Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau

 

Banc (SN 568 757) 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 100m Twmpau, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill confirmed by LIDAR analysis and a subsequent Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

Banc (SN 568 757)

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

100m Twmpau - Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height with 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. 

The 100m Twmpau by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Elenydd group of hills which are situated in the western part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B2), and it has the coast to its west and the A487 road to its east, and has the village of Llanfarian towards the north-east. 

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

The hill originally appeared in the 100m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the transposed name of Esgair-hir, which is a prominent name that appears near the summit of this hill on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map.

Esgair-hir

192m

SN567759

135

213

Clem/Yeaman. Trig pillar.

During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on the 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 either inappropriate or where another name is viewed as being more appropriate, with the previously listed name of Esgair-hir being that of a ruined farm house and not necessarily that of the hill. 

The old ruined farm house of Esgair-hir

As this hill comprises bounded land the Tithe map was consulted.  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 168 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 Banc in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llanychaearn and in the county named as Cardigan. 

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 100m Twmpau is Banc, and this was derived from the Tithe map.

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Elenydd 

Name:  Banc

Previously Listed Name:  Esgair-hir 

OS 1:50,000 map:  135

Summit Height:  194.2m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 56817 75750 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Bwlch Height:  130.2m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 57845 73062 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  64.0m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

 

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2021)