Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant

Fron Bank (SO 078 708)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the summit height being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 10^th July 2018, and the bwlch height confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

Fron Bank (SO 078 708)

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 list entitled the Sub-Trichant with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips, with the Introduction to the list and its renaming appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Pegwn Mawr range of hills which are situated in the north-eastern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and it is positioned with the Bachell Brook to its north-west and the Clywedog Brook to its south-west, and has the small community of Abaty Cwm-hir (Abbeycwmhir) towards the west. 

The hill appeared in the original Welsh P30 lists under the 300m P30 height band on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the invented name of Mynydd Fronrhydnewydd, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the East. 

Mynydd Fronrhydnewydd

328m

SO078709

136/147

200/214

Name from buildings to the East

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 or as in this instance, use the name of a farm and precede it with the word Mynydd.  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.

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

After visiting this hill I was fortunate to speak with the local farmer from Troed-rhiw-felen (SO 083 708) who invited me in to his conservatory where I sat with a drink as a fan gave respite from the increasingly warm conditions outside.  The farmer has asked me not to mention his name or use photographs that he kindly let me take.  He proved very knowledgeable and we talked for upwards of 30 minutes before he directed me to the track for the continuation of my walk.  During our conversation he gave me a number of names relating to local hills and explained that the upper southerly part of the hill I had just visited is known as Fron Bank, whilst the upper northerly part of the hill is known as Troedyfelen Bank, with the former a part of land associated with Fronrhydnewydd farm (SO 078 706) and the latter a part of land associated with his own farm of Troed-rhiw-felen with the rhiw part of the farm’s name dropped for the land associated with it.

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

Gathering data with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 at the summit of Fron Bank

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Pegwn Mawr

Name:  Fron Bank

Previously Listed Name:  Mynydd Fronrhydnewydd

OS 1:50,000 map:  136, 147

Summit Height:  328.0m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 07843 70880

Bwlch Height:  291.7m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 08229 70861 (LIDAR)

Drop:  36.2m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

For details on the survey of Fron Bank

Myrddyn Phillips (December 2018)