Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 30-99m Twmpau

 

Pant y Gaseg (SH 414 940) 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 30-99m 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 mapping on the Magic Maps and WalkLakes websites. 

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

30-99m Twmpau – Welsh hills at or above 30m and below 100m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 30-99m Sub-Twmpau with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 30m and below 100m 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 30-99m 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 the A5025 road to its south, and has the town of Amlwch towards the east south-east. 

The hill appeared in the original 30-99m Welsh P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the transposed name of Gaerwen, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the East.

Gaerwen

70c

SH414941

114

262

Name from buildings to the East.

 

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 transpose the name of a farm 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. 

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 256 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 Pant y Gaseg in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Amlwch and in the county named as Anglesey. 

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 30-99m Twmpau is Pant y Gaseg and this was derived from the Tithe map. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Ynys Môn 

Name:  Pant y Gaseg

Previously Listed Name:  Gaerwen 

OS 1:50,000 map:  114

Summit Height:  72m (spot height)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 41401 94065 (spot height)

Bwlch Height:  c 48m (interpolation)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 41007 93863 (interpolation) 

Drop:  c 24m (spot height summit and interpolated bwlch)

 

Myrddyn Phillips (June 2021)