Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau

Bryn Bras (SN 573 772) 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 100m Twmpau, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis and a subsequent Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

Bryn Bras (SN 573 772)

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 100m Twmpau by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Elenydd group of hills, which are situated in the central part of the Mid and West Wales Region (Region B, Sub-Region B2), and it is positioned with the coast to its west and a minor road to its immediate east with the A487 road farther to its east, and has the town of Aberystwyth towards the north north-east. 

When the original 100m height band of Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website this hill was listed under the invented and transposed name of Pen Morfa Bychan, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the West.

Pen Morfa Bychan

169m

SN573772

135

213

Name from buildings to the 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.  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 104 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 Bryn Bras in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llanychaearn and in the county named as Cardigan. 

Extract from the apportionments

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

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Elenydd 

Name:  Bryn Bras

Previously Listed Name:  Pen Morfa Bychan 

OS 1:50,000 map:  135

Summit Height:  169.8m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 57323 77231 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Bwlch Height:  127.7m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 57194 76934 & SN 57199 76941 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  42.1m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (April 2021)