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

Penlle’rfedwen (SN 735 111) 

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 Penlle'rfedwen (SN 735 111)

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 Mynydd Du group of hills, which are situated in the southern part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B5), and it is positioned with the A4068 road to its north-east, the A474 road to its west and a minor road to its east, and has the village of Brynaman towards the north-west.

The hill appeared in the original 300m height band of Welsh P30 hills published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the transposed name of Bryn-melyn, with an accompanying note stating; Name from disused quarry to the North-West.

Bryn-melyn

352m

SN735112

160

12

Trig pillar. Name from disused quarry to the North-West

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 disused quarry and use it for that of the hill.  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 745 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 Penlle’rfedwen and Gwrhyd in the apportionments, with both being adjoining common land, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llan-giwg and in the county named as Glamorgan. 

Extract from the apportionments

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

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Mynydd Du 

Name:  Penlle’rfedwen 

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn-melyn 

OS 1:50,000 map:  160

Summit Height:  352.0m (LIDAR)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 73502 11156 & SN 73510 11154 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  318.6m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 72504 10750 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  33.4m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2024)

  

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – The Welsh P15s

 

Y Garreg Las (SN 768 098) – Welsh Sub-P15 reclassified to Welsh P15 

There has been a reclassification to the list of The Welsh P15s, 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 Y Garreg Las (SN 768 098)

The criteria for the list that this reclassification applies to are:

The Welsh P15s – Welsh hills with 15m minimum drop, irrespective of their height, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Welsh Sub-P15s, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills with 14m or more and below 15m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips, with the Introduction to the list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 10^th May 2019. 

The Welsh P15s by Myrddyn Phillips

The name the hill is now listed by is Y Garreg Las and this was derived from the Tithe map and it is adjoined to the Mynydd Du group of hills, which are situated in the southern part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B5), and it is positioned with a minor road to its immediate north-east, and west, the A4068 road farther to its north-east and the A4067 road to its south-east, and has the community of Y Gurnos towards the east south-east. 

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

When the listing that became known as The Welsh P15s was being compiled, this hill was included in the P14 sub list with an estimated c 14m of drop, based on the 157m summit spot height that appeared on the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map and an estimated c 143m bwlch height, based on interpolation of 5m contouring between 140m – 145m that appeared on the OS Maps website.  Latterly the interactive mapping hosted on the WalkLakes website gives this hill a 158m summit spot height. 

Extract from the interactive mapping hosted on the WalkLakes website

However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for this hill could be accurately re-assessed.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales.

Therefore, the reclassification of this hill from Welsh Sub-P15 status is due to LIDAR analysis, resulting in a 158.5m summit height and a 141.7m bwlch height, with these values giving this hill 16.75m of drop, which is sufficient for it to be included in the main list of The Welsh P15s. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Mynydd Du 

Name:  Y Garreg Las 

OS 1:50,000 map:  160

Summit Height:  158.5m (LIDAR)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 76803 09804 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  141.7m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 76797 09723 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  16.75m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2024)

 

 

 

 

Mapping Mountains – Significant Height Revisions – 200m Twmpau

Comin Gwauncaegurwen (SN 721 131) 

There has been a Significant Height Revision to a hill that is listed in the 200m Twmpau, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from detail produced by JoeNuttall in his surface analysis programme, with subsequent LIDAR analysis conducted by the DoBIH team and independently by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Comin Gwauncaegurwen (SN 721 131)

The criteria for the list that this height revision applies to are:

200m Twmpau – Welsh hills at or above 200m and below 300m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 200m Sub-Twmpau, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 200m and below 300m 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. 

200m Twmpau by Myrddyn Phillips

The name the hill is listed by is Comin Gwauncaegurwen and this was derived from the Tithe map with the language protocol also used, and it is adjoined to the Mynydd Du group of hills, which are situated in the southern part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B5), and it is positioned with the A4068 road to its north, the A4069 road to its west and a minor road to its south-west, and has the village of Brynaman towards the north-west.

When the original 200m height band of Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, this hill was not included in the main P30 list or the accompanying Hills to be surveyed sub list, as with no significant contours of note on the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map it was difficult to judge whether any hill of note existed. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map

Since the original publication of the Welsh P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website there have been a number of 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 were digitally updated such as the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local that was hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the interactive mapping on the Magic Maps and WalkLakes websites. 

Extract from the interactive mapping hosted on the WalkLakes website

One of the mapping resources now available online is the WalkLakes website which hosts an interactive map originated from the Ordnance Survey Open Data programme.  This map has many spot heights not on other publicly available maps and a 258m spot height is given on the summit area of this hill.  Latterly the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map now has an uppermost 250m contour for this hill. 

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

However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for this hill could be accurately re-assessed.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales. 

LIDAR summit image of Comin Gwauncaegurwen (SN 721 131)

LIDAR analysis gives the highest ground on this hill that could now be deemed natural as 258.4m positioned at SN 72135 13154, and when compared to detail on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps when the Welsh P30 lists were originated this comes within the parameters of the Significant Height Revisions used within this page heading, these parameters are:

The term Significant Height Revisions applies to any listed hill whose interpolated height and Ordnance Survey or Harvey map summit spot height has a 2m or more discrepancy when compared to the survey result produced by the Trimble GeoXH 6000 or analysis of data produced via LIDAR, also included are hills whose summit map data is missing an uppermost ring contour when compared to the data produced by the Trimble or by LIDAR analysis.

Therefore, the new listed summit height of this hill is 258.4m and this was derived from LIDAR analysis, this is 34.4m higher than the uppermost 220m contour on the old Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Outdoor Leisure map and 8.4m higher than the uppermost 250m contour that appears online on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map.

 

ills of Wales, and are reproduced below@

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Du 

Name:  Comin Gwauncaegurwen 

OS 1:50,000 map:  160

Summit Height (New Height):  258.4m (LIDAR) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 72135 13154 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  218.5m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 72505 12523 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  39.9m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2024)

  

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

Three Barrows (SX 652 626) 

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 conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Three Barrows (SX 652 626)

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, these are the 400m Sub-Fours, the 390m Sub-Fours and the 390m Double Sub-Fours.  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 Ryder’s Hill group of hills, which are situated in Dartmoor in the south-west of the country, and it is positioned with a series of minor roads to its south-west and south-east, and the B3213 road and the A38 road to its south, and has the town of Ivybridge towards the south. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map

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 name of Ugborough Moor; which is a prominent name that appears close to its summit on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map, and this was also the name the hill appeared as when the list was uploaded to the RHB Yahoo group file database. 

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

However, the listed name of this hill was amended and given as Three Barrows 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 and when the 2^nd edition of The Fours – The 400m Hills of England was published by Mapping Mountains Publications in April 2018.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in The Fours - The 400m Hills of England is Three Barrows and this was derived from a variety of Ordnance Survey maps, including the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map.                                                                                 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Ryder’s Hill

Name:  Three Barrows

Previously Listed Name:  Ugborough Moor 

OS 1:50,000 map:  202

Summit Height:  461.3m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SX 65286 62610 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  426.7m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SX 65153 63316 (LIDAR)

Drop:  34.6m (LIDAR)

 

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (March 2024)

 

 

 

  

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – 100m Twmpau

Pt. 152.6m (SN 747 277) – 100m Sub-Twmpau addition

There has been confirmation of an addition to the list of 100m Twmpau, 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 Pt. 152.6m (SN 747 277)

The criteria for the list that this addition applies to are:

100m Twmpau – Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height that have 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. 

100m Twmpau by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is being listed by the point (Pt. 152.6m) notation as an appropriate name for it either through local enquiry and/or historic research has not been found by the author, and it is adjoined to the Mynydd Du group of hills, which are situated in the southern part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B5), and it is positioned encircled by minor roads, with the A4069 road farther to its west, and has the village of Llangadog towards the west.

When the original 100m 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.

After the sub list was standardised, and interpolated heights and drop values also included the details for this hill were re-assessed and it was listed with 21m of drop, based on the 153m summit spot height and the 132m bwlch spot height that appear on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map. 

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

However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for this hill could be accurately re-assessed.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales.

Therefore, the confirmation of the addition of this hill to 100m Sub-Twmpau status is due to LIDAR analysis, resulting in a 152.6m summit height and a 132.5m bwlch height, with these values giving this hill 20.1m of drop, which is sufficient for it to be classified as a 100m Sub-Twmpau. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Mynydd Du 

Name:  Pt. 152.6m 

OS 1:50,000 map:  146, 160

Summit Height:  152.6m (LIDAR) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 74733 27758 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  132.5m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 74874 27534 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  20.1m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2024)