Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau

Cae Scybor (ST 400 985)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 100m Twmpau, with the summit height, bwlch height, their locations, the drop and status of the hill confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

LIDAR image of Cae Scybor (ST 400 985)

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

100m Twmpau - Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height with 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 100m Sub-Twmpau with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.

The hill is adjoined to the Gwent Is Coed group of hills which are situated in the south-eastern part of South Wales (Region C, Sub-Region C3), and it is encircled by minor roads with the A449 road and the Afon Wysg (River Usk) further to the west, and has the town of Brynbuga (Usk) towards the north-west.

The hill originally appeared in the 100m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under a partly transposed and invented name of Glen Court Hill, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the South-East. 

Glen Court Hill

125m

ST401986

171

14/152

Name from buildings to the South-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 transpose the name of a farm and add the word Hill to it.  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

As this hill comprises bounded land the Tithe map was consulted.  The term Tithe map is generally given to a map of a Welsh or English parish or township and which was prepared after the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act.  This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods.  The Tithe maps gave names of owners and occupiers of land in each parish and importantly for place-name research they also included the name of enclosed land.  This enclosed land is usually based on a field system, however not every field is given a name, but many are and especially so in Wales.

Extract from the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 71 on the Tithe map, this can be cross referenced against the apportionments; it is these apportionments that give the name of the owner or occupier of the land as well as the name of the land.  The land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Cae Seybôr [sic] in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llanllowell [sic] and in the county named as Monmouth.

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 100m Twmpau is Cae Scybor, and this was derived from the Tithe map.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Gwent Is Coed

Name:  Cae Scybor

Previously Listed Name:  Glen Court Hill

OS 1:50,000 map:  171

Summit Height:  125.5m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  ST 40051 98581 (LIDAR)

Bwlch Height:  83.7m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  ST 40255 98479 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  41.8m (LIDAR)

My thanks to Aled Williams for help regarding this name

Myrddyn Phillips (June 2020)