Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - The Welsh P15s

 

The Welsh P15s – Significant Name Changes

The Welsh P15s are all Welsh hills that have a minimum of 15m of drop, irrespective of their height.  Accompanying the main P15 list is a sub list entitled; The Welsh Sub-P15s, with the qualification to this sub category being all Welsh hills with 14m or more and below 15m of drop.

The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the posts that have appeared on Mapping Mountains detailing the significant name changes to the main P15 list and the sub list that are below P20 and therefore documented in other lists, appear below presented chronologically in receding order.

Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - The Welsh P15s

Pt. 423.1m (SH 715 748) - 107th significant name change

 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in 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 Pt. 423.1m (SH 715 748)

The criteria for the list that this name change 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 hill is adjoined to the Carnedd Llywelyn group of hills, which are situated in the north-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A1), and it is positioned with the A55 road to its north, a minor road to its west south-west and the B5106 road to its east, and has the town of Penmaen-mawr towards the north.

When the listing that became known as The Welsh P15s was being compiled, this hill was included in the main P15 list under the transposed name of Graig Lwyd, which is a prominent name that appears to the north of its summit on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and which is more applicable to an adjacent quarry rather than that of the hill. 

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

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, with little consideration for the meaning of the name and where it was appropriately applied to.  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 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.

However, on occasion even when research is conducted an appropriate name for the hill may not be found, and on such occasions the listing protocol is to use the point (Pt. 423.1m) notation, and for this hill this is such an example.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in The Welsh P15s is Pt. 423.1m and this is being used as the author has not found an appropriate name for the hill either through historic research and/or local enquiry. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Carnedd Llywelyn 

Name:  Pt. 423.1m

Previously Listed Name:  Graig Lwyd 

OS 1:50,000 map:  115

Summit Height:  423.1m (LIDAR)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 71529 74810 (LIDAR)                                                  

Bwlch Height:  406.85m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 71352 74759 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  16.2m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2025)

 

Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - The Welsh P15s

Cae Pant (SN 908 472) - 106th significant name change

Summit Relocations post for Cae Pant

 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in 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 Cae Pant (SN 908 472)

The criteria for the list that this name change 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 hill is adjoined to the Drygarn Fawr group of hills, which are situated in the central part of the South Wales Region (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and it is positioned with minor roads to its north-east and south, and the A483 road to its north-west, and has the town of Llanwrtyd towards the west.

When the listing that became known as The Welsh P15s was being compiled, this hill was included in the main P15 list under the point (Pt. 214m) notation with an estimated c 16m of drop, based on the 214m summit spot height that is positioned at SN 90855 47214 and which appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map, and an estimated c 198m bwlch height based on interpolation of 10m contouring between 190m – 200m. 

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 555 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 Cae Pant in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish named as Llangamarch and in the county named as Brecon. 

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in The Welsh P15s is Cae Pant and this was derived from the Tithe map. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Drygarn Fawr 

Name:  Cae Pant

Previously Listed Name:  Pt. 214m 

OS 1:50,000 map:  147

Summit Height:  214.5m (LIDAR)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 90813 47233 (LIDAR)                                                  

Bwlch Height:  199.2m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 90117 47253 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  15.3m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2025)