Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau

Cae Bedw (SN 807 368) 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 200m Twmpau, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Cae Bedw (SN 807 368)

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

200m Twmpau - Welsh hills at or above 200m and below 300m in height with 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 200m Sub-Twmpau with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 200m and below 300m 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 200m Twmpau by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Mynydd Epynt group of hills, which are situated in the central part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and it is positioned with a minor road to its north-west, the A483 road to its west, the A40 road to its south and a minor road to its south-east, and has the town of Llanymddyfri (Llandovery) towards the west south-west. 

The hill appeared in the original Welsh 200m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the transposed name of Allt Nantygollen, which is a prominent name that appears near the summit of this hill on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map.

Allt Nantygollen

270c

SN807368

160

187

 

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 Allt Nantygollen applicable to land that does not take in the summit of this 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 1221 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 Cae Bedw in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llanfair-ar-y-bryn and in the county named as Carmarthenshire. 

Extract from the Tithe map

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 200m Twmpau is Cae Bedw and this was derived from the Tithe map. 

 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Epynt

Name:  Cae Bedw

Previously Listed Name:  Allt Nantygollen   

OS 1:50,000 map:  160

Summit Height:  270.9m (LIDAR) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 80708 36805 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  242.5m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 80714 36536 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  28.4m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (February 2022)