Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – The Fours

Whitecombe Moss (SD 151 873)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in The Fours, with this being announced when the 2^nd edition of The Fours was published by Mapping Mountains Publications on the 24^th April 2018.

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

The Fours – English hills at and above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  Accompanying the main list of The Fours are three categories of sub hills, with this hill listed as a 400m Sub-Four.  The criteria for 400m Sub-Four status are all English hills at and above 400m and below 500m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  

The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, with the 1^st edition of the list having been published by Europeaklist in December 2013 and by Haroldstreet in January 2014, with the 2^nd edition of the list published by Mapping Mountains Publications and by Haroldstreet on the 24^th April 2018.

The hill is situated in the Southern Fells of the Lake District and is placed in Region 34, Section 34D with its Cardinal Hill being The Old Man of Coniston (SD 272 978).  The hill is positioned with the A 595 road to its west and its east, and has the small town of Millom towards its south- south-east.

When the listing that is now known as The Fours was originally compiled this hill was not included as it did not meet the criteria then used, however this list has now been standardised and interpolated height and drop values also added, it was subsequently listed under the name of Stoupdale Head in the 1st edition of The Fours when the list was published by Europeaklist in December 2013. 

Prior to publication of the 2^nd edition of The Fours enquiries were made with two well-known Lake District guide book authors, resulting in the name of Stoupdale Head being considered as ‘very plausible’, and the advice that ‘one would need to talk to genuine locals and shepherds to give definitive answers’. 

Therefore, as there is no definite confirmation of Stoupdale Head being an appropriate name for this hill, the name this hill is now listed by in The Fours is Whitecombe Moss, which is the name appearing nearest the summit of this hill on a number of different scaled Ordnance Survey maps. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  The Old Man of Coniston

Name:  Whitecombe Moss

Previously Listed Name:  Stoupdale Head

Summit Height:  472m

OS 1:50,000 map:  96

Summit Grid Reference:  SD 15150 87370

  

Drop:  26m

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (June 2018)