Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant

Ffridd Uchaf Cregennan (SH 647 128)

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 23^rd May 2018.

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

Y Trichant – Welsh hills at or 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 or 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 of it was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th 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 is positioned above Llynnau Cregennan which are to its north-east and the A 493 road to its north-west, and has the village of Y Friog (Fairbourne) to the west. 

Ffridd Uchaf Cregennan (SH 647 128)

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

Bryn Cwm Pen Llydan

352m

SH647128

124

23

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 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now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and in the case of this hill it was a local farmer whose land the summit of this hill is situated on who gave the name of the enclosed land as Ffridd Uchaf Cregennan.

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

Since this hill was first listed there is a greater understanding amongst some hill list authors relating to the cynefin naming system, this incorporates the mynydd (mountain) and the ffridd land adjoined to individual farms:

Many Welsh hills comprise bounded land that is separated either by a fence or wall; these boundaries indicate land that is adjoined to different owners or tenants.  These land boundaries have usually been in place for centuries and in the uplands of Wales they are referred to as the cynefin, or sheep-walk in English.

The sheep-walk is an English term given to enclosed land that is apportioned to a specific farm.  The Welsh term for this land is cynefin, which can be literally translated as habitat, as in that for the sheep.  The cynefin usually takes in land that is known as the mountain land of the specific farm, therefore the name given to this enclosed land is usually that of the name of the farm prefixed with the word mynydd (mountain), this land is usually given over for sheep grazing, hence the term sheep-walk.  When Ordnance Survey maps are examined one can find many examples where this form of cynefin naming system exists, with farms situated in valley’s having their name given to high mountain land and prefixed with the word mynydd.

The bounded land given over to specific farms also takes in middle ground between the higher mountain land and the lower pasture land of the valley, this is known in Welsh as the ffridd and can take in a variety of habitats including heath, moor, grassland, woodland and high pasture.  Again, when Ordnance Survey maps are examined one can find many examples of farm names prefixed with the word Ffridd, and its apportionment to a specific hill is dependent upon where the bounded land is situated and referring to the Tithe maps for confirmation is then advised.

It is the cynefin naming system that usually results in a hill being known by different names in opposing valleys, as in many instances the upper bounded land meet at the watershed on top of the summit ridge and therefore the same hill would be known by two different names, each name a part of a different farm’s cynefin.  

The local farmer I met whilst visiting this hill is Emlyn Lloyd who is aged 72 and is a Welsh speaker and farms from Cregennan (SH 647 140), I met him on the corner of the narrow lane where a track heads south toward this hill, he proved very knowledgeable and as with the majority of farmers that I have had the privilege to meet, he was a delight to speak with.  The bounded land taking in the eastern side of this hill which also incorporates its summit is a part of Emlyn’s land and is a ffridd and known as Ffridd Uchaf Cregennan; the highest ffridd adjoined to the farm of Cregennan.  The land to its west is known as Ffridd Uchaf Cwm Pen Llydan.

Emlyn Lloyd of Cregennan farm

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

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cadair Idris

Name:  Ffridd Uchaf Cregennan

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn Cwm Pen Llydan

Summit Height:  351.9m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 64745 12858

Drop:  26.9m (converted to OSGM15)

Gathering data with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 at the summit of Ffridd Uchaf Cregennan

For details on the survey of Ffridd Uchaf Cregennan

Myrddyn Phillips (September 2018)