Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales

Hafod Tafolog (SN 704 364) 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales, 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. 

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

Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales – Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Sub-Trichant, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the list and the renaming of it appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017, and the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of the list appearing on the 1^st January 2022. 

Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Mynydd Mallaen group of hills, which are situated in the central part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and it is positioned with minor roads to its north, west, south and east, and the A482 road farther to its west, and has the town of Llanymddyfri (Llandovery) towards the east south-east.

When the original 300m 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.

After the sub list was standardised, and interpolated heights and drop values also included the details for this hill were re-evaluated and it was listed under the point (Pt. 326m) notation with 20m of drop, based on the 326m summit spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and the 306m bwlch spot height that appeared on the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map. 

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 15 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 a part of Hafod Tafolog in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llanwrda and in the county named as Carmarthen. 

Extract from the aportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales is Hafod Tafolog and this was derived from the Tithe map. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Mynydd Mallaen 

Name:  Hafod Tafolog 

Previously Listed Name:  Pt. 326m 

OS 1:50,000 map:  146, 160

Summit Height:  326m (spot height)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 70475 36417 (spot height) 

Bwlch Height:  306m (spot height) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 70473 36526 (spot height) 

Drop:  2om (spot height summit and bwlch) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (June 2023)