Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales

 

Dôl Gron (SJ 171 137) 

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

Dôl Gron (SJ 171 137)

The criteria for the two listings 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

Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales – Welsh P30 hills whose prominence equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.  With the criteria for Lesser Dominant status being those additional Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is between one third and half that of their absolute height.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the start of the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 3^rd December 2015, and which is now available in its entirety on Mapping Mountains in Google Doc format. 

Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Carnedd Wen group of hills which are situated in the south-eastern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A4), and it is positioned with the Afon Efyrnwy (River Vyrnwy) and the A495 road to its north-west and minor roads to its south and east, and has the village of Meifod towards the west south-west. 

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 Bryn y Clolyn, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the South-East.

 

Bryn y Clolyn

160c

SJ172137

125

239

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 house and prefix it with the words Bryn y.  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

This hill was the third of five hills visited during the day, all of which formed separate walks.  When visiting the fourth hill; Quarry Field (SJ 183 147) I was fortunate to meet the local farmer; Richard Morris of Cil Farm.  During our conversation Richard explained that he grew up in this community and farmed all his adult life, but only took over this field three years ago.  I mentioned the previous hill I had been up and he told me it also forms a part of the land that he farms, and like Quarry Field, he also took over this hill three years ago.  He told me the name of the hill I had previously visited is Dôl Gron. 

Richard Morris

When back home I checked the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps and there under the hill positioned at SJ 171 137 is an old house named Ddol-gron, with the near wood also named as Coed Ddol-gron.  Dôl Gron is translated in to English as the Round or Rounded Meadow, an apt description of the hill and especially so for its upper section. 

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales is Dôl Gron and this was derived from local enquiry. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Carnedd Wen 

Name:  Dôl Gron

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn y Clolyn 

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Height:  165.8m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 17143 13703 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Bwlch Height:  109.7m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 17539 13499 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  56.2m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch) 

Dominance:  33.87% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (September 2021)