Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – The Fours

Great Hill (SD 810 288)

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 or 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 being classified in the 390m Double Sub-Four category.  The criteria for 390m Double Sub-Four status are all English hills at or above 390m and below 400m 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 Pennines and is placed in Region 36 with its Cardinal Hill being Cowpe Moss (SD 834 193).  The hill is positioned with the A 56 road to its west and the A 682 road to its east, and has the town of Accrington towards the west.

This hill was not included in the listing that is now known as The Fours when originally compiled as it did not at that stage include a sub-list to the hills at or above 390m and below 400m in height.  Subsequently the hill was listed as Hameldon Hill in the 1^st edition of The Fours when the list was published by Europeaklist in December 2013. 

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 research conducted by Aled concluded that Ordnance Survey maps suggest that the name Hameldon Hill applies to an area of upland including the neighbouring hill of Great Hameldon, whilst the name of Great Hill appears adjacent to this hill’s summit on the series of Ordnance Survey Six-Inch maps.

Extract from the series of Ordnance Survey Six-Inch maps

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in The Fours is Great Hill and this was derived from historic Ordnance Survey maps. 

The full details for the hill are:

Cardinal Hill:  Cowpe Moss

Name:  Great Hill

Previously Listed Name:  Hameldon Hill 

Summit Height:  399.4m (LIDAR)

OS 1:50,000 map:  103

Summit Grid Reference:  SD 81067 28866 (LIDAR)  

Drop:  22.5m (LIDAR)

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (August 2018)