bank.

Therefore the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Bwlchau Bank and this name was derived from local enquiry. 


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Fforest Glud

Name:  Bwlchau Bank

Previously Listed Name:  Moel Bwlchau 

Summit Height:  348.3m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  148

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 11770 58788
  
Drop:  31.6m (converted to OSGM15)



Myrddyn Phillips (December 2017)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Gilwern Hill (SO 096 568) - 24th significant name change

Survey post for Gilwern Hill


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the summit height and drop of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 6th September 2017.

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

Y Trichant – These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Fforest Glud range, this group of hills is situated in the south-eastern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and the hill is positioned between the two small communities of Frank’s Bridge to the east south-east and Llansanffraid-yn-Elfael (Llansantffraed-in-Elwel) towards the south.

Gilwern Hill (SO 096 568)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the partly invented name of Moel Camnant, with an accompanying note stating Name from buildings 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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found.  This hill is one such example, as making local enquiries and substantiating these details for land area via contemporary and historical Ordnance Survey maps and the Tithe map has resulted in this hill now being listed by the name of Gilwern Hill.


Moel Camnant  383m  SO097568  147200  Name from buildings to the South


When visiting this and adjacent hills I made a number of place-name enquiries, the first being with the person who kindly advised I park beside the sawmill in a place allocated for their employees, this person worked at the sawmill and told me that this hill is known as Gilwern Hill and is a part of land that is known by the same name, he then suggested that I visit the head of the grazers association who lives at Upper House.  During my walk I met Philip Dyke who was out on his quad bike, Philip is aged 62 and farms from Gwernfach having lived there for 57 years, with his family having lived in this area for hundreds of years, and he confirmed the name of the land this hill is situated on as Gilwern Hill.  I later called at Upper House and met the wife of the head of the grazers association and she also told me that this hill is a part of Gilwern Hill, with the whole area of what is now open access land being known by this name.

Since publication of these P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s website there have been a number of Ordnance Survey maps made available online, some of these are historical such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the enlarged map hosted on the Geograph website.  One of the most important of these maps for the placement of place-names is the Ordnance Survey historical 1:25,000 map, and this map confirms that the land area of Gilwern Hill is not just applicable to the 440.7m (converted to OSGM15) high hill at SO 09895 58290 as contemporary 1:25,000 Explorer maps would have us believe. 


Extract from the Ordnance Survey historical 1:25,000 map

Extract from the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 map


Part of the land area applicable to Gilwern Hill is also evidenced on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps with the boundary of designated open access land; this is shown in the extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map below. 

Extract from the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map showing the boundary of designated open access land


However, for historical reference to the land area of what was Common Land and which now forms a part of the designated open access land it is the Tithe map that should be consulted.

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.

The land where the summit of this hill is situated is not a part of enclosed land and therefore it is not designated a number that can be cross referenced in the apportionments.  This hill is a part of a large area of land which is named as Mountain in Llansaintfaed Elvel Parish on the Tithe map; this area of land is the precursor of what is now designated open access land.  The details on the Tithe map appear in the county named as Radnor and in the parish of Llansanffraid yn Elfael.

Extract from the Tithe map

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Gilwern Hill, and this was derived from local enquiry with the land area known by this name being substantiated by contemporary and historical Ordnance Survey maps and the Tithe map.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Fforest Glud

Name:  Gilwern Hill 

Previously Listed Name:  Moel Camnant 

Summit Height:  384.6m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  147

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 09676 56836  

Drop:  59.1m (converted to OSGM15)



Myrddyn Phillips (November 2017)







Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Cwm Bank (SO 107 570) - 23rd significant name change

Survey post for Cwm Bank


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the summit height and drop of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 6th September 2017.

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

Y Trichant – These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Fforest Glud range, this group of hills is situated in the south-eastern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and the hill is positioned between the two small communities of Frank’s Bridge to the east and Llansanffraid-yn-Elfael (Llansantffraed-in-Elwel) to the south south-west.

Cwm Bank (SO 107 570)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the partly invented name of Moel Gwern, with an accompanying note stating Name from buildings 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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance, just use part of the name of the farm that is situated to the south-west of the hill’s summit.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and this is one such example, and as the hill consists of bounded land the details for it were examined on the Tithe map.


Moel Gwern  355m  SO108571  148200  Name from buildings to the South-West


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.

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 97 on the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 97 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 Bank on the Tithe map and described as Pasture and Rough, importantly the land is that adjoined to the farm of Cwm, in affect it is the Bank of Cwm, or simply put; Cwm Bank; the details on the Tithe map appear in the county named as Radnor and in the parish of Betws Diserth.

When cross referenced in the apportionments the enclosed land is named Bank and is adjoined to Cwm

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Cwm Bank, and this was derived from the Tithe map.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Fforest Glud

Name:  Cwm Bank 

Previously Listed Name:  Moel Gwern 

Summit Height:  354.4m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  148

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 10798 57035  

Drop:  52.4m (converted to OSGM15)



Myrddyn Phillips (November 2017)







Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Bryn-glas Bank (SO 103 559) - 22nd significant name change

Survey post for Bryn-glas Bank


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that was surveyed for potential Y Trichant status, with the summit height and lowest summit of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 6th September 2017.

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

Y Trichant These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.


The hill is adjoined to the Fforest Glud range, this group of hills is situated in the south-eastern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and the hill is positioned between the two small communities of Frank’s Bridge to the east and Llansanffraid-yn-Elfael (Llansantffraed-in-Elwel) to the south south-west.

Bryn-glas Bank (SO 103 559) on the right, with Gwernhwsmon Bank (SO 105 559) on the left

The summit is adjoined to a higher summit, both of which can be construed as being a part of the same hill, with a 356m and 357m map height respectively.  The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Hirllwyn Bank.  Although the lower summit does not have sufficient prominence to qualify even for Sub-Twmpau status it is worthwhile documenting the name of it.


Hirllwyn Bank    357m    SO105559    148200    Trig pillar


During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on a map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to and used many names that seemingly applied to a hill and whose placement was nearest the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  Therefore I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are inappropriate.  This hill is such an example, and as both summits consist of bounded land the details for each were examined on 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.

The enclosed land where the lower summit of this hill is situated is given the number 252 on the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the lower summit of this hill is situated is given the number 252 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 Bank on the Tithe map and described as Pasture, importantly the land is that adjoined to the farm of Bryn-glas, in affect it is the Bank of Bryn-glas, or simply put; Bryn-glas Bank; the details on the Tithe map appear in the county named as Radnor and in the parish of Llansanffraid-yn-Elfael.

When cross referenced in the apportionments the enclosed land is named Bank and is adjoined to Brynglas

When visiting this hill and its near neighbours I made several place-name enquiries, one of which was with Philip Dyke who was out on his quad bike on a field directly below this hill’s summit.  Philip is aged 62 and farms from Gwernfach having lived there for 57 years, with his family having lived in this area for hundreds of years, and he confirmed that the land where the lower summit is situated is known as Bryn-glas Bank, and the land of the higher summit is known as Gwernhwsmon Bank which also confirms information from the Tithe map.  

Therefore, if this summit were higher than Gwernhwsmon Bank (357.3m [converted to OSGM15] at SO 10538 55967) it would be listed as Bryn-glas Bank in the Y Trichant, and this name was derived from the Tithe map and also confirmed locally.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Fforest Glud

Name:  Bryn-glas Bank 

Previously Listed Name:  (higher summit previously listed as) Hirllwyn Bank 
  
Summit Height:  354.3m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  148

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 10338 55952  

Drop:  c 7m



Myrddyn Phillips (October 2017)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Gwernhwsmon Bank (SO 105 559) - 21st significant name change

Survey post for Gwernhwsmon Bank


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichantwith the summit height, drop and highest summit of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 6th September 2017.

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

Y Trichant These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Fforest Glud range, this group of hills is situated in the south-eastern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and the hill is positioned between the two small communities of Frank’s Bridge to the east and Llansanffraid-yn-Elfael (Llansantffraed-in-Elwel) to the south south-west.

Gwernhwsmon Bank (SO 105 559)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Hirllwyn Bank.  During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on a map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to and used many names that seemingly applied to a hill and whose placement was nearest the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  Therefore I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are inappropriate.  This hill is one such example, and as it consists of bounded land the details for it were examined on the Tithe map.  


Hirllwyn Bank    357m    SO105559    148200    Trig pillar


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.

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 251 on the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 251 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 Bank on the Tithe map and described as Pasture, importantly the land is that adjoined to the farm of Gwernhwsmon, in affect it is the Bank of Gwernhwsmon, or simply put; Gwernhwsmon Bank; the details on the Tithe map appear in the county named as Radnor and in the parish of Llansanffraid-yn-Elfael.

When cross referenced in the apportionments the enclosed land is named Bank and is adjoined to Wernhusmon [sic]

When visiting this hill and its near neighbours I made several place-name enquiries, one of which was with Philip Dyke who was out on his quad bike on a field directly below this hill’s summit.  Philip is aged 62 and farms from Gwernfach having lived there for 57 years, with his family having lived in this area for hundreds of years, and he confirmed this hill’s name as Gwernhwsmon Bank, and that of its adjacent 354.3m (converted to OSGM15, 356m map height) summit as Bryn-glas Bank which also confirms information from the Tithe map.   

Therefore, the hill is now listed as Gwernhwsmon Bank in the Y Trichant, and this name was derived from the Tithe map and also confirmed locally.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Fforest Glud

Name:  Gwernhwsmon Bank 

Previously Listed Name:  Hirllwyn Bank 

Summit Height:  357.3m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  148

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 10538 55967  

Drop:  49.7m (converted to OSGM15)



Myrddyn Phillips (October 2017)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Teisen Priodas (SN 820 108) - 20th significant name change

Survey post for Teisen Priodas

Hill Reclassifications post for Teisen Priodas

Significant Height Revisions post for Teisen Priodas


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichantwith the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 13th June 2017. 

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

Y Trichant These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Fforest Fawr range, this group of hills is situated in the north-western part of South Wales (Region C, Sub-Region C2), and it is positioned above the small community of Abercraf (Abercrave) to the north and Blaendulais (Seven Sisters) to the south. 

Teisen Priodas (SN 820 108)

The hill forms a part of the ridge known as Mynydd y Drum, this ridge has been extensively mined in its north-eastern section with the remaining highest natural summit positioned at SN 80718 09753 and listed as a 200m Sub-Twmpau under the name of Mynydd y Drum.

The hill is a part of the Nant Helen Opencast Mine and consists of landscaped waste spoil and its detection was dependent upon LIDAR data analysed by Kevin McGovern and then independently by Aled Williams and also by George Gradwell.  Prior to analysis of LIDAR data the hill had not appeared in any list, due to these analyses it was subsequently included in the Y Trichant.  

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map with the expended ridge name of Mynydd y Drum and the extent of the Nant Helen Opencast Mine

When this hill was listed as a Trichant it appeared under the name of the extended ridge it is a part of; Mynydd y Drum, however after surveying it with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 I had the opportunity to discuss its name with workers at the Nant Helen Opencast Mine.

After visiting this hill I entered the workings of the Nant Helen Opencast Mine hoping to visit the adjacent north-easterly P30 and also make place-name enquiries, I was approached by two mine employees in separate vehicles, after apologising for being where I was I asked them about the name of the two new P30s, each of which is the result of mine spoil, both knew the higher hill as Teisen Priodas, this is translated into English as the wedding cake, an apt name as the hill consists of three tiers and is relatively flat on top.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Teisen Priodaswith this name being prioritised over that of Mynydd y Drum as the former is a locally known name for an individual hill and the latter is the name given to the extended ridge that now consists of three individual hills; two of them being P30s and one being a sub P30. 


The full details for the hill are:


Group:  Fforest Fawr

Name:  Teisen Priodas

Previously Listed Name:  Mynydd y Drum 

Summit Height:  337.9m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  160

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 82013 10833  

Drop:  93.3m (converted to OSGM15)



Myrddyn Phillips (August 2017)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Ffridd Fawr (SJ 166 274) - 19th significant name change

Survey post for Ffridd Fawr

Hill Reclassifications post for Ffridd Fawr


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichantwith the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 7th June 2017.

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

Y Trichant These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant with these being all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m and more and below 30m of drop, with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is a part of the Y Berwyn range, this group of hills is situated in the south-eastern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A4), and is positioned above the small community of Moelfre which is to the east north-east of the hill, and between Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant to the west south-west and Llansilin towards the east. 

Ffridd Fawr (SJ 166 274)

The hill did not appear in the sub list adjoined to the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, when this sub list was standardised and drop values added the hill was then listed with c 22m of drop.  

Prior to the sub list being standardised and drop values added the hill was not classified as it had not appeared in any known listing of hills.  Therefore, although there is no change in this hill’s listed name it is worth categorising under the heading of Significant Name Changes as the name this hill is now listed by comes from local enquiry.

When visiting the summit of the hill I was fortunate to meet the local farmer; Edgar Williams, who farms from Bronheulog which is situated towards the east of the hill.  Edgar is aged 48 and comes from Pen-y-bont-fawr with Bronheulog being his wife’s family home.  When asked the name of the hill Edgar had no hesitation in telling me it was known as Ffridd Fawr, when translated this can mean the large upland pasture.

Edgar Williams

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Ffridd Fawr and this name was derived from local enquiry. 


The full details for the hill are:


Group:  Y Berwyn

Name:  Ffridd Fawr

Previously Listed Name:  Previously not classified 

Summit Height:  335.1m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 16688 27439
  
Drop:  22.7m (converted to OSGM15)



Myrddyn Phillips (July 2017)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Comins (SJ 174 282) - 18th significant name change

Survey post for the Comins

Hill Reclassifications post for the Comins


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichantwith the summit height, drop and status of the hill confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 7th June 2017 and subsequent LIDAR analysis.

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

Y Trichant These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is a part of the Y Berwyn range, this group of hills is situated in the south-eastern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A4), and it is positioned above the small community of Llansilin which is to the east of the hill. 

Comins (SJ 174 282) with Gurn Moelfre behind

The hill appeared in the sub list adjoined to the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the partly invented name of Pen-y-Moelfre, with an accompanying note stating; Name from village to the East.  


Pen-y-Moelfre    376m    SJ175282    125255    Name from village to the East


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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and in the case of this hill it was one of the local farmers who has lived under the hill all of his life, who gave the name of the Comins.

Emyr Evans

The local farmer is Emyr Evans who farms from Cefn-y-braich which is situated towards the east south-east of the hill.  Emyr is now aged 81 and has lived locally for all of his life; he told me that the hill is a part of the land of Lloran Isaf which is the next farm along from Cefn-y-braich and nearer to the hill.  Emyr was out cutting thistles and we chatted at length, it turns out that Emyr went to school with an uncle of one of my lifelong friends and before leaving he told me that there used to be a flagpole on top of the hill.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is the Comins and this was derived from local enquiry. 



The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Y Berwyn

Name:  Comins

Previously Listed Name:  Pen-y-Moelfre 

Summit Height:  376.1m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 17476 28210 

Drop:  34.8m



Myrddyn Phillips (July 2017)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Foel Fawr (SJ 130 146) - 17th significant name change

Survey post for Foel Fawr


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichantwith the summit height and drop of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 4th May 2017.

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

Y Trichant These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is a part of the Y Berwyn range, this group of hills is situated in the south-eastern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A4), and is positioned above the small community of Meifod which is towards the south-east of the hill. 

Foel Fawr (SJ 130 146)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the partly invented name of Pen Rhosfawr Uchaf, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the North-East.  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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and in the case of this hill it was the Tithe map where the name Foel Fawr was derived.  


Pen Rhosfawr Uchaf  311m  SJ131147  125239  Name from buildings to the North-East


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 with the use of a split screen enabling the boundary of enclosed land to be compared

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 234 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 Foel Fawr on the Tithe mapit appears in the county named as Montgomery and in the parish of Meifod.

When cross referenced in the apportionments the enclosed land is named as Foel Fawr

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Foel Fawr and this was derived from the Tithe map. 


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Y Berwyn

Name:  Foel Fawr

Previously Listed Name:  Pen Rhosfawr Uchaf 

Summit Height:  309.5m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 13095 14685 

Drop:  54.4m (converted to OSGM15)



Myrddyn Phillips (June 2017)







Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Craignant Hill (SJ 119 165) - 16th significant name change

Survey post for Craignant Hill


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichantwith the height, drop, highest summit and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 6th April 2017.

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

Y Trichant These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is a part of the Y Berwyn range, this group of hills is situated in the south-eastern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A4), and is positioned above the town of Llanfyllin to the north-east and the village of Meifod to the south-east.  

Craignant Hill (SJ 119 165)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the partly invented name of Pen Craignant-mawr, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the North.  


Pen Craignant-mawr
    329m
    SJ119166
    125
239
    Included by contour configuration. Name from buildings to the North


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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and in the case of this hill it was the local farmer who works the land where the summit of this hill is situated who gave the name of Craignant Hill.

John Evans on the right with Aled Watkins

The local farmer is John Evans who farms from Tyncelyn which is situated towards the south-west of the hill.  John farms the land that the hill is a part of and when I met him he was shepherding sheep up the country lane to their field, once the sheep were penned in we talked about the hill which was adjacent to us.  John explained that although he now farms this land the hill is still known by the name of Craignant Hill, through its past association with Craignant-mawr; which is a farm to the immediate north of the hill.  I asked if he had ever heard a separate name for the other top (the hill has two distinct summits, which are close to one another and given the same map height and which the Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey separated), he said no, they are both known by the same name; Craignant Hill.     

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Craignant Hill and this was derived from local enquiry. 


The full details for the hill are:


Group:  Y Berwyn

Name:  Craignant Hill

Previously Listed Name:  Pen Craignant-mawr

Summit Height:  329.5m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 11926 16590 
  
Drop:  30.3m (converted to OSGM15)



Myrddyn Phillips (May 2017)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Cefn Digoll (SJ 275 084) - 15th significant name change

Survey post for Cefn Digoll


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Waleswith the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey and subsequent LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

Cefn Digoll (SJ 275 084)

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

Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales – Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Sub-Trichant, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the list and the renaming of it appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017, and the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of the list appearing on the 1st January 2022. 

Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Stiperstones group of hills, which are situated in the eastern part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B2), and it is positioned with the B4393 road to its north-east, the A483 road to its west and the A458 road to its south, and has the town of Y Trallwng (Welshpool) towards the south-west.

The hill appeared in the original 300m height band of Welsh P30 hills published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the transposed and invented name of Oak Plantation Topwith an accompanying note stating; Name from wood to the North-West.


Oak Plantation Top    381m    SJ275084    126216    Name from wood to the North-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, with little consideration for the meaning of the name and where it was appropriately applied to.  My preference was to use farm names and put PenBryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance transpose the name of a wood and add the word Top to it.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historic documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found. 

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

When I visited the hill I met Karen and Brian Morris who farm from Longmountain Farm, whose land the summit of this hill is situated on.  I had already made enquiries with Brian’s brother who farms the lower fields adjoined to this hill, and they all confirmed that they know this hill as being a part of the Long Mountain.  The name is given as Cefn Digoll in the listing of Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales as it is appropriate to list by the Welsh form of the name.  Karen and Brian explained that they refer to a number of high fields on their farm by names, including the Mast FieldBehind the SchoolTop of the GallopThe Patch and the Pond Field, with the high point of the hill being situated in the field they refer to as Behind the School.  The school in this instance is occasionally used for schooling horses.

Karen and Brian Morris of Longmountain Farm

Prior to visiting this hill I had studied 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.

The enclosed land where the summit of the hill is situated is given the number 69A on the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 69A on the Tithe map, with the field as it is today having consisted of two parts at the time of the Tithe, with the other part being given the number 69, these numbers 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 Enclosure with the other part of the field named as Part of Enclosure on the Tithe mapit appears in the county named as Montgomery and in the parish of Buttington.  However, as the term Enclosure is generic it is inappropriate to use this word for the name of a hill when listing.

When cross referenced in the apportionments the enclosed land is given a generic term of Inclosure

Before thanking Karen and Brian for their time, they suggested that I visit Keith Davies who still occasionally farms and now lives lower on the hill next to the Hope Lane.  Keith grew up on the western side of the hill which his father farmed, with The Mill and Cletterwood farms being mentioned.  Keith confirmed that he had never heard a separate name being given to this hill and knows it as the Long Mountain (the whole of Cefn Digoll [Long Mountain in English] takes in the 408.3m summit at SJ 264 058 as well as the 381.6m summit at SJ 275 084.

As I talked with Keith he pointed through his living room window to a slightly raised point and told me that it is known as the Cap of Trewern, this is situated at approximately SJ 26663 08675 and looked as if it consists of rougher ground with an occasional gorse bush on it as opposed to the manicured green grazing fields adjoined to it.  He also told me that the land leading up to the forest boundary is known as The Pinnacle, this land is placed at approximately SJ 264 078. 

Keith Davies with the northern lands of Cefn Digoll in the background

We then concentrated on the land that takes in the hill adjoined to the Longmountain Farm, and Keith explained that until 1920 the upper part of this land was a holding adjoined to Buttington Old Hall, (this holding takes in the land between SJ 28528 08667, SJ 28088 09012, SJ 26883 08067 and SJ 27813 07794) with this land being added to the holdings of the Hall at a later date compared to their other lands, and it was known as the Bytak.

The meaning of the word Bytak is given below and my thanks to Aled Williams for supplying the following details:

beitac, beutac
[bnth. S. taf. by-tack

Tyddyn neu fferm lle nad yw’r tenant yn byw, a gymerir yn ychwanegol at fferm fwy:

By-tack (smallholding or farm where the tenant does not live, taken in addition to a larger farm.

1953 I. Ff. Elis: CC 64, Yr oedd Tyddyn Argain yn llawer rhy werthfawr fel beitac i bori bustych tewion.

Ar lafar, ‘Beutac y gelwir tyddyn neu fferm a gymerir at un arall’, B i. 194 (sir Drefn.); ‘Beutac’ ‘a by-take, fferm delir ei thir gan amaethwr fferm arall’, Cymruli. 52 (dwyrain sir Drefn.)

Cf. 1873 Mont Coll 245, Bytak, a small farm, generally held with a larger one by the same tenant. The bytak usually consists of a few acres of ground with a hovel thereon.  The word is common in Welsh-speaking counties.

The Elis reference says that Beutac is used in eastern Montgomeryshire.  The word is a borrowing from English - so both spellings of the word would be applicable to Cefn Digoll.

As the land known as the Bytak has been adjoined to Longmountain Farm since 1920, it is no longer referred to by this name as this term applied to the land prior to this date and not to the land at the present date.    

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales is Cefn Digoll, as it forms a part of the extended hill known as the Long Mountain, with the protocol of the Welsh name taking precedence for listing purposes, and with the caveat that the current farmers know the field where the summit of the hill is situated as Behind the School, and that the land taking in the whole of the summit area of this hill was known up until 1920 as the Bytak.




The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Stiperstones

Name:  Cefn Digoll

Previously Listed Name:  Oak Plantation Top 

OS 1:50,000 map:  126

Summit Height:  381.6m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 27538 08462 & SJ 27541 08460 & SJ 27543 08461 (LIDAR) 
 
Bwlch Height:  343.1m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 27824 07953 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Drop:  38.5m (LIDAR summit and Trimble GeoXH 6000 bwlch)


Myrddyn Phillips (April 2017)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Cefn y Coed (SO 211 934) - 14th significant name change

Survey post for Cefn y Coed

Significant Height Revision post for Cefn y Coed


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Waleswith the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from a Leica RX1250 survey conducted by Alan Dawson and a subsequent Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit survey and LIDAR bwlch analysis conducted b Myrddyn Phillips.

Cefn y Coed (SO 211 934)

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

Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales – Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Sub-Trichant, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the list and the renaming of it appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017, and the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of the list appearing on the 1st January 2022.

Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales – Welsh P30 hills whose prominence equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.  With the criteria for Lesser Dominant status being those additional Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is between one third and half that of their absolute height.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the start of the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 3rd December 2015, and the list is now available in its entirety on Mapping Mountains in Google Doc format.

Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is a part of the Cilfaesty range, this group of hills is situated in the north-eastern part of Mid and West Wales, and is positioned above the A 489 road and between the town of Trefaldwyn (Montgomery) to its north, Yr Ystog (Churchstoke) to its east, Aber-miwl (Abermule) to its west north-west and Sarn to its south.

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the transposed name of Caeliber Isaf, which is a name that appeared close to the summit of the hill on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map.

During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on a map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to.  Therefore I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are inappropriate, and Caeliber Isaf is such an example as this name has been consistently applied by the Ordnance Survey to land on the southern side of this hill.  The name Caeliber Isaf can be translated in to English as the lower fair copse, which is an unusual name if applicable to the highest hill hereabouts, and especially so when one considers that the name Caeliber Uchaf also appears on Ordnance Survey maps and has been consistently applied to land to the west of where the name Caeliber Isaf appears, the translation in to English of Caeliber Uchaf can be given as the upper fair copse.  Both names are known locally as applicable to areas or districts of land and not to hills.  


Caeliber Isaf
    355c
    SO212934
    137
  216
    Marilyn. Clem/Yeaman.
  

Since publication of these P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website there have been a number of Ordnance Survey maps made available online, some of these are historical such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the enlarged map hosted on the Geograph website.  One of the historical maps now available is the Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map, which was the first map made publicly available by the Ordnance Survey and it is this map that has the name of Cefn y Coed running across the summit of this hill and beyond, and when coupled with detail later found on the Tithe map and also through local enquiry it formed the basis of this name being considered the most appropriate for this hill.

The One-Inch ‘Old Series’ was the first map that Ordnance Survey published, and  they were based on the preceding Draft Surveyors map.  Their publication culminated from the whole of Britain being surveyed between 1791 and 1874 and the detail gathered therein produced at a scale of one inch to the mile and published in sheet format between 1805 and 1874.  The One-Inch ‘Old Series’ maps for the whole of Wales are now available online; they are also available in map format as enlarged and re-projected versions to match the scale and dimensions of the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger series and are published by Cassini.  This series of maps forms another important part in the study of Welsh upland place-names and bridge the time frame leading to the production of the Ordnance Survey base map of the Six-Inch series.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey One-Inch 'Old Series' map

However, many local people now know the name Cefn y Coed to be applicable to an area/district of land and not necessarily to the hill, this was confirmed by Gordon Davies who has lived at Camp Farm all of his life, with his grandfather moving here in 1904, this farm is situated approximately 1.3 km west of the hill’s summit.  This hill was surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 in the company of Rick Salter and Jenny Hatfield and we visited Camp Farm on our descent and I took the opportunity to ask Gordon about the name of the hill.

Gordon knows this hill as Cwm Bromley Top, as the land where the summit of the hill is situated is a part of the farm of Cwm Bromley.  This farm is situated to the east of the summit at grid reference SO 226 934.  He also knows the point at SO 20930 92921 as Black Hill and explained that this land takes in at least three bounded and fenced fields.  Gordon confirmed that Caeliber Isaf is a small district of land which is in the main on the other (southern) side of the hill, and that there are also other areas of land with Caeliber in their names that are also close by.

Gordon Davies

Although Gordon knows the hill as Cwm Bromley Top this is only applicable as the land where the summit of the hill is situated, is on land of Cwm Bromley farm.  Ideally this needed confirming and therefore I contacted Ted and Merle Davies who have farmed Cwm Bromley since Ted’s family moved there in 1937.  Ted is now aged 65 and told me that he knows the field where the high point of the hill is situated as the Tank Field, as there’s a water tank in the field.  I asked if he had ever heard, used or referred to the hill or the upper field as Cwm Bromley Top, he had not, although he did say that he’s referred to it as the top of Cwm Bromley, Ted then told me that Cefn y Coed is a little hamlet.  As there is no confirmation that Cwm Bromley Top is the name of the hill or the upper field by the farmer from Cwm Bromley farm it may be surmised that this name is not frequently used. 

I later checked 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.

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number Q33 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 Cefn y Coed (conforming to standard modern Welsh) on the Tithe map and described as Pasture; it appears in the county named as Montgomery and in the parish of Ceri.

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 land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Cefn y Coed on the Tithe map

Although there is now consensus amongst the local community that the name of Cefn y Coed is applicable to a small hamlet or area of land and not necessarily the hill, the Tithe map confirms that the bounded land at the summit of this hill that once took in what is now a number of individual fields was known at the time of the Tithe map as Cefn y Coed, and this is substantiated by the Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map.  One may presume from this that Cefn y Coed is the name of the land at the summit of this hill, and in all likelihood is the name of the hill itself, and that the passage of time has supplanted this name to also take in the small hamlet and area of land surrounding the hill. 

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

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales is Cefn y Coed, and this was derived from the Tithe map and the Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map, coupled with information given from local enquiry.  


The full details for the hill are:


Group:  Cilfaesty

Name:  Cefn y Coed

Previously Listed Name:  Caeliber Isaf 

OS 1:50,000 map:  137

Summit Height:  353.6m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 21164 93411 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 
 
Bwlch Height:  184.2m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 20667 90868 (LIDAR)

Drop:  169.3m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  47.89% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)


Myrddyn Phillips (December 2016)







Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Cae Canol (SJ 098 172) - 13th significant name change

Survey post for Cae Canol


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichantwith the height and drop of the hill derived from a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 4th May 2016 and subsequent LIDAR analysis.

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

Y Trichant These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is a part of the Y Berwyn range, this is an extensive group of hills in the south-eastern part of north Wales, and the hill is positioned to the south of the B 4393 road and between the town of Llanfyllin to its east north-east and the small community of Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa to its west south-west. 

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

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the partly invented name Bryn Cefnllwyni, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the North-East.  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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them and in this instance, use the name of a near house and prefix it with the word Bryn.  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 Cefnllwyni
    323m
    SJ099173
    125
  239
    Name from buildings to the North-East


The name this hill is now listed by is Cae Canoland the land that this name is applicable to was confirmed via 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 land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Cae Canol on the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 141 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 Cae Canol on the Tithe map; it appears in the county named as Montgomery and in the parish of Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Y Berwyn

Name:  Cae Canol

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn Cefnllwyni 

Summit Height:  323.2m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 09866 17255 

Drop:  41.0m



Myrddyn Phillips (November 2016)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

The Top (SO 092 887) - 12th significant name change

Survey post for The Top


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Waleswith the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from a Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit survey and subsequent LIDAR bwlch analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

The Top (SO 092 887)

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

Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales – Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Sub-Trichant, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the list and the renaming of it appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017, and the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of the list appearing on the 1st January 2022.

The hill is a part of the Cilfaesty range, which is a group of hills situated in the north-eastern part of Mid and West Wales, and it is positioned above the A 483 road and between the town of Y Drenewydd (Newtown) to its north and the small community of Dolfor to its south-east. 


The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the transposed name Pen-y-banc, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the North-East.  


Pen-y-banc
    317m
    SO092887
    136
  214
    Name from buildings to the North-East


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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance transpose the name of a farm and use it for that of the hill.  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.   

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

The name this hill is now listed by is The Top, and this was derived from local enquiry, with the below being an extract from the post relating to the survey of this hill:

I then contemplated calling in at Bank farm which is situated at the bwlch for the second and last hill of the day.  Deciding to leave the farm until after visiting the summit of the hill I proceeded down the narrow lane to the south-west of the summit, as I did so a vehicle appeared and as it looked as if it may have come from Bank farm I flagged it down.  I chatted with the driver for a few minutes; Gwyn Phillips was indeed the local farmer from Bank, and as the hill that I was interested in was straight above us I pointed its way and asked if he knew a name for it, ‘Just know it as The Top’, came the reply, I asked if he had ever heard any other name for it or if he knew of a field name for where the summit of the hill is situated, and he said ‘It’s on my land, but I’ve never heard another name for it’, with that I expressed my thanks and off he sped down towards the main road.

I later checked 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.

The Tithe map confirmed that the field where the summit of this hill is situated had no name given it at the time of the Tithe, and that the land was adjoined to Bank farm.  This information corresponds with the knowledge that the owner of this farm has, as he told me he had lived there all of his life and except for the name he referred to the hill as; The Top, he did not know another name for the hill or for the field where the summit is situated. 

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales is the The Topand this was derived from local enquiry with Gwyn Phillips, who lives at Bank farm and whose land the summit of this hill is situated on.  


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cilfaesty

Name:  The Top

Previously Listed Name:  Pen-y-banc 

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Height:  315.5m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 09275 88714 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)  

Bwlch Height:  283.8m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 09279 88381 (LIDAR)

Drop:  31.7m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)





Myrddyn Phillips (November 2016)







Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Broomy Leasow (SO 093 881) - 11th significant name change

Survey post for Broomy Leasow


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Waleswith the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from a Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit survey and subsequent LIDAR bwlch analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

Broomy Leasow (SO 093 881) 

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

Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales – Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Sub-Trichant, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the list and the renaming of it appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017, and the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of the list appearing on the 1st January 2022.


The hill is a part of the Cilfaesty range, which is a group of hills situated in the north-eastern part of Mid and West Wales, and the hill is positioned above the A 483 road and between the town of Y Drenewydd (Newtown) to its north and the small community of Dolfor to its south-east. 

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the transposed name of Bryn-bedwen, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the South-West.  


Bryn-bedwen
    327m
    SO093881
    136
  214
    Name from buildings 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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance transpose the name of a farm and use it for that of the hill.  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.   

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

The name this hill is now listed by is Broomy Leasowand the land that this name is applicable to was confirmed via 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 this hill is situated is given the number B. 282 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 Broomy Leasow on the Tithe map and described as Arable; it appears in the county named as Montgomery and in the parish of Ceri.

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

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales is Broomy Leasow, which is rather evocative, as the word leasow means pasture or meadowland, whilst broomy means covered with or abounding in broom, broom being the flowering shrub.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cilfaesty

Name:  Broomy Leasow

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn-bedwen 

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Height:  325.6m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 09332 88123 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)  

Bwlch Height:  266.0m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 09478 87710 (LIDAR)

Drop:  59.6m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)




Myrddyn Phillips (November 2016)






 
  
Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Racecourse (SO 091 862) - 10th significant name change

Survey post for the Racecourse


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Waleswith the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from a Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit survey and subsequent LIDAR bwlch analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of the Racecourse

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

Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales – Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Sub-Trichant, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the list and the renaming of it appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017, and the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of the list appearing on the 1st January 2022.

The hill is a part of the Cilfaesty range, this group of hills is situated in the north-eastern part of Mid and West Wales, and the hill is positioned above the A 483 road and between the town of Y Drenewydd (Newtown) to its north and the small community of Llanbadarn Fynydd to its south.  

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the transposed and invented name Glog Wood Top, with an accompanying note stating; Name from wood to the West.


Glog Wood Top
    371m
    SO092863
    136
  214
    Name from wood to the 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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance, use the name of the wood which takes in the lower westerly slopes of this hill and add the word Top ti it.  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.   

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

The name this hill is now listed by is the Racecourse, and this was derived from local enquiry with the Morris family who live at Garth-Heilyn which is positioned under the hill to its north.  When I made enquiries Gwyn Morris told me that he didn’t know why the hill is known as the Racecourse and explained that Gilfach farm used to own the land, with his family moving to Garth-Heilyn in 1935 and purchasing the land from Gilfach in 1969, and the hill was known as the Racecourse even when Gilfach owned the land.

Gwyn Morris

I then spoke to Gwyn’s brother; Andrew Morris, and as soon as I mentioned the hill, he said ‘You mean the Racecourse.’  He proceeded to tell me that he didn’t know why it was called by this name, but that was the name the locals had known it by for decades.

Andrew Morris

I later checked 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 this hill is situated is given the number A. 236 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 Race Course on the Tithe map and described as Pasture; it appears in the county named as Montgomery and in the parish of Ceri.

The land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as the Race Course on the Tithe map

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales is the Racecourse, and this was derived from local enquiry, and later substantiated as the land where the summit of this hill is situated being confirmed by the use of the same name on the Tithe map.   


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cilfaesty

Name:  Racecourse

Previously Listed Name:  Glog Wood Top 

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Height:  370.7m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 09122 86296 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)  

Bwlch Height:  326.6m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 09105 89515 (LIDAR)

Drop:  44.1m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)




Myrddyn Phillips (November 2016)







Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Tyfaenor Park (SO 070 715) - 9th significant name change

Survey post for Tyfaenor Park


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, and the following details are in respect of a hill that was surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 on the 18th February 2016.

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

Y Trichant These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is a part of the Pegwn Mawr range, this group of hills is situated in the north-eastern part of Mid and West Wales, and the hill is positioned to the east north-east of the small community of Abaty Cwm-hir (Abbeycwmhir) and to the north north-west of the meeting of the Bachell Brook and the Clywedog Brook.

Tyfaenor Park (SO 070 715)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name Tyfaen.  This name was derived from that of Tyfaenor Park which appeared on contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer maps.  It is not known why the first word of the name which is appropriate for the hill was shortened.  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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance, shorten the name that in itself is appropriate to use.  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.    


Tyfaen
    382m
    SO071715
    136/147
  200/214
    383m on 1986 1:50000 map
    

Since publication of these P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website there have been a number of Ordnance Survey maps made available online, some of these are historical such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the enlarged map hosted on the Geograph website.  Two of the historical maps now available are the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map which formed the basis for the Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map, and these maps coupled with that of the Tithe map formed the basis for the confirmation of this hill’s name.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map

The Draft Surveyors maps consist of the preliminary drawings made by the Ordnance Survey’s surveyors between the 1780s and 1840 and formed the basis for the first publicly available One-Inch map.  They were drawn at scales of six inches to the mile for areas considered of particular military significance and down to two inches to the mile for other areas.  Fair copies were then produced from these preliminary drawings to one inch to the mile and then copper plates were prepared for printing.  The Draft Surveyors maps for the whole of Wales are now available online and they form an important part in the study of Welsh upland place-names as they bridge the time frame between the late 18th century and the mid-19th century when the Ordnance Survey produced their first One-Inch maps. 

The One-Inch ‘Old Series’ was the first map that Ordnance Survey published, and  they were based on the preceding Draft Surveyors map.  Their publication culminated from the whole of Britain being surveyed between 1791 and 1874 and the detail gathered therein produced at a scale of one inch to the mile and published in sheet format between 1805 and 1874.  The One-Inch ‘Old Series’ maps for the whole of Wales are now available online; they are also available in map format as enlarged and re-projected versions to match the scale and dimensions of the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger series and are published by Cassini.  This series of maps forms another important part in the study of Welsh upland place-names and bridge the time frame leading to the production of the Ordnance Survey base map of the Six-Inch series.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey One-Inch 'Old Series' map

The name this hill is now listed by is Tyfaenor Park and the land that this name is applicable to was confirmed via 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 this hill is situated is given the number 466 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 Defanner Park on the Tithe map and described as Plantantion; it appears in the county named as Radnor and in the parish of Llanbister. 

The name where the summit of the hill is situated is named in the apportionments

Extract from the series of Ordnance Survey Six-Inch maps

There are many maps that are now available online and these give the opportunity to compare the composition of a hill’s name and in the instance of Tyfaenor Park this can be followed from the Draft Surveyors map, through the Tithe map, to the Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’, the Six-Inch map and to the current Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer maps.  There are of course many other maps also available for this form of comparison, but the study of the ones mentioned above can give us inkling to how this hill’s name was represented through the ages and this is depicted below:

Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map:  Divanner Park

Tithe Map:  Defanner Park/Devanner Park

Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map:  Devanner Park

Ordnance Survey Six-Inch map:  Ty-faenor Park

Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 map:  Tyfaenor Park 


Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Tyfaenor Park, and this was derived from a number of sources, including the Tithe map for consideration of what land the name applied to, and the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer maps for name confirmation.  


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Pegwn Mawr

Name:  Tyfaenor Park

Previously Listed Name:  Tyfaen 

Summit Height:  383.1m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  136, 147

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 07078 71589

Drop:  32.7m (converted to OSGM15)



Myrddyn Phillips (October 2016)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Pentre Moel Tump (SO 074 418) - 8th significant name change

Survey post for Pentre Moel Tump


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, and the following details are in respect of a hill that was surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 on the 29th September 2015.

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

Y Trichant These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 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 Erwyd (Erwood) to the north-east and Gwenddwr to the north-west.

Pentre Moel Tump (SO 074 418)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under an invented name of Twyn y Blaen-huddig, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the South-West, with Lower Blaen-huddig being the name of a farm.  


Twyn y Blaen-huddig
    361m
    SO074418
    147/160
  188
    Name from buildings to the South-West
    

During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to invent a name for a hill if no name seemed to appear for it on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put PenBryn or Moel in front of them.  As I progressed through the compilation of these P30 lists I started prefixing these invented names with words that appeared for local hills, and as in this instance I used the name of what I presumed to be a farm and prefixed it with the words Twyn y.  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 and it was local enquiry that gave the name of Pentre Moel Tump for this hill.

The name this hill is now listed by is Pentre Moel Tump, and this was derived from local enquiry.  It is not uncommon in Wales for farms to be named after hills, or in respect of the cynefin naming system for land where the summit of a hill is situated to take on the name of a farm; and in this instance the farm of Pentre-moel is positioned to the east south-east of the hill, and although this farm has recently been bought by that of Upper Rhoel, the hill is still known locally as Pentre Moel Tump.    



The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Epynt

Name:  Pentre Moel Tump

Previously Listed Name:  Twyn y Blaen-huddig 

Summit Height:  360.4m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  147, 160

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 07445 41820 

Drop:  51.5m (converted to OSGM15)



Myrddyn Phillips (September 2016)







Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Craigol (SN 979 587) - 7th significant name change

Survey post for Craigol


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, and the following details are in respect of a hill that was surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 on the 23rd May 2015.

The criteria for the list that this name change affects are:

Y Trichant These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and the publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is situated in the Elenydd, which is an extensive range of hills in the central heartland of Wales.  The hill is positioned to the west of Pontnewydd ar Wy (Newbridge-on-Wye), and further west from this small town are vast tracts of open moor.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data on the summit of Craigol

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under an invented name of Bryn Craigol, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the South-East, with Craigol being the name of a farm.  
   

Bryn Craigol
    361m
    SN979587
    147
200
    Name from buildings to the South-East


During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to invent a name for a hill if no name seemed to appear for it on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put PenBryn or Moel in front of them.  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.

The name this hill is now listed by is Craigol, and this was derived from local enquiry.  It is not uncommon in Wales for farms to be named after hills, or in respect of the cynefin naming system for land where the summit of a hill is situated to take on the name of a farm; however before jumping to any conclusion it is always advisable to make either local enquiries or try to substantiate a name through historical documentation.



The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Elenydd

Name:  Craigol

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn Craigol 

Summit Height:  361.0m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  147

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 97939 58725  

Drop:  33.9m (converted to OSGM15)



Myrddyn Phillips (August 2016)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Coed y Cefn (SN 950 682) - 6th significant name change

Survey post for Coed y Cefn


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, and the following details are in respect of a hill that was surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 on the 14th April 2015.

The criteria for the list that this name change affects are:

Y Trichant These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and the publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is situated in the Elenydd, which is a range of hills taking in vast tracts of wild moor and is situated in the central heartland of Wales.  The hill is positioned 2 km west of the town of Rhaeadr Gwy (Rhayader) which is beside the Afon Gwy (River Wye).

Coed y Cefn (SN 950 682)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under a partly invented name of Ochr-cefn, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the 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 PenBryn or Moel in front of them, or as in this instance, just use the name of the farm which appears close to this hill’s summit on the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map.  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.

An extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map with the name Ochr-cefn appearing near to the summit of this hill


Ochr-cefn
    340c
    SN951682
    136/147
  200
    Name from buildings to the West


Since publication of these P30 lists there have been a number of Ordnance Survey maps made available online, some of these are historical such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the enlarged map on the Geograph website.  This latter map also includes many spot heights that do not appear on any other publicly available map, and it was the study of this map that necessitated the change in this hill’s listed name.

An extract from the Ordnance Survey enlarged map hosted on the Geograph website

The Ordnance Survey enlarged map hosted on the Geograph website gives this hill a 342m spot height at its summit, and with a 252m spot height on the area of its bwlch it means this hill has 90m of map prominence, which is the minimum value required to be classified as a Subhump.  These details were posted on the RHB Yahoo group forum on 06.12.13, see below:


Sub-HuMP enthusiasts may find the following of interest:

Coed y Cefn    SN 950 682    342m summit    252m bwlch at SN 943 684

Ochr-cefn being the name of a farm and not that of the hill.  With Coed y Cefn supported by various old maps.

Myrddyn


Excluding all near farm names it is the name Coed y Cefn that appears nearest to this hill’s summit on the enlarged Geograph map and this is supported by a number of other maps, including the Ordnance Survey Six-Inch, the historical and the current 1:25,000.  Except for the current Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map which is prone to inappropriate placement of hill and feature names, all other maps are consistent in the placement of the name Coed y Cefn. 

An extract from the current Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Coed y Cefn and this was derived from a number of different scaled Ordnance Survey maps. 


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Elenydd

Name:  Coed y Cefn

Previously Listed Name:  Ochr-cefn 

Summit Height:  342.2m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  136, 147

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 95076 68217
  
Drop:  90.8m (converted to OSGM15)



Myrddyn Phillips (July 2016)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Cefn Uchaf (SN 958 800) - 5th significant name change

Survey post for Cefn Uchaf

Hill Reclassifications post for Cefn Uchaf


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales.  With the numerical details relating to this hill prompted by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted on the 14th December 2014 and confirmed by subsequent LIDAR analysis.

The criteria for the list that this name change affects are:

Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant with these being all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m and more and below 30m of drop, with the introduction to the re-naming and the publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is positioned in the Pegwn Mawr group, which is a range of hills in the north-eastern part of mid and west Wales, and is situated between the small communities of Llangurig to the west, Tylwch to the east and Cwmbelan to the north-west, with the Afon Dulas in the valley below to the hill’s north-east.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data on the summit area of Cefn Uchaf

The hill appeared in the Sub List that accompanied the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website and its status as a Sub-Trichant was confirmed by the survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000.  The hill appeared in this Sub List under an invented name of Bryn Nant Cae-garw, with an accompanying note stating; Name from stream to the South.  During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to invent a name for a hill if no name seemed to appear for it on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put PenBryn or Moel in front of them, in this instance I used a name of a stream.  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 Nant Cae-garw
      350c
      SN959801
      136
  214
      Two points of same height. Name from stream to the South


The name this hill is now listed by is Cefn Uchaf 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 land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Cefn ucha on the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of Cefn Uchaf  is situated is given the number 84 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 Cefn ucha (Cefn Uchaf conforming to standard modern Welsh) on the Tithe map and it appears in the county named as Montgomery and in the parish of Llangurig.



The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Hirddywel

Name:  Cefn Uchaf

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn Nant Cae-garw
 
Summit Height:  357.7m (LIDAR)

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 95819 80021 (LIDAR)
  
Drop:  28.4m (LIDAR)




Myrddyn Phillips (July 2016)







Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Bryn (SN 755 764) - 4th significant name change

Survey post for Bryn


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Waleswith the summit of the hill surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 on the 31st August 2014, and with subsequent LIDAR analysis for its bwlch.

The criteria for the list that this name change affects are:

Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and the publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is situated in the Elenydd range, which is an extensive group of hills in the northern part of mid and west Wales.  The hill is positioned to the north of the B 4574 road as it heads south-eastward out of Pontarfynach (Devil’s Bridge) toward Cwmystwyth.

Bryn (SN 755 764)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under an invented name of Bryn Bodcoll, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the South-West, with Bodcoll being the name of a farm.  During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to invent a name for a hill if no name seemed to appear for it on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put PenBryn or Moel in front of them.  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 Bodcoll
      340c
      SN755764
      135/147
  213
      Two points of same height. Name from buildings to the South-West


The name this hill is now listed by is Bryn, 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.

The enclosed land is given the number 237 on the Tithe map

When cross referenced in the apportionments the enclosed land is named as Bryn

The enclosed land where the summit of Bryn is situated is given the number 237 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 Bryn and is described as Pasture; it appears in the county named as Cardigan and in the parish of Llanfihangel y Creuddyn.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Elenydd

Name:  Bryn

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn Bodcoll 

OS 1:50,000 map:  135, 147

Summit Height:  340.7m (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 75568 76490 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)  

Bwlch Height:  307.6m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 75735 76460 (LIDAR)

Drop:  33.1m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)



Myrddyn Phillips (July 2016)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Gelli Hir (SN 999 883) - 3rd significant name change

1st survey post for Gelli Hir

2nd survey post for Gelli Hir


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Waleswith the following details relating to a hill that was surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 on the 7th February 2014 and also on the 2nd May 2014 along with the Leica GS15.

The criteria for the two listings that this name change affects are:

Y Trichant These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and the publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales - These are the Welsh P30 hills whose prominence  equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.  With the criteria for Lesser Dominant status being those addition Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is 33% or more and below 50% of their absolute height.

The hill is situated in the Pumlumon range, which is an extensive group of hills in the northern part of mid Wales.  The hill is positioned to the south-west of Caersws and to the north-east of Llanidloes, with the small community of Llandinam and the Afon Hafren (River Severn) to its east.

Gelli Hir (SN 999 883)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s  v-g.me website under the name of; Rhosfawr, which at that time was taken as the name of the hill, however this is the name of a farm which is situated to the west of the hill’s summit.


Rhosfawr
    308m
    SN999884
    136
  214
    Clem/Yeaman. Twin top.


The name this hill is now listed by is Gelli Hir, this name can be translated as long grove, and this was derived from examination of the Ordnance Survey Historical 1:25,000 map as well as the Tithe map, coupled with tentative details from local enquiries.  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.

The Ordnance Survey Historical 1:25,000 map is probably the best OS map for placement of names relating to hills and their features, on this map Gelli Hir appears close to the summit of this hill and following its upper northerly ridge

When I first surveyed this hill I made place-name enquiries with a local resident to the south south-east of the hill.  The details are given below:


After visiting the summit of Y Gaer at SO 013 873, I descended to the farm of Cefn and surprised Graham Pugh who was heading to the farm yard from a large barn full of recently born lambs.  Graham is aged 53 and had lived in the local area for 25 years and at the farm of Cefn for 20 years, he originally comes from Staylittle / Penffordd-las (SN 887 920).  He can speak Welsh but said that he gets his ‘rights’ and ‘lefts’ muddled up and told me about a visit to a market where he was given directions and he couldn’t remember if the word meant left or right, we both chuckled at this.  I believe this was due to a lack of Welsh being spoken in the area where Graham now lives, so his use of the language is not on a daily basis.  I explained where I had come from and where I was heading.  We were soon talking about the name of the hill.

Graham told me he didn’t really know a name for this hill, I asked if he ever referred to the hill by any name and he said that he just calls it Top of the Bwlch.  The farm of Bwlch is situated at SN 995 875, it seems the summit of the hill is on their land.  I asked if he had ever heard the name of Gelli Hir in relation to this hill.  He then said that this was funny as he’d had a recent conversation with the person from Coedmawr farm, who had just bought the land going up to the top of this hill from the other (north-west) side and they had called it Gelli something.  The name of Gelli Hir (Gelli-hir on older maps) appears on current maps just below the summit of this hill.  However, on older OS maps this name appears as a ‘ridge’ name going across the top of the hill and down its northern ridge.


Graham Pugh of Cefn farm

Place-name research can be similar to fitting pieces of a giant jigsaw together, each piece is important, but on occasion the pieces (the information given) seem as if they do not fit together.  However, each piece of information is important and can be assessed against other information found at a later date.  And this was so with this hill’s name, as I already knew that the Historical 1:25,000 map has the name of Gelli Hir following the upper northern ridge of this hill, as this map is by far the most precise produced by the Ordnance Survey for place-name position I was inclined to believe that the name of Gelli Hir was appropriate to use for this hill, and the information given by Graham Pugh, although only tentative, was also substantive when coupled with the placement of this name on the old 1:25,000 map.  I hoped that the Tithe map would substantiate the use of Gelli Hir for this hill’s name.

Unfortunately the Tithe map for this area is almost unintelligible, however the number 2096 is given to the adjoining land to where the summit of this hill is situated, this number 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 given the number of 2096 is named as Allotment on the Tithe map, and importantly the next number; 2097, which is probably the adjoined land, is named as Gelli hir and is described as Pasture; these details are listed under the county named as Montgomery and in the parish of Llandinam.


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.  Unfortunately in this instance the Tithe map is almost unintelligible, however the number 2096 is given to the adjoined land


2096 is named as 'Allotment' with 2097 named as Gelli hir

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Pumlumon

Name:  Gelli Hir

Previously Listed Name:  Rhosfawr

Summit Height:  307.2m (converted to OSGM15, Leica GS15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 99902 88383 
   
Drop:  124.7m (Leica GS15 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  40.60% (Leica GS15 summit and LIDAR bwlch)


For details on the first survey and the second survey of Gelli Hir

Myrddyn Phillips (June 2016)









Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant

Y Gaer (SO 013 873) - 2nd significant name change

1st survey post for Y Gaer

2nd survey post for Y Gaer


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichantwith the following details relating to a hill that was surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 on the 7th February 2014 and also on the 2nd May 2014 along with the Leica GS15.

The hill is situated in the Pumlumon range, which is an extensive group of hills in the northern part of mid Wales.  The hill is positioned to the south of Caersws and to the east north-east of Llanidloes, with the small community of Llandinam at its base beside the Afon Hafren (River Severn) which is to its north-east.

Y Gaer (SO 013 873)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s  v-g.me website under the name of; Coed Mawr, with an accompanying note stating; Name from wood to the east.  The name of Coed Mawr is printed in large letters on Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger maps and takes in the whole eastern side of this hill where a mixed wood plantation is situated.  The name of Coed Mawr also appears on Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer maps and is placed near the summit of this hill.


Coed Mawr
   308m
   SO013874
   136
  214
   Clem/Yeaman.  Twin top. Name from wood to the East.


The listing this hill is now a part of is named Y Trichant and these are the 300m height band of hills within the Twmpau (thirty welsh metre prominences and upward) and takes in all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have a minimum 30m of drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017, and the summit height, drop and status of the hill was determined by the survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000.

The name this hill is now listed by is Y Gaer, and this was derived from local enquiry and 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.

Place name research can be a problematic occupation as the prioritised chose of a name can depend upon personal judgement where evaluation of the research at hand is assessed, and in the case of this hill’s name the judgement has been based on local enquiries and details from the Tithe map.

When I first surveyed this hill I made place-name enquiries with local residents to the north and to the south of the hill.  These are given below:


To the north of the hill:

I wanted to visit a Twin Hump and survey both summits and the intervening bwlch, and hopefully meet one or two locals, or call at one or two farms on the way to ask about names of the hills.

My ascent route from the outskirts of Llandinam went up the Waen Lane (map and local spelling).  As I was nearing the end of the lane before venturing on to fields I came across a man trying to get a long ladder off the roof of a van.  I offered to help, he declined with a smile and we started talking.  His name is Malcolm Lanham (aged 68), a good Welsh name was his tongue in cheek remark when he introduced himself.  He had lived in Llandinam all his life and couldn’t speak Welsh, although he did have an understanding of some words.  I asked the name of the hill that I was heading up.

Malcolm told me that the name of the hill is the Waen Hill.  I commented upon the name of the lane that Malcolm’s bungalow is built next to and he said the Waen Lane.  He then mentioned that the Waen Farm is further on around the lane and up the hill.  I presume this old farm is situated at SO 016 883 as the word Waen appears on the map at this position.  I asked about the spelling of Waen / Waun and it was confirmed as Waen, I mentioned the use of ‘u’ in modern Cymraeg but Malcolm did not pass further comment; he just smiled and sort of shrugged his shoulders.  Not really a demonstration of ignorance, just one of not knowing.  I asked if he had ever heard another name for the hill, his reply was ‘no, it’s known as the Waen Hill’.  I also asked if this is the name that the hill is known by in Llandinam and he said ‘yes’.  I then asked about a name that appears on the map; Coed Mawr, Malcolm said that this was a patch of forestry and not the name of the hill; he also knew that the name of the Waen Hill did not appear on the map.




To the south of the hill:

After visiting the summit at SO 013 873, I descended to the farm of Cefn and surprised Graham Pugh who was heading to the farm yard from a large barn full of recently born lambs.  Graham is aged 53 and had lived in the local area for 25 years and at the farm of Cefn for 20 years, he originally comes from Staylittle / Penffordd-las (SN 887 920).  He can speak Welsh but said that he gets his ‘rights’ and ‘lefts’ muddled up and told me about a visit to a market where he was given directions and he couldn’t remember if the word meant left or right, we both chuckled at this.  I believe this was due to a lack of Welsh being spoken in the area where Graham now lives, so his use of the language is not on a daily basis.  I explained where I had come from and where I was heading.  We were soon talking about the name of the hill.

Graham gave me the name of The Gaer without prompting and it almost matches a name that appears close to the summit of this hill on the map, almost as the name that does appear on the map is Y Gaer, which is marked at SO 015 878.  I asked about the name of Coed Mawr, Graham said that he’d only ever heard this name in relation to the farm of Coedmawr which is positioned at SN 990 888.  He told me that Coed Mawr is not the name of the hill.

Graham Pugh of Cefn farm

It is not uncommon to find one hill known by different names in opposing valleys, where this happens all one can do is note each name and conduct further research.  When I consulted the Tithe map the enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 533, with the number 2047 also appearing in the corner of this land, these numbers 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 Cae Dirge and is described as Meadow; it appears in the county named as Montgomery and in the parish of Llandinam.


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

Importantly the Tithe map associates the land where the summit of this hill is situated as being a part of the land of Gaer and not that of Waen.  Both are old farms with that of Gaer no longer appearing on current Ordnance Survey maps but its remains are situated at approximately SO 016 880, whilst Waen is positioned at SO 016 883.

The land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Cae Dirge on the Tithe map


The corner of this land is also named as a part of Cae Dirge

Although the hill is known from its northern side as Waen Hill, the land adjoined to its summit area is associated with the Gaer, and this is the name given me on the southern side of the hill, therefore it is being listed as Y Gaer, with the caveat that the land where its summit is situated is named as Cae Dirge on the Tithe map.  


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Pumlumon

Name:  Y Gaer

Previously Listed Name:  Coed Mawr 

Summit Height:  307.1m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 01350 87380  

Drop:  91.3m (converted to OSGM15)


For details on the first survey and the second survey of Y Gaer

Myrddyn Phillips (June 2016)






Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales

New Piece (SJ 297 141) - 1st significant name change

Survey post for New Piece


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Waleswith the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

The summit area of New Piece in the foreground with the distinctive profile of Rodney's Pillar atop the Breiddin in the background

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

Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales – Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Sub-Trichant, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the list and the renaming of it appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017, and the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of the list appearing on the 1st January 2022. 

Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Stiperstones group of hills, which are situated in the eastern part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B2), and it is positioned with the B4393 road to its north-east, the A483 road to its west and the A458 road to its south, and has the town of 
Y Trallwng (Welshpool) towards the south-west.

The hill appeared in the original 300m height band of Welsh P30 hills published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the transposed and invented name of Breidden Forest Topwith an accompanying note stating; Name from forest at summit.


Breidden Forest Top320cSJ298142126240Name from forest at summit


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, with little consideration for the meaning of the name and where it was appropriately applied to.  My preference was to use farm names and put PenBryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance transpose the name of a forest and add the word Top to it.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historic documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found. 

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

As the summit of this hill comprises bounded land the details for it were examined on 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. 

Extract from the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 749 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 New Piece in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Alberbury and in the county named as Montgomery. 

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales is New Piece and this was derived from the Tithe map. 


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Stiperstones

Name:  New Piece

Previously Listed Name:  Breidden Forest Top 

OS 1:50,000 map:  126

Summit Height:  320.2m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 29767 14148 
 
Bwlch Height:  295.0m (converted to OSGM15)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 29686 14281

Drop:  25.2m


Myrddyn Phillips (June 2016)




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