Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau

Castell Dolforwyn (SO 151 950) 

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 a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey and LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Castell Dolforwyn (SO 151 950)

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 that have 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 Carnedd Wen group of hills, which are situated in the southern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it is positioned encircled by minor roads, with the B4389 road farther to its south-west and the A483 road farther to its south-east, and has the town of Y Drenewydd (Newtown) towards the 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 Dolforwyn Castle, with an accompanying note stating; Name from remains of castle at summit.

Dolforwyn Castle

230c

SO152951

136

215

Name from remains of castle at summit

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 a bilingual name that appears on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps 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

Since the original publication of the Welsh P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website there have been a number of maps made available online.  Some of these are historic such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website.  Whilst others were digitally updated such as the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local that was hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the interactive mapping on the Magic Maps and WalkLakes websites.  One of the historic maps now available online is the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map which formed the basis for the first publicly available Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map, and it is the Draft Surveyors map and the prioritised language protocol that has prompted the change in the listed name of this hill.

The Draft Surveyors maps consist of the preliminary drawings made by the Ordnance Survey surveyors between the 1780s and 1840 and formed the basis for the first publicly available One-Inch map.  They were drawn at scales of six inches to the mile for areas considered of particular military significance and down to two inches to the mile for other areas.  Fair copies were then produced from these preliminary drawings to one inch to the mile and then copper plates were prepared for printing.  The Draft Surveyors maps for the whole of Wales are now available online and they form an important part in the study of Welsh upland place-names as they bridge the time frame between the late 18^th century and the mid-19^th century when the Ordnance Survey produced their first One-Inch maps, and importantly for this hill and its listed name, it is this map that uses the name of Castell Dolforwyn. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map

The intricacies of language and prioritising one in favour of another for listing a hill is fraught with complication, with originating Cymraeg names being anglicised and also originating English names being cymricised, examples such as these are more common in border country and especially so for anglicised forms.  There is no steadfast rule that fits all, but as a standard a name that has its origins in the Welsh language and where this is substantiated by either historic documentation and/or contemporary usage should be prioritised in favour of a contemporary anglicised or English version of the name.  Likewise, if a name exists where an element of it is in English and if this name applies to a hill that is situated in a Welsh speaking part of Wales it is standard practice to use a full Welsh term for the name.  It is also standard practice to use a Welsh name for a hill if another name exists that has originated in a different language.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 200m Twmpau is Castell Dolforwyn, and this was derived from the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map with the prioritised language protocol being used. 

 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Carnedd Wen

Name:  Castell Dolforwyn

Previously Listed Name:  Dolforwyn Castle   

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Height:  228.5m (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 15189 95016 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Bwlch Height:  188.1m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 14988 95278 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  40.4m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (November 2023)