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

 

Ffridd y Waun (SH 689 170) 

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 Ffridd y Waun (SH 689 170)

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, and the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of the list appearing on the 1^st January 2022. 

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

The hill is adjoined to the Cadair Idris group of hills, which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it is positioned with the A493 road to its north and minor roads to its south-west and south-east, and has town of Dolgellau towards the east. 

When the original 300m height band of Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, this hill was not included in the Hills to be surveyed sub list, as it was considered not to meet the criteria then used for this sub category. 

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

When visiting near hills and also making place-name enquiries, I was advised to seek out Emyr Rees; a local farmer who has lived his entire life close to this hill and who gave the name of Ffridd y Waun for the land where the summit of the hill is situated.  As this name was locally derived it is worthwhile documenting it under a Significant Name Changes post.  

Emyr Rees was aged 70 at the time of the enquiry and is a Welsh speaker and has lived all of his life at Tynyceunant (SH 688 152), this farm is situated to the south of the hill.  When we met at the start of the access track leading to his farm Emyr was in the process of fixing a post with a large mallet.  After introducing myself and explaining my interest in upland place-names, I pointed to the hill to our north and asked Emyr its name, he explained that it is a part of Waen Fechan (SH 686 166) land and is known as Ffridd y Waun (the spelling of the word Waun follows standard modern Welsh).  Emyr also gave me a number of other names for near hills or the bounded land where the summit of each was situated, and these have been detailed in previous Significant Name Changes posts. 

Emyr Rees of Tynyceunant

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 198 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 Waenfechan in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Dolgellau and in the county named as Merioneth. 

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is listed by in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales is Ffridd y Waun and this was derived from local enquiry, with the bounded land where the summit of the hill is situated confirmed by the Tithe map. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Cadair Idris 

Name:  Ffridd y Waun 

Previously Listed Name:  not previously listed 

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Height:  300.9m (LIDAR)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 68949 17020 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  280.8m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 68971 17068 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  20.1m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2022)