Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Pedwarau - The 400m Hills of Wales

Y Graig Wen (SJ 240 371)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Pedwarau, and the following details are in respect of a hill that was surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 on the 17^th July 2015.

The criteria for the list that this name change affects are:

Y Pedwarau - These are the Welsh hills at and above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, and the introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appeared on the 30th January 2017.

The hill is a part of the Y Berwyn range, which is an extensive group of hills situated in the south-eastern part of north Wales.  The hill is positioned between the small communities of Llwynmawr to the west, Craignant and Selattyn to the south-east and Bronygarth to the east.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Y Graig Wen

The hill appeared in the 400m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the invented name Pen Llwynmawr, with an accompanying note stating; Name from village to the 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, use the name of a near village.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with research either conducted locally or historically an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found.    

  

Pen Llwynmawr

407m

SJ241371

126

240/255/256

Name from village to the West

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 historical 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 enlarged map on the Geograph website.  One of the historical maps now available is the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map which formed the basis for the first publicly available Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map naming the hill as Y Graig Wen

The Draft Surveyors maps consist of the preliminary drawings made by the Ordnance Survey’s 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. 

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Pedwarau is Y Graig Wen, and this was derived from the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Y Berwyn

Name:  Y Graig Wen

Previously Listed Name:  Pen Llwynmawr 

Summit Height:  406.9m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  126

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 24068 37100  

Drop:  53.5m (converted to OSGM15)

For details on the survey of Y Graig Wen

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (August 2016)