Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales

Coed Hyrddyn (SJ 200 439)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 200m Twmpau and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Leica GS15 survey which took place on the 7^th February 2013, with a subsequent Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit survey taking place on the 5^th May 2018.

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

200m Twmpau – All Welsh hills at or above 200m and below 300m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward. 

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 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 3^rd December 2015.

The hill is adjoined to the Moel y Gamelin range of hills which are situated in the north-easterly part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A2), and it overlooks the A 542 road and the Eglwyseg River to its east and the A 5 road, Llangollen Canal and the Afon Dyfrdwy (River Dee) to its south, and has the town of Llangollen to its south south-east. 

Coed Hyrddyn (SJ 200 439)

The hill originally appeared in the 200m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the invented name of Moel Tan-y-coed with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the South-West. 

Moel Tan-y-coed

230c

SJ200439

117

255/256

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 Pen, Bryn 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 historic documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found.

The danger of hill list compilers inventing names for hills and their inappropriate perpetuation is evidenced above, as this is a name I invented many years ago for this hill and it now appears on the National Library of Scotland website

The land where the summit of this hill is situated is now owned by The Nation Trust and when I first visited this hill I came across a sign at the start of one of the paths leading to its high point which names the hill as Velvet Hill Coed Hyrddyn.  This information was forwarded to Geoff Crowther who updated the Welsh 200m P30 list accordingly.

The National Trust sign at the start of the central eastern approach to the hill

Velvet Hill Coed Hyrddyn

230c

SJ200439

117

255/256

Clem/Yeaman listed as 231m

The name of Velvet Hill seems to be a relatively recent addition as the name of Coed Hyrddyn is substantiated by a number of Ordnance Survey maps predating the contemporary 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer series, and some of these are presented below.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Six-Inch map published in 1880

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

When recently visiting this hill with friends and conducting the Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit survey I met Jonathon Davies, the son of the local farmer and whose family work from the Abbey Farm which is situated below the hill to its north-east.  Jonathon’s family have farmed this land since 1934 and he confirmed that the hill is known by both names; Velvet Hill and Coed Hyrddyn, and for the purposes of listing it is the Welsh name that is being prioritised as it has older evidence of use, is known as such locally and also appears on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps and named as such by the present land owner.   

Jonathon Davies (centre) with young son Jan Celyn Davies and colleague Edward Jones 

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 200m Twmpau and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales is Coed Hyrddyn, and this name was derived from The National Trust, historical and contemporary Ordnance Survey maps and local enquiry.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Moel y Gamelin

Name:  Coed Hyrddyn

Previously Listed Name:  Moel Tan y Coed

 

Summit Height:  232.4m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  117

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 20029 43943 

 

Drop:  102.0m (converted to OSGM15)

Dominance:  43.89%

For details on the summit survey of Coed Hyrddyn

Myrddyn Phillips (July 2018)