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

Cefn (SN 997 734 & SN 997 733) 

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 LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Cefn (SN 997 734 and SN 997 733)

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 Hirddywel group of hills, which are situated in the northern part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B2), and it is positioned with minor roads to its north-west and south, and the B4518 road to its west, and has the village of Llanarmon (St Harmon) towards the south-west.

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. 372m) notation with 28m of drop, based on the 372m summit spot height and the 344m bwlch spot height that appear on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer 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 1667 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 Cefn in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llanarmon and in the county named as Radnor. 

Extract from the apportionments

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

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Hirddywel 

Name:  Cefn 

Previously Listed Name:  Pt. 372m 

OS 1:50,000 map:  136, 147

Summit Height:  371.4m (LIDAR)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 99758 73405 & SN 99757 73402 & SN 99757 73398 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  344.3m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 00094 73404 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  27.2m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (February 2025)