Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – The Fours – The 400m Hills of England

Swell Tor (SX 559 733) 

There has been a Significant Name Change that is retrospective to a hill that is listed in the The Fours – The 400m Hills of England, with the summit height, col height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis initially conducted by Aled Williams and subsequently by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Swell Tor (SX 559 733)

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

The Fours – The 400m Hills of England.  English hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop, accompanying the main list are three categories of sub hills, with this hill being included in the 400m Sub-Four category, the criteria for which are all English hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and the 2^nd edition of the booklet containing this list was published by Mapping Mountains Publications on the 24^th April 2018.

The Fours - The 400m Hills of England by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams

The hill is adjoined to the High Willhays group of hills, which are situated in Dartmoor in the south-west of the country, and it is positioned with the B3357 road to its north, a minor road to its west south-west and the B3212 road to its south-east, and has the town of Tavistock towards the west.

When the listing that is now known as The Fours – The 400m Hills of England was originally compiled by Myrddyn Phillips this hill appeared under the directional name of King’s Tor South-east Top, with an accompanying note stating; Author’s name from tor to the North-west. 

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

During the original compilation of this list the author 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 or as in this instance use a directional name based on supplanting the name of a near hill and adding a directional component to it.  This is not a practice that is now advocated 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. 

The three volume set of A Descrption of the Part of Devonshire Bordering on the Tamar and Tavy

The title page

When the 1^st edition of the The Fours now co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams was published by Europeaklist in December 2013, this hill was listed under the name of Swell Tor with an accompanying note stating; Name recorded as Swell Tor and Swill Tor in A Description of the Part of Devonshire Bordering on the Tamar and the Tavy by A. E. Bray (1836). 

Extract from the book

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in The Fours - The 400m Hills of England is Swell Tor, and this was derived from the book entitled A Description of the Part of Devonshire Bordering on the Tamar and the Tavy which is authored by A. E. Bray and first published in 1836. 

 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  High Willhays

Name:  Swell Tor

Previously Listed Name:  King’s Tor South-east Top 

OS 1:50,000 map:  191

Summit Height:  402.9m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SX 55996 73357 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  375.7m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SX 56355 73333 (LIDAR)

Drop:  27.2m (LIDAR)

 

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (February 2024)