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

 

Garth (SN 946 504) 

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 LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Garth (SN 946 504)

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 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 B4358 road to its north-west, the A483 road to its south-west and a minor road to its east, and has the village of Beulah towards the west north-west. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map

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 name of Garth Bank, which is the name given the hill on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map.

Garth Bank

301m

SN947505

147

188

Clem/Yeaman. Trig pillar

 

Since publication of these P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website there have been a number of Ordnance Survey maps made available online, some of these are historic such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the Vector Map Local that was hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map and the interactive mapping on the Magic Maps and WalkLakes websites.  Two of the historic maps now available are the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map which formed the basis for the first publicly available Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map, and it is these maps that form the basis for the change in the listed name of this hill. 

The Draft Surveyors maps consist of the preliminary drawings made by Ordnance Survey surveyors between the 1780s and 1840 and formed the basis for the first publicly available One-Inch map.  They were drawn at scales of six inches to the mile for areas considered of particular military significance and down to two inches to the mile for other areas.  Fair copies were then produced from these preliminary drawings to one inch to the mile and then copper plates were prepared for printing.  The Draft Surveyors maps for the whole of Wales are now available online and they form an important part in the study of Welsh upland place-names as they bridge the time frame between the late 18^th century and the mid-19^th century when the Ordnance Survey produced their first One-Inch maps, and importantly for this hill and its listed name, it is this map that gives the originating Welsh name for this hill. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map

The One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map was the first map that Ordnance Survey produced, and their publication culminated from the whole of Britain being surveyed between 1791 and 1874 and the detail gathered therein produced at a scale of one inch to the mile and published in sheet format between 1805 and 1874.  The One-Inch ‘Old Series’ maps for the whole of Wales are now available online; they are also available in map format as enlarged and re-projected versions to match the scale and dimensions of the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger series and are published by Cassini.  This series of maps form another important part in the study of Welsh upland place-names and bridge the timeframe leading up to the production of the Ordnance Survey base map of the Six-Inch series, and again, it is this map that gives the originating Welsh name for this hill. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey One-Inch 'Old Series' map

The intricacies of language and prioritising one in favour of another for listing a hill is fraught with complication, with originating Cymraeg names being anglicised and also originating English names being cymricised, examples such as these are more common in border country and especially so for anglicised forms.  There is no steadfast rule that fits all, but as a standard a name that has its origins in the Welsh language should be prioritised in favour of a contemporary anglicised or English version of the name, and ideally for this to be substantiated by either historic documentation and / or contemporary usage.  Likewise, if a name exists where an element of it is in English and if this name applies to a hill that is situated in a Welsh speaking part of Wales it is standard practice to use a full Welsh term for the name.  It is also standard practice to use a Welsh name for a hill if another name exists that has originated in a different language. 

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales is Garth, and this was derived from the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map and the One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map, with the Welsh name for this hill prioritised over its part English counterpart, which for listing purposes is standard practice. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Elenydd 

Name:  Garth 

Previously Listed Name:  Garth Bank 

OS 1:50,000 map:  147

Summit Height:  301.2m (LIDAR)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 94677 50495 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  203.6m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 95257 51303 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  97.6m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (December 2021)