Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales

Trwyn y Fuwch (SH 813 823)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop, dominance and status of the hill derived from a Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit survey and LIDAR bwlch analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

Trwyn y Fuwch (SH 813 823)

The criteria for the two listings that this name change 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

Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales – Welsh P30 hills whose prominence equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.  With the criteria for Lesser Dominant status being those additional Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is between one third and half that of their absolute height.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the start of the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 3^rd December 2015, and the list is now available in its entirety on Mapping Mountains in Google Doc format.

Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Mynydd Hiraethog group of hills, which are situated in the northern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A2), and it is positioned with the B5115 road to its south-west, and has the town of Llandudno towards the west.

The hill appeared in the original Welsh 100m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the transposed name of Creigiau Rhiwledyn, 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, with an accompanying note stating; aka Little Orme or Little Ormes Head.

Creigiau Rhiwledyn

141m

SH813824

116

17

aka Little Orme or Little Ormes Head. Trig pillar.

 

During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on a map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to.  Therefore, I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are inappropriate, and Creigiau Rhiwledyn is such an example as this name has been consistently applied by the Ordnance Survey to the cliffs that are positioned north-eastward of the summit of this hill, and although it can be appropriate to use the main named feature of a hill for listing purposes, in this instance the hill has its own Welsh name, and this is Trwyn y Fuwch.

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

The intricacies of language and prioritising one in favour of another for listing a hill is fraught with complication, with originating Cymraeg names being anglicised and also originating English names being cymricised, examples such as these are more common in border country and especially so for anglicised forms.  There is no steadfast rule that fits all, but as a standard a name that has its origins in the Welsh language and where this is substantiated by either historic documentation and/or contemporary usage should be prioritised in favour of a contemporary anglicised or English version of the name.  Likewise, if a name exists where an element of it is in English and if this name applies to a hill that is situated in a Welsh speaking part of Wales it is standard practice to use a full Welsh term for the name.  It is also standard practice to use a Welsh name for a hill if another name exists that has originated in a different language.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales is Trwyn y Fuwch, and this was derived from a variety of sources including the Dictionary of the Place-Names of Wales (Hywel Wyn Owen and Richard Morgan, Gomer Press 2007), with the prioritised language protocol being used.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Hiraethog

Name:  Trwyn y Fuwch

Previously Listed Name:  Creigiau Rhiwledyn 

OS 1:50,000 map:  116

Summit Height:  141.7m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 81314 82382 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

 

Bwlch Height:  6.3m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 78249 82533 (LIDAR)

Drop:  135.4m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  95.56% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Myrddyn Phillips (September 2016)