Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Pedwarau – The 400m Hills of Wales

Mynydd Mallaen (SN 722 455) 

There has been a Significant Name Change that is retrospective to a hill listed in the Y Pedwarau – The 400m Hills of Wales, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams. 

Mynydd Mallaen (SN 722 455)

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

Y Pedwarau – The 400m Hills of Wales.  Welsh hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop, accompanying the main list are five categories of sub hills; 500m Sub-Pedwarau, 500m Double Sub-Pedwarau, 400m Sub-Pedwarau, 390m Sub-Pedwarau and the 390m Double Sub-Pedwarau.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and is published on Mapping Mountains in Google Doc format.

Y Pedwarau - The 400m Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams

The hill is adjoined to the Mynydd Mallaen group of hills, which are situated in the central part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and it is positioned with a minor road to its north, and has the town of Llanwrtyd towards the east.

The hill appeared in the original Welsh 400m P30 list compiled by Myrddyn Phillips and published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the transposed name of Crugiau Merched, with part of an accompanying note stating; aka Mynydd Mallaen.

Crugiau Merched

462m

SN722455

146/147

187

Marilyn. Clem/Yeaman. Trig pillar at 459m to the North. aka Mynydd Mallaen.

The two names of Crugiau Merched and Mynydd Mallaen are recorded on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map.  The former in italicised script indicating it applies to an ancient monument, in this instance the ancient cairns that are situated on the summit area of this hill, including one positioned adjacent to/at its summit, whilst the latter name applies to the mountain itself, which is extensive. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map

Since the original publication of the Welsh P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website there have been a number of maps made available online.  Some of these are historic such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website.  Whilst others were digitally updated such as the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local that was hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the interactive mapping on the Magic Maps and WalkLakes websites.  Two of the historic maps now available online are the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map which formed the basis for the first publicly available Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map. 

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

The One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map was the first map that Ordnance Survey produced, and their publication culminated from the whole of Britain being surveyed between 1791 and 1874 and the detail gathered therein produced at a scale of one inch to the mile and published in sheet format between 1805 and 1874.  The One-Inch ‘Old Series’ maps for the whole of Wales are now available online; they are also available in map format as enlarged and re-projected versions to match the scale and dimensions of the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger series and are published by Cassini.  This series of maps form another important part in the study of Welsh upland place-names and bridge the time-frame leading up to the production of the Ordnance Survey base map of the Six-Inch series.  And for an Ordnance Survey map, it is this map that gives a good portrayal of the extensive nature of land the name of Mynydd Mallaen applies to. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey One-Inch 'Old Series' map

This list is now co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and when the 1^st edition of the list was published by Europeaklist in May 2013, the prioritised listed name was changed to Mynydd Mallaen, to reflect that this is the mountain name, in preference to the name recorded for the ancient cairns situated on its summit area.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Pedwarau – The 400m Hills of Wales is Mynydd Mallaen, and this was derived from a variety of Ordnance Survey maps and confirmed via local enquiry.

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Mynydd Mallaen 

Name:  Mynydd Mallaen 

Previously Listed Name:  Crugiau Merched 

OS 1:50,000 map:  146, 147 

Summit Height:  460.9m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 72217 45534 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Bwlch Height:  259.2m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 72372 46231 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Drop:  201.7m (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (December 2025) 

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Pedwarau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales

Mynydd Maen (ST 260 978)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Pedwarau and the Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill confirmed by LIDAR analysis initially conducted by Aled Williams and subsequently by Myrddyn Phillips.

LIDAR image of Mynydd Maen (ST 260 978)

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

Y Pedwarau – Welsh hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, with the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 30^th January 2017.

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, with the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 3^rd December 2015.

The hill is adjoined to the Cymoedd Gwent group of hills which are situated in the eastern part of South Wales (Region C, Sub-Region C2), and it is positioned with the A4051 and A4042 roads to its east, the A472 road to its north and the A467 road to its south-west, and has the town of Pont-y-pŵl (Pontypool) towards the north-east. 

The hill appeared in the original Welsh 400m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the name of Mynydd Twyn-glas, which is a name that appears close to this hill’s summit on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps.

Mynydd Twyn-glas

472m

ST260978

171

152

Marilyn. Clem/Yeaman. Trig pillar.

Hill list authors are prone to list a hill by the name that appears nearest to its summit on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps, without much consideration for its local or historical confirmation, or whether map placement is appropriate, and in the case of this hill the names of Mynydd Twyn-glas and Mynydd Maen have been consistently shown near the summit of this hill on different scaled Ordnance Survey maps.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map

Since publication of these P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website there have been a number of Ordnance Survey maps made available online, some of these are historic such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website, and which is entitled the Interactive Coverage Map, and in the case of this hill it is the series of Ordnance Survey Six-Inch maps that shows the name of Mynydd Maen being prioritised over that of Mynydd Twyn-glas.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Pedwarau and the Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales is Mynydd Maen, and its prioritised status was derived from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cymoedd Gwent

Name:  Mynydd Maen

Previously Listed Name:  Mynydd Twyn-glas

OS 1:50,000 map:  171

Summit Height:  473.0m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  ST 26000 97841 (LIDAR)

Bwlch Height:  218.0m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  ST 22547 98878 (LIDAR)

Drop:  255.0m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  53.91% (LIDAR)

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (July 2019)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Pedwarau

Buddugre (SO 089 700)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Pedwarau, with the summit height being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips and which took place on the 10^th July 2018, and the bwlch height confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Aled Williams and subsequently by Myrddyn Phillips.

Buddugre (SO 089 700)

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

Y Pedwarau – Welsh hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, with the introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 30^th January 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Pegwn Mawr range of hills which are situated in the north-eastern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and it is positioned between the stream valleys of the Clywedog Brook to its west and the Afon Ieithon (River Ithon) to its east, and has the small community of Abaty Cwm-hir (Abbeycwmhir) towards the west north-west. 

The hill appeared in the original Welsh P30 lists under the 400m P30 height band on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the name of Beddugre Hill, which is the name given the hill on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps. 

Beddugre Hill

419m

SO089700

136/147

200/214

Clem/Yeaman

Hill list authors are prone to list a hill by the name that appears nearest to its summit on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps, without much consideration for its local or historical confirmation, or whether map placement is appropriate, and in the case of this name the Hill part is a later addition as evidenced by detail on the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map and the series of Ordnance Survey Six-Inch maps.

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

Since publication of these P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website there have been a number of Ordnance Survey maps made available online, some of these are historical such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the Interactive Coverage Map hosted on the Geograph website.  Two of the historical maps now available are the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map which formed the basis for the Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map

Extract from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps

The Draft Surveyors maps consist of the preliminary drawings made by the Ordnance Survey’s surveyors between the 1780s and 1840 and formed the basis for the first publicly available One-Inch map.  They were drawn at scales of six inches to the mile for areas considered of particular military significance and down to two inches to the mile for other areas.  Fair copies were then produced from these preliminary drawings to one inch to the mile and then copper plates were prepared for printing.  The Draft Surveyors maps for the whole of Wales are now available online and they form an important part in the study of Welsh upland place-names as they bridge the time frame between the late 18^th century and the mid-19^th century when the Ordnance Survey produced their first One-Inch maps.

The later edition of the word Hill is also tautological as Buddugre can be translated as victory hill.  The name Buddugre is the originator of the name that appears on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps; Beddugre Hill, which is a tautological anglicised version of the hill name. 

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Pedwarau is Buddugre, and this was derived from the originator name that is widely referenced online.

 

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Buddugre

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Pegwn Mawr

Name:  Buddugre

Previously Listed Name:  Beddugre Hill

OS 1:50,000 map:  136, 147

Summit Height:  417.9m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 08919 70025

Bwlch Height:  304.5m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 08883 71933 (LIDAR)

Drop:  113.3m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

For details on the survey of Buddugre

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (December 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Pedwarau

Bwlch Bank (SO 242 720)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Pedwarau, with the height of the summit confirmed by a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 which took place on the 19^th April 2018, and the height of the bwlch ascertained from LIDAR analysis conducted by Aled Williams.

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

Y Pedwarau – Welsh hills at and above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, with the introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of the list appearing on the 30^th January 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Beacon Hill range of hills, which are situated in the north-eastern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and is positioned between the B4355 road to the north-east and the A488 road to the south-east, and has the small town of Tref-y-clawdd (Knighton) to the east.

Bwlch Bank (SO 242 720)

The hill appeared in the 400m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Bailey Hill.  Hill list authors are prone to list a hill by the name that appears nearest to its summit on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps, without much consideration for its local or historical confirmation, or whether map placement is appropriate, and in the case of this hill it was examination of Ordnance Survey historical maps and local enquiry that confirmed the name of the hill and the land area that constitutes that of Bailey Hill respectively.  

Bailey Hill

426m

SO242720

137/148

201

Clem/Yeaman

Since publication of these P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website there have been a number of Ordnance Survey maps made available online, some of these are historical such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the Interactive Coverage Map hosted on the Geograph website.  Two of the historical maps now available are the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map which formed the basis for the Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map, and it was the former of these maps that name the hill as Bwlch Bank.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map

The Draft Surveyors maps consist of the preliminary drawings made by the Ordnance Survey’s surveyors between the 1780s and 1840 and formed the basis for the first publicly available One-Inch map.  They were drawn at scales of six inches to the mile for areas considered of particular military significance and down to two inches to the mile for other areas.  Fair copies were then produced from these preliminary drawings to one inch to the mile and then copper plates were prepared for printing.  The Draft Surveyors maps for the whole of Wales are now available online and they form an important part in the study of Welsh upland place-names as they bridge the time frame between the late 18^th century and the mid-19^th century when the Ordnance Survey produced their first One-Inch maps.

The placement of names on maps from one scale to another and from one edition to another are prone to be moved over time, however study has shown that one of the best publicly available Ordnance Survey maps for name placement is the 1:25,000 historical map and this map also shows the name of Bwlch Bank adjoined to this hill.

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

When visiting this hill place-name enquiries were made with a number of local farmers and Bailey Hill was confirmed to take in a large area associated with a number of individual hills and is not applicable just to this hill, this is in evidence on the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors Map as well as the historical 1:25,000 map, both of which use the name of Bailey Hill as an elongated ridge name, whereas the contemporary 1:25,000 Explorer map dispenses with the use of an elongated ridge name giving the impression that this name is applicable just to one hill and not a large area of land taking in more than just this one hill.

Guy Hodnett from Brookhouse Farm

John and Liz Riberts from the Racecourse Farm

David Williams from White Anthony Farm

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Pedwarau is Bwlch Bank, and this was derived from the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map and substantiated by the Ordnance Survey historical 1:25,000 map, with the land area taking in Bailey Hill confirmed by local enquiry.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Beacon Hill

Name:  Bwlch Bank

Previously Listed Name:  Bailey Hill

Summit Height:  424.9m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  137, 148

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 24234 72023

Drop:  95.1m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Bwlch Bank (SO 242 720)

For details on the survey of Bwlch Bank

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (June 2018)