Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales

 

Hen Borfa (SN 921 805) 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales, 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 and a subsequent Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

Hen Borfa (SN 921 805)

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

Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales.  Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Sub-Trichant with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips, with the Introduction to the list and the renaming of it appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017. 

Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Pumlumon group of hills, which are situated in the north-western part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B2), and it is positioned with a minor road to its north-west and the A470 road to its south, and has the village of Llangurig towards the west south-west. 

When the original 300m 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 Mynydd Maesgwyn, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the South-East.

Mynydd Maesgwyn

374m

SN922806

136

214

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 near farm and prefix it with the word Mynydd.  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 515 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 Hen Borfa, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llangurig and in the county named as Montgomery. 

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales is Hen Borfa and this was derived from the Tithe map. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Pumlumon 

Name:  Hen Borfa 

Previously Listed Name:  Mynydd Maesgwyn 

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Height:  372.2m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 92191 80590 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Bwlch Height:  c 338m (interpolation) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 92817 80777 (interpolation) 

Drop:  c 34m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and interpolated bwlch) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (November 2021)