Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales

Cae Ddu Main (SN 622 983) – Lesser Dominant addition

There has been an addition to the listing of Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit height, its location, the drop and status of the hill confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

LIDAR image of Cae Ddu Main

The criteria for the list that this reclassification applies to are:

Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales – Welsh P30 hills whose prominence equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.  With the criteria for Lesser Dominant status being those additional Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is between one third and half that of their absolute height.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the start of the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 3^rd December 2015.

When the original Welsh 100m P30 list was published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website the summit location of this hill was given to the 102m spot height that is positioned at SS 619 984 on the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer maps.  When this list was standardised with interpolated height and drop values included this hill was listed with c 30m of drop based on the 102m spot height, with these values insufficient for Lesser Dominant status.  However, the 1:25,000 Explorer map has a small uppermost 105m ring contour to the east of the 102m spot height, which prompted the summit relocation of this hill.

The name of the bounded land where the summit of this hill is situated is Cae Ddu Main and this was derived from the Tithe map, and it is this name that the hill is now listed by.  The hill is adjoined to the Mynydd Penlle’rcastell group of hills, which are situated in the western part of South Wales (Region C, Sub-Region C1), and is positioned with the A483 road to its immediate west and the A48 and M4 to its north, and has the village of Penlle’r-gaer to its north.

If wanting to visit the hill permission to do so should be sought as the summit area is not a part of designated open access land, for those wishing to do so an approach from the north may be feasible.

LIDAR summit image of Cae Ddu Main

The summit height produced by LIDAR analysis is 106.9m to remaining natural ground and is positioned at SN 62212 98337, this position is approximately 290 metres east from where the summit was originally listed at the position of the 102m spot height, with the height produced by LIDAR to the natural bwlch being 69.1m positioned at SN 62051 00000, with these values giving this hill 37.8m of drop and 35.34% dominance, which is sufficient for this hill to be classified as a Lesser Dominant.

LIDAR bwlch image of Cae Ddu Main

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Penlle’rcastell

Name:  Cae Ddu Main

OS 1:50,000 map:  159

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 62212 98337 (LIDAR, remaining natural high point)

Summit Height:  106.9m (LIDAR, remaining natural high point)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 62051 00000 (LIDAR, natural bwlch)

Drop Summit to Bwlch:  37.8m (LIDAR)

Drop Bwlch to ODN:  69.1m (LIDAR, natural bwlch)

Dominance:  35.34% (LIDAR)

Myrddyn Phillips (February 2019)

Mapping Mountains – Summit Relocations – 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales

Cae Ddu Main (SN 622 983)

There has been a Summit Relocation to a hill that is listed in the 100m Twmpau and also now in Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit height, its location, the drop and status of the hill confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

LIDAR image of Cae Ddu Main

The criteria for the two lists that this summit relocation applies to are:

100m Twmpau - Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height with 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 100m Sub-Twmpau with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m 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.

Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales – Welsh P30 hills whose prominence equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.  With the criteria for Lesser Dominant status being those additional Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is between one third and half that of their absolute height.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the start of the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 3^rd December 2015.

The name of the bounded land where the summit of this hill is situated is Cae Ddu Main and this was derived from the Tithe map, and it is this name that the hill is now listed by.  The hill is adjoined to the Mynydd Penlle’rcastell group of hills, which are situated in the western part of South Wales (Region C, Sub-Region C1), and is positioned with the A483 road to its immediate west and the A48 and M4 to its north, and has the village of Penlle’r-gaer to its north.

If wanting to visit the hill permission to do so should be sought as the summit area is not a part of designated open access land, for those wishing to do so an approach from the north may be feasible.

When the original Welsh 100m P30 list was published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website the summit location of this hill was given to the 102m spot height that is positioned at SS 619 984 on the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer maps.  However, the 1:25,000 Explorer map has a small uppermost 105m ring contour to the east of the 102m spot height.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map

The summit relocation to land within the 105m ring contour has now been confirmed by LIDAR analysis and this land is confirmed as higher than that at the 102m spot height to its west.

The summit height produced by LIDAR analysis is 106.9m to remaining natural ground, and its position in relation to that originally given comes within the parameters of the Summit Relocations used within this page heading, these parameters are:

The term Summit Relocations applies to any listed hill whose summit meets the following criteria; where there are a number of potential summit positions within close proximity and the highest point is not where previously given, or a relocation of approximately 100 metres or more in distance from either the position of a map spot height or from where the summit of the hill was previously thought to exist, or when the summit of the hill is in a different field compared to where previously given, or when the natural and intact summit of a hill is confirmed compared to a higher point such as a raised field boundary that is judged to be a relatively recent man-made construct.  As heights on different scaled Ordnance Survey maps are not consistent the height given on the 1:25,000 Explorer map is being prioritised in favour of the 1:50,000 Landranger map for detailing these relocations.

The summit height produced by LIDAR analysis is 106.9m to remaining natural ground and is positioned at SS 62212 98337, this position is approximately 290 metres east from where the summit was originally listed at the position of the 102m spot height.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Penlle’rcastell

Name:  Cae Ddu Main

OS 1:50,000 map:  159

Summit Height:  106.9m (LIDAR, remaining natural high point)

Summit Grid Reference (new position):  SN 62212 98337 (LIDAR, remaining natural high point)

Bwlch Height:  69.1m (LIDAR, natural bwlch)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 62051 00000 (LIDAR, natural bwlch) 

Drop:  37.8m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  35.34% (LIDAR)

Myrddyn Phillips (February 2019)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales

Cae Ddu Main (SN 622 983)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit height, its location, the drop and status of the hill confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

LIDAR image of Cae Ddu Main

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

100m Twmpau - Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height with 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 100m Sub-Twmpau with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m 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.

Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales – Welsh P30 hills whose prominence equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.  With the criteria for Lesser Dominant status being those additional Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is between one third and half that of their absolute height.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the start of the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 3^rd December 2015.

The hill is adjoined to the Mynydd Penlle’rcastell group of hills, which are situated in the western part of South Wales (Region C, Sub-Region C1), and is positioned with the A483 road to its immediate west and the A48 and M4 to its north, and has the village of Penlle’r-gaer to its north.

The hill originally appeared in the 100m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the invented name of Valley Wood Hill, with an accompanying note stating; Name from wood to the North-East.

Valley Wood Hill

102m

SS619984

159

164/165/178

Name from wood to the North-East

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 use the name of a wood and add the word Hill to it.  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 beside a raised field boundary, with land either side of this considered of equal height, and the prioritised summit position is given the number 2928 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 ddu main in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llangyfelach and in the county named as Glamorgan.

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 100m Twmpau and Y Trehol – The Dominant Hills of Wales is Cae Ddu Main, and this name was derived from the Tithe map.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Penlle’rcastell

Name:  Cae Ddu Main

Previously Listed Name:  Valley Wood Hill

  

OS 1:50,000 map:  159

Summit Height:  106.9m (LIDAR, remaining natural high point)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 62212 98337 (LIDAR, remaining natural high point)

Bwlch Height:  69.1m (LIDAR, natural bwlch)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 62051 00000 (LIDAR, natural bwlch) 

Drop:  37.8m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  35.34% (LIDAR)

Myrddyn Phillips (February 2019)