Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau

 

Pen y Bryn (SO 075 896) 

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 Pen y Bryn (SO 075 896)

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 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 west, south and east, and the A489 road to its north-east, and has the town of Y Drenewydd (Newtown) towards the east north-east.

When the original 200m height band of Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, this hill was not included in the accompanying 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. 239m) notation with 27m of drop, based on the 239m summit spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and the 212m bwlch spot height that appeared on the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage 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 246 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 a part of Pen y Bank farm in the apportionments, with this a probable typo for Pen y Bryn, which it appears as on the Tithe map, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish named as Penstrowed and in the county named as Montgomery. 

Extract from the apportionments

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

 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Hirddywel

Name:  Pen y Bryn

Previously Listed Name:  Pt. 239m   

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Height:  238.6m (LIDAR) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 07529 89658 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  210.5m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 07074 89710 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  28.1m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (April 2025)

 

 

Mapping Mountains – Summit Relocations – 200m Twmpau

 

Pen y Bryn (SO 075 896) 

There has been a Summit Relocation 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 Pen y Bryn (SO 075 896)

The criteria for the list that this summit relocation 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 name the hill is now listed by is Pen y Bryn and this was derived from the Tithe map, and it 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 west, south and east, and the A489 road to its north-east, and has the town of Y Drenewydd (Newtown) towards the east north-east.

When the original 200m height band of Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, this hill was not included in the accompanying 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 with 27m of drop, based on the 239m summit spot height positioned at SO 07518 89633 that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and the 212m bwlch spot height that appeared on the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map. 

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

However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for this hill could be accurately re-assessed.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales.

LIDAR analysis gives the highest ground on this hill as 239.0m positioned at SO 07514 89646.  However, this is a part of a raised field boundary and protocols dictate that as this is deemed a relatively recent man-made construct such ground is discounted from the height of a hill. 

LIDAR summit image of Pen y Bryn (SO 075 896)

The height produced by LIDAR analysis to the highest remaining natural ground on this hill is 238.6m and this is positioned at SO 07529 89658, and this comes within the parameters of the Summit Relocations used within this page heading, these parameters are:

The term Summit Relocations applies when the high point of the hill is found to be positioned; in a different field, to a different feature such as in a conifer plantation,  within a different map contour either on Ordnance Survey maps or interactive mapping, to a different point where a number of potential summit positions are within close proximity, when natural ground or the natural and intact summit of a hill is confirmed compared to a higher point such as a raised field boundary or covered reservoir that is considered a relatively recent man-made construct, 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.

Therefore, the summit height produced by LIDAR analysis is 238.6m and this is positioned at SO 07529 89658, this position is approximately 25 metres north-eastward from where the 239m spot height appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and is approximately 15 metres north-eastward from the high point of the raised field boundary. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Hirddywel 

Name:  Pen y Bryn 

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Height:  238.6m (LIDAR) 

Summit Grid Reference (New Position):  SO 07529 89658 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  210.5m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 07074 89710 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  28.1m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2025)

 

 

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – 200m Twmpau

 

Pen y Bryn (SO 075 896) – 200m Sub-Twmpau addition

There has been confirmation of an addition of a hill to the list of 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 Pen y Bryn (SO 075 896)

The criteria for the list that this addition 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 name the hill is now listed by is Pen y Bryn and this was derived from the Tithe map, and it 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 west, south and east, and the A489 road to its north-east, and has the town of Y Drenewydd (Newtown) towards the east north-east.

When the original 200m height band of Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, this hill was not included in the accompanying 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 with 27m of drop, based on the 239m summit spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and the 212m bwlch spot height that appeared on the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map. 

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

However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for this hill could be accurately re-assessed.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales.

Therefore, the confirmation of the addition of this hill to 200m Sub-Twmpau status is due to LIDAR analysis, resulting in a 238.6m summit height and a 210.5m bwlch height, with these values giving this hill 28.1m of drop, which is sufficient for it to be classified as a 200m Sub-Twmpau. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Hirddywel 

Name:  Pen y Bryn 

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Height:  238.6m (LIDAR) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 07529 89658 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  210.5m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 07074 89710 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  28.1m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2025)