Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – The Fours - The 400m Hills of England

Cefn Fron (SO 165 838)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the The Fours – The 400m Hills of England, with the summit height, col height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis initially conducted by Aled Williams and subsequently by Myrddyn Phillips.

LIDAR image of Cefn Fron (SO 165 838)

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

The Fours – The 400m Hills of England.  English hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop, accompanying the main list are three categories of sub hills, with this hill classified in the 400m Sub-Four category, the criteria for which are all English hills at or 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 and the 2^nd edition of the booklet containing this list was published by Mapping Mountains Publications on the 24^th April 2018.

The Fours - The 400m Hills of England by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams

The hill is adjoined to the Cilfaesty group of hills, which are situated in the Welsh borders, and it is positioned with the B4368 road to its north and the B4355 road to its south, and has the small community of Felindre towards the south and the town of Trefyclo (Knighton) towards the south-east.

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

When the 1^st edition of The Fours was published by Europeaklist in December 2013, this hill was listed as Cefn Vron Hill, which is the name composition that appears on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map.

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

The intricacies of language and prioritising one in favour of another for listing a hill is fraught with complication, with originating Cymraeg names being anglicised and also originating English names being cymricised, examples such as these are more common in border country and especially so for anglicised forms.  There is no steadfast rule that fits all, but as a standard a name that has its origins in the Welsh language and where this is substantiated by either historic documentation and/or contemporary usage should be prioritised in favour of a contemporary anglicised or English version of the name.

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

Therefore, the composition of the name this hill is now listed by in the The Fours - The 400m Hills of England is Cefn Fron, and this was derived due to the prioritised language protocol being used.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cilfaesty

Name:  Cefn Fron

Previously Listed Name:  Cefn Vron Hill 

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Height:  415.6m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 16549 83829 (LIDAR)

  

Col Height:  391.65m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 16752 84287 (LIDAR)

Drop:  23.9m (LIDAR)

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (September 2018)