Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – The Welsh P15s

 

Mynydd Cerrig y Bleiddiau (SH 445 902) 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in The Welsh P15s, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Mynydd Cerrig y Bleiddiau (SH 445 902)

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

The Welsh P15s – Welsh hills with 15m minimum drop, irrespective of their height, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Welsh Sub-P15s, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills with 14m or more and below 15m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips, with the Introduction to the list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 10^th May 2019. 

The Welsh P15s by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Ynys Môn group of hills, which are situated in the north-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A1), and it is positioned with the B5111 road to its north-west and the A5025 road to its east, and has the village of Pen-y-sarn towards the east. 

When the original 100m height band of Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website this hill was included in the Hills to be surveyed sub list, with an accompanying note stating; Name from hill to the North-West.

Parys Mountain South-East top

131m

SH445903

114

263

Name from hill to the North-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, or as in this instance use a directional name based on supplanting the name of a near hill and adding a directional component 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 the summit of this hill comprises bounded land the details for it were examined on the Tithe map.  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 179 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 Mynydd Cerrig y Bleiddiau in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Amlwch and in the county named as Anglesey. 

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in The Welsh P15s is Mynydd Cerrig y Bleiddiau, and this was derived from the Tithe map. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Ynys Môn 

Name:  Mynydd Cerrig y Bleiddiau

Previously Listed Name:  Parys Mountain South-East top 

OS 1:50,000 map:  114

Summit Height:  131.1m (LIDAR) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 44539 90284 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  113.1m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 44495 90291 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  18.0m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (April 2021)