Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – The Fours

Walker’s Bank (SO 389 984)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in The Fours, with the height, drop and status of the hill confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips which took place on the 5^th November 2014.

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

The Fours – English hills at and above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop. 

Accompanying the main list of The Fours are three categories of sub hills, with this hill being classified in the 390m Sub-Four category.  The criteria for 390m Sub-Four status are all English hills at and above 390m and below 400m in height that have a minimum 30m of drop.

The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, with the 1^st edition of the list having been published by Europeaklist in December 2013 and by Haroldstreet in January 2014, with the 2^nd edition of the list due for publication by Mapping Mountains Publications in early 2018.

The hill is situated in the Welsh Borders and is placed in Region 38, Section 38A with its Cardinal Hill being the Stiperstones (SO 367 986).  The hill is positioned above a number of minor lanes with the one to its south-west being a part of the Shropshire Way, and has the small communities of Stiperstones towards its north-west and Picklescott towards its east north-east.

Walker's Bank (SO 389 984)

This hill was not included in the listing that is now known as The Fours when originally compiled as it did not at that stage include a sub-list to the hills at and above 390m and below 400m in height.  When this list was subsequently uploaded to the RHB Yahoo group file database and data then augmented from Clem Clements it appeared listed as; unnamed summit~.  These data were then duplicated by Mark Jackson to form this height band within the Tumps and this hill is now listed as Gatten Hill within that list, presumably so as there are a number of buildings positioned near to this hill with the name Gatten applied to them on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps, such as Gatten Lodge, Far Gatten and Near Gatten Farm.

Although I am of firm belief that listed hill names used by other authors should be respected when giving detail within other people’s lists, the practice of inventing a hill name based on the proximity of buildings near to where it is situated 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 this hill now appears under the name of Walker’s Bank in The Fours due to research conducted by Aled William’s with local farmers.

Prior to the 1^st edition of The Fours being published by Europeaklist in December 2013 this hill was not included in this list, therefore although there is no change in this hill’s listed name within The Fours it is worth categorising under the heading of Significant Name Changes as the name this hill is now listed by comes from local enquiry. 

  

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in The Fours is Walker’s Bank and this was derived from local enquiry. 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Stiperstones

Name:  Walker’s Bank

Previously Listed Name:  Not previously listed in The Fours

 

Summit Height:  399.0m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  137

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 38905 98491

  

Drop:  43.6m (converted to OSGM15)

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Walker's Bank (SO 389 984)

For details on the survey of Walker’s Bank

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (February 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Stiperstones

05.11.14  Walker's Bank (SO 389 984)  

Walker's Bank (SO 389 984)

Having surveyed the critical col for the Stiperstones (SO 367 986) and the col and summit of The Cold Piece (SO 338 996), I drove out of the small community of Shelve and headed east circumventing the main Stiperstones ridge and then swinging north on a narrow lane and parked at the start of a gravelled track adjacent to a field where I spent the next twenty minutes assessing the critical col of Walker’s Bank.

Walking up the lane I stepped over an old gate into an expansive closely cropped grassy field, its contoured gradient reminiscent of a snooker table made for a race of giants.  Smoothly it slid down on its northerly valley to valley traverse, its meeting of the hill to hill traverse seemed relatively easy to pinpoint, but its southerly valley to valley traverse continued in a smooth green flatland that was hard to distinguish what was up and what was down.  The centralised ten figure grid reference for the col took me to what was visually still on part of the downward hill to hill traverse.  I pottered about for quite some time, wandering seemingly aimlessly back and forth, judging, assessing, looking and then repeating the process.  Eventually I picked a spot, set the Trimble down and gathered some data. 

Gathering data at the critical col of Walker's Bank

Thankfully only one vehicle passed on the adjacent narrow lane during the twenty minutes I spent in the field.  Once the Trimble had been packed away I walked back to the car and drove down the lane to a conveniently wide road junction, parked and walked back up the lane to a track heading eastward toward the next summit of the day: Walker’s Bank (SO 389 984).

The track led through three gates and continued around the northern slopes of the summit of Walker’s Bank, I broke off the track and headed over closely cropped grass and aimed direct for the high point of the hill.  To the north the rounded Shropshire uplands continued with the flat plain beyond. 

The view north from the slopes of Walker's Bank

Rounded Shropshire hills

This hill benefits from place-name research conducted by Aled Williams as it is another example of a hill that is unnamed on Ordnance Survey maps.  However, Ordnance Survey maps do help in their use of an uppermost 399m spot height that appears on the enlarged Geograph map.  And with an estimated 42m of drop this hill is a prime candidate for a Trimble survey and a possible promotion from the Sub-Fours to the main listing of The Fours.

The high point of the hill was easily identified and consists of grass.  Once the Trimble was set up and gathering data I enjoyed the expansive views with the Stiperstones a dulled brown heather colour with their recognisable spiky rock outcrops dominating the view westward.  Away to the south-west the pointed summit of Nipstone Rock was easily picked out with its twin map heighted heathery top just to its south.

Gathering data at the summit of Walker's Bank

After packing the Trimble away I made my way leisurely back down to the track and the continuation to the narrow lane and my parked car.  The day’s totals were now three cols and two summits surveyed, with another three summits (one a twin) and one col yet to visit.  Next stop the Stiperstones.     

Survey Result:


Walker's Bank (significant name change) 

Summit Height:  399.0m (converted to OSGM15) (390m Sub-Four status confirmed)

   

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 38905 98491

Col Height:  355.4m (converted to OSGM15)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 38430 99132

Drop:  43.6m 

Dominance:  10.93%

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet