Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Pedwarau

Buddugre (SO 089 700)

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

Buddugre (SO 089 700)

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

Y Pedwarau – Welsh hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, with the introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 30^th January 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 between the stream valleys of the Clywedog Brook to its west and the Afon Ieithon (River Ithon) to its east, and has the small community of Abaty Cwm-hir (Abbeycwmhir) towards the west north-west. 

The hill appeared in the original Welsh P30 lists under the 400m P30 height band on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the name of Beddugre Hill, which is the name given the hill on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps. 

Beddugre Hill

419m

SO089700

136/147

200/214

Clem/Yeaman

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 in the case of this name the Hill part is a later addition as evidenced by detail on the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map and the series of Ordnance Survey Six-Inch maps.

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

Since publication of these P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website there have been a number of Ordnance Survey maps made available online, some of these are historical such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the Interactive Coverage Map hosted on the Geograph website.  Two of the historical maps now available are the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map which formed the basis for the Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map

Extract from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps

The Draft Surveyors maps consist of the preliminary drawings made by the Ordnance Survey’s surveyors between the 1780s and 1840 and formed the basis for the first publicly available One-Inch map.  They were drawn at scales of six inches to the mile for areas considered of particular military significance and down to two inches to the mile for other areas.  Fair copies were then produced from these preliminary drawings to one inch to the mile and then copper plates were prepared for printing.  The Draft Surveyors maps for the whole of Wales are now available online and they form an important part in the study of Welsh upland place-names as they bridge the time frame between the late 18^th century and the mid-19^th century when the Ordnance Survey produced their first One-Inch maps.

The later edition of the word Hill is also tautological as Buddugre can be translated as victory hill.  The name Buddugre is the originator of the name that appears on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps; Beddugre Hill, which is a tautological anglicised version of the hill name. 

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Pedwarau is Buddugre, and this was derived from the originator name that is widely referenced online.

 

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Buddugre

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Pegwn Mawr

Name:  Buddugre

Previously Listed Name:  Beddugre Hill

OS 1:50,000 map:  136, 147

Summit Height:  417.9m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 08919 70025

Bwlch Height:  304.5m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 08883 71933 (LIDAR)

Drop:  113.3m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

For details on the survey of Buddugre

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (December 2018)