Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – The Welsh P15s

Pen yr Orsedd (SH 331 922) 

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 detail on contemporary maps produced from Ordnance Survey data and LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Pen yr Orsedd (SH 331 922)

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 coast to its north and is encircled by minor roads with the A5025 road farther to its south-east, and has the small community of Llanfair-yng-Nghornwy towards the south south-west. 

When the listing that became known as The Welsh P15s was being compiled, this hill was listed under the point (Pt. 39m) notation with an estimated c 17m of drop, based on the 39m summit spot height that appeared on the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map and an estimate c 22m bwlch height based on interpolation of 5m contouring between 20m – 25m. 

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 10 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 Pen yr Orsedd in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llanrhwydrys 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 Pen yr Orsedd and this was derived from the Tithe map. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Ynys Môn 

Name:  Pen yr Orsedd

Previously Listed Name:  Pt. 39m 

OS 1:50,000 map:  114

Summit Height:  38.0m (LIDAR)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 33194 92272 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  c 22m (interpolation) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 32953 92329 (interpolation) 

Drop:  c 16m (LIDAR summit and interpolated bwlch) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (June 2021)