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

 

Ffridd y Waun (SH 689 170) 

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 Ffridd y Waun (SH 689 170)

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 Cadair Idris 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 north and minor roads to its south-west and south-east, and has town of Dolgellau towards the 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. 

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

When visiting near hills and also making place-name enquiries, I was advised to seek out Emyr Rees; a local farmer who has lived his entire life close to this hill and who gave the name of Ffridd y Waun for the land where the summit of the hill is situated.  As this name was locally derived it is worthwhile documenting it under a Significant Name Changes post.  

Emyr Rees was aged 70 at the time of the enquiry and is a Welsh speaker and has lived all of his life at Tynyceunant (SH 688 152), this farm is situated to the south of the hill.  When we met at the start of the access track leading to his farm Emyr was in the process of fixing a post with a large mallet.  After introducing myself and explaining my interest in upland place-names, I pointed to the hill to our north and asked Emyr its name, he explained that it is a part of Waen Fechan (SH 686 166) land and is known as Ffridd y Waun (the spelling of the word Waun follows standard modern Welsh).  Emyr also gave me a number of other names for near hills or the bounded land where the summit of each was situated, and these have been detailed in previous Significant Name Changes posts. 

Emyr Rees of Tynyceunant

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 198 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 Waenfechan in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Dolgellau and in the county named as Merioneth. 

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is listed by in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales is Ffridd y Waun and this was derived from local enquiry, with the bounded land where the summit of the hill is situated confirmed by the Tithe map. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Cadair Idris 

Name:  Ffridd y Waun 

Previously Listed Name:  not previously listed 

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Height:  300.9m (LIDAR)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 68949 17020 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  280.8m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 68971 17068 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  20.1m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2022)

 

 

 

 

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

Ffridd y Waun (SH 688 171)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the criteria for the list that this name change applies to being:

Y Trichant – Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and the re-naming and publication history was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Cadair Idris range of hills which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it overlooks the stream valley of the Gwynant to its south-west and the A 493 road to its north and has the town of Dolgellau towards its east.  

Ffridd y Waun (SH 688 171)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Dolgledr.  During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on a map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to and used many names that seemingly applied to a hill and whose placement was nearest the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  Therefore I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are inappropriate, and as the name of Dolgledr applies to a township associated with Dolgellau it is not appropriate for the name of this hill, and it was a local farmer who has lived the whole of his life close to this hill that gave the name of Ffridd y Waun for the land where the summit of the hill is situated.

Dolgledr

309m

SH689172

124

23

The local farmer is Emyr Rees who is aged 70 and is a Welsh speaker and has lived all of his life at Tynyceunant (SH 688 152), this farm is situated to the south of the hill.  When we met at the start of the access track leading to his farm Emyr was in the process of fixing a post with a large mallet, after introducing myself and explaining my interest in upland place-names, I pointed to the hill to our north and asked Emyr its name, he explained that it is a part of Waen Fechan (SH 686 166) land and known as Ffridd y Waun (the spelling of the word Waun follows standard modern Welsh).  Emyr also gave me a number of other names for near hills or the bounded land where the summit of each was situated, these have been detailed in previous Significant Name Changes posts.

Emyr Rees of Tynyceunant

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 Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map

Extract from the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 198 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 Waenfechan, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the county named as Merioneth and in the parish of Dolgelley [sic].

Extract from the Apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Ffridd y Waun, and this was derived from local enquiry, with the bounded land where the summit of the hill is situated confirmed by the Tithe map.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cadair Idris

Name:  Ffridd y Waun

Previously Listed Name:  Dolgledr 

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Height:  308.2 (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 68863 17174 (LIDAR)   

Bwlch Height:  230.85m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 69638 16763 (LIDAR)

Drop:  77.3m (LIDAR)

Myrddyn Phillips (April 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales

Moel Fynydd (SH 697 161)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that appears in the following lists; Y Trichant and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the criteria for the two listings that this name change applies to are:

Y Trichant – All Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and the re-naming and publication history was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017.

Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales – All Welsh P30 hills whose prominence equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.  With the criteria for Lesser Dominant status being those addition Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is 33% or more and below 50% 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 Cadair Idris range of hills which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it overlooks Llyn Gwernan to its east south-east and the town of Dolgellau to its east north-east. 

Moel Fynydd (SH 697 161)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Craig y Castell.  During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on a map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to and used many names that seemingly applied to a hill and whose placement was nearest the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  Therefore I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are inappropriate, and as the positioning of the name Craig y Castell on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps implies, that part of the hill is known by this name and is directly associated with an ancient fortification, and in the case of the hill whose summit is positioned at SH 697 161 it was a local farmer who has lived the whole of his life under this hill that gave the name of Moel Fynydd.

Craig y Castell

321m

SH698162

124

23

Marilyn. Clem/Yeaman. aka Moel Gwernan.

The local farmer is Emyr Rees who is aged 70 and is a Welsh speaker and has lived all of his life at Tynyceunant (SH 688 152), this farm is situated to the south-west of the hill.  When we met Emyr was wielding a large mallet and was in the process of fixing a post.  We met at the start of the access track beside the narrow road that leads to his farm and this hill was directly above us and therefore after introducing myself and explaining my interest in upland place-names, all I had to do was point and say ‘what about that one, has it a name?’, Emyr replied ‘that’s Moel Fynydd’.  Emyr also gave me a number of other names for near hills or the bounded land where the summit of each was situated, some have been detailed in previous Significant Name Changes posts, the one that has not will be detailed in a forthcoming one.

Emyr Rees of Tynyceunant

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales is Moel Fynydd and this name was derived from local enquiry.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cadair Idris

Name:  Moel Fynydd

Previously Listed Name:  Craig y Castell 

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Height:  321.4m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 69777 16198 (LIDAR)   

Bwlch Height:  167.8m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 70838 16524 (LIDAR)

Drop:  153.6m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  47.78% (LIDAR)

Myrddyn Phillips (April 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant

Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail (SH 674 147)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the criteria for the list that this name change applies to are:

Y Trichant – Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and the re-naming and publication history was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Cadair Idris range of hills which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it overlooks the double lakes of Llynnau Cregennan which are to its west south-west and is situated between the small community of Arthog to its west and the town of Dolgellau to its east north-east.  

Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail (SH 674 147)

The hill appeared in the 200m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the partly invented name of Bryn Nant-y-gwyrddail with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the South-West.  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.  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 historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and as the summit of this hill comprises bounded land the details for it were examined on the Tithe map.

Bryn Nant-y-gwyrddail

312m

SH674147

124

23

Name from buildings to the South-West

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 168 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 Nantgwyrddeil [sic], with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the county named as Merioneth and in the parish of Dolgelley [sic].

Extract from the apportionments

The name given this bounded land relates to a farm named Nant-y-gwyrddail that is positioned at SH 671 143 and to the south-west of this hill’s summit.  Having visited a number of neighbouring hills and surveying the critical bwlch of this hill I then visited this farm and met Ceri Williams and her young son and daughter.  Ceri and her husband; Gwern, had moved here recently from the Garndolbenmaen area north-west of Porthmadog, she explained that the farm is tenanted from the National Trust and confirmed their boundary, which takes in the land where the summit of this hill is situated.  As Ceri is a newcomer to this area she suggested I should visit Emyr Rees who farms from Tynyceunant (SH 688 152).

Ceri Williams of Nant-y-gwyrddail and family

As I pulled up in my car at the access track that leads to Tynyceunant, Emyr had just pulled up in his Landrover and was wielding a mighty mallet readying himself to work on a new fence post.  Emyr is aged 70 and has lived at Tynyceunant all his life and is a Welsh speaker.  After introducing myself and explaining my interest in upland place-names, we talked about the hills and their names.  Emyr told me that the land where the summit of this hill is situated is a part of Nant-y-gwyrddail and known as Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail.  Emyr also gave me a number of other names for near hills, which will be detailed in later Significant Name Changes posts. 

Emyr Rees of Tynyceunant

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail, and this name was derived from local enquiry, with the bounded land where the summit of the hill is situated confirmed by the Tithe map and substantiated with the present resident of the farm of Nant-y-gwyrddail.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cadair Idris

Name:  Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn Nant-y-gwyrddail 

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Height:  311.5 (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 67419 14719 (LIDAR)

 

Bwlch Height:  237.7m (Leica GS15 & Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 66210 13444 (Leica GS15 & Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Drop:  73.8m (LIDAR summit and Leica GS15 & Trimble GeoXH 6000 bwlch)

For details on the bwlch survey of Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail

Myrddyn Phillips (April 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau

Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail (SH 665 139)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 200m Twmpau, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 17^th February 2018.

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

200m Twmpau – All Welsh hills at and above 200m and below 300m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.  With an accompanying sub category entitled the 200m Sub-Twmpau consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 200m and below 300m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.

The hill is adjoined to the Cadair Idris range of hills which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it overlooks the double lakes of Llynnau Cregennan which are to its north-west and the small community of Arthog which is to its west north-west. 

Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail (SH 665 139)

The hill appeared in the 200m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the invented name of Bryn y Gregennen with an accompanying note stating; Name from lakes to the North-West.  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 two lakes.  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 historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and as the summit of this hill comprises bounded land the details for it were examined on the Tithe map.

Bryn y Gregennen

280c

SH665139

124

23

Name from lakes to the North-West

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 168 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 Nantgwyrddeil [sic], with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the county named as Merioneth and in the parish of Dolgelley [sic].

Extract from the apportionments

The name given this bounded land relates to a farm named Nant-y-gwyrddail that is positioned at SH 671 143 and to the north-east of the hill’s summit.  Having visited this hill and surveyed its summit and bwlch I then visited this farm and met Ceri Williams and her young son and daughter.  Ceri and her husband; Gwern, had moved here recently from the Garndolbenmaen area north-west of Porthmadog, she explained that the farm is tenanted from the National Trust and confirmed their boundary, which took in the 312m map heighted hill to the north north-east and the hill that this article relates to which is importantly the farthest summit on their land from the farm.  As Ceri is a newcomer to this area she suggested that I should visit Emyr Rees who farms from Tynyceunant (SH 688 152).

Ceri Williams of Nant-y-gwyrddail with her daughter, son and floppy pawed puppy

As I pulled up in my car at the access track that leads to Tynyceunant, Emyr had just pulled up in his Landrover and was wielding a mighty mallet readying himself to work on a new fence post.  Emyr is aged 70 and has lived at Tynyceunant all his life and is a Welsh speaker.  After introducing myself and explaining my interest in upland place-names, we talked about the hills and their names.  Emyr told me the old farmer from Nant-y-gwyrddail; John Rees, who died in 2017, called the bounded land where the summit of this hill is situated Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail, and that the word bellau can be translated in to English as farthest, therefore the translation of this name is the far off ffridd of Nant y Gwyrddail.  Emyr also gave me a number of other names for near hills, which will be detailed in later Significant Name Changes posts.  

Emyr Rees of Tynyceunant

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 200m Twmpau is Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail, and this name was derived from local enquiry, with the bounded land where the summit of the hill is situated confirmed by the Tithe map and substantiated with the present resident of the farm of Nant-y-gwyrddail.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cadair Idris

Name:  Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn y Gregennen 

Summit Height:  280.0m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 66542 13906 

 

Drop:  35.4m (converted to OSGM15)

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail

For details on the survey of Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2018)