Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau

Foel Goch (SH 717 015) 

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 Foel Goch (SH 717 015)

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.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward. 

200m Twmpau by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Tarren y Gesail group of hills, which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it is positioned with the A493 road to its south, and has the town of Machynlleth towards the east.

When the original 200m height band of Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, this hill was listed under the transposed name of Braich y Golwydd, which is a prominent name that appears south-west of this summit on the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map.

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, with little consideration for the meaning of the name and where it was appropriately applied to.  My preference was to use farm names and put Pen, Bryn or Moel in front of them.  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 943 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 Foel Goch in the apportionments as well as on the Tithe map, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Pennal and in the county named as Merioneth. 

Extract from the apportionments

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

 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Tarren y Gesail

Name:  Foel Goch

Previously Listed Name:  Braich y Golwydd

OS 1:50,000 map:  135

Summit Height:  240.2m (LIDAR) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 71798 01550 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  217.5m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 72278 01787 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  22.8m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (February 2025)