Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau

 

Plas Newydd (SH 614 807) 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is now listed in the 100m Twmpau, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from detail on contemporary maps produced from Ordnance Survey data and LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

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 Ynys Môn 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 coast to its north and a minor road to its south, and has the small community of Glan-yr-afon towards the west. 

When the original 30-99m 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. 

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

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 under the point (Pt. 99m) notation with 27m of drop based on the 99m summit spot height and the 72m bwlch spot height that appear on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map.  Therefore, the hill was an addition to the 30-99m Sub-Twmpau list.  With the summit height subsequently amended to 100m due to the spot height that appears on the interactive mapping on the WalkLakes website. 

Extract from the Tithe 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 apportionments

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 48 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 Plas Newydd in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llangoed and in the county named as Anglesey. 

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

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Ynys Môn 

Name:  Plas Newydd

Previously Listed Name:  Pt. 99m 

OS 1:50,000 map:  114, 115

Summit Height:  100m (spot height) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 61430 80710 (spot height) 

Bwlch Height:  71.7m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 60600 81404 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  28m (spot height summit and LIDAR bwlch) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (May 2021)