Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 30-99m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales

Mynydd Bach (SH 389 767)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 30-99m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit height confirmed by LIDAR analysis, and a subsequent survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 conducted by Myrddyn Phillips, with the latter taking place on the 28^th October 2018.

LIDAR summit image of Mynydd Bach

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

30-99m Twmpau - Welsh hills at or above 30m and below 100m in height with 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 30-99m Sub-Twmpau with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 30m and below 100m 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, with the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 3^rd December 2015.

The hill is adjoined to the Ynys Môn group of hills, which are situated in the north-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A1), and it has the A5 and A55 roads to its south, and has the village of Gwalchmai towards its south.

This hill was first listed in the original Welsh 30-99m P30 list published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the transposed name of Bryn-teg, which is a name appearing near to the hill on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps and which I presumed was the name of the hill, it is not, it is a name of a house.

Bryn-teg

95c

SH389768

114

262/263

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 transpose a name on the map which I presumed to be that of the hill.  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

After visiting this hill I called at a number of houses, including Bryn-teg hoping to make place-name enquiries.  I was directed down the minor lane toward a cottage, as I headed toward the cottage a man appeared and walked toward a plot of land where his daughter was planning to live.  Gwyn Thomas lived at one of the houses I’d passed on the lane; the hill was on the other side of the road to where his daughter was planning to live and was at the back of Gwyn’s house.  I introduced myself and explained my interest in hill names and asked if he knew a name for the hill; he replied immediately and told me its name is Mynydd Bach.

Gwyn Thomas with Mynydd Bach in the background

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 30-99m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales is Mynydd Bach, and this was derived from local enquiry.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Ynys Môn

Name:  Mynydd Bach

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn-teg

 

OS 1:50,000 map:  114

Summit Height:  96.5m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 38964 76773

Bwlch Height:  c 64m

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 40259 77918 (I)

 

Drop:  c 32m

Dominance:  33.66%

For details on the summit survey of this hill

Myrddyn Phillips (May 2019)

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

Cae Uchaf (SS 575 943)

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, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

LIDAR image of Cae Uchaf

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 addition Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is 33.33% 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 Gŵyr group of hills, which are situated in the western part of South Wales (Region C, Sub-Region C1), and it is positioned with the B 4296 road to its east, and has the small community of Y Crwys (Three Crosses) at its base to the west south-west.

The hill originally appeared in the 100m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the invented name of Three Crosses Hill with an accompanying note stating; Name from town to the West. 

Three Crosses Hill

144m

SS576944

159

164

Name from town to the 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 a name of a village and add the word Hill to the name.  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 given the number 1424 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 ucha in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llanrhidian and in the county named as Glamorgan.

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 100m Twmpau is Cae Uchaf, and this was derived from the Tithe map.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Gŵyr

Name:  Cae Uchaf

Previously Listed Name:  Three Crosses Hill 

  

OS 1:50,000 map:  159

Summit Height:  144.4m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SS 57511 94397 (LIDAR)

Bwlch Height:  73.4m (LIDAR, natural bwlch remains)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SS 50983 90868 (LIDAR)

 

Drop:  71.0m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  49.19% (LIDAR)

Myrddyn Phillips (November 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 30-99m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales

Park Quarry (SN 428 120)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 30-99m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit and bwlch height and position confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

LIDAR image of Park Quarry

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

30-99m Twmpau - Welsh hills at or above 30m and below 100m in height with 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 30-99m Sub-Twmpau with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 30m and below 100m 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 addition Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is 33.3% or more and below 50% 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 Mynydd Sylen group of hills, which are situated in the western part of South Wales (Region C, Sub-Region C1), and is positioned with the stream valley of the Gwendraeth Fach to the south and east, and the A 484 road to the west, and has the small town of Cydweli (Kidwelly) towards the south.

The hill originally appeared in the 30-99m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the invented name of Pen Ystrad-fawr with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the South-West.

Pen Ystrad-fawr

93m

SN429121

159

177/178

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 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 given the number 798 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 Park Quarry in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llandefailog and in the county named as Carmarthen.

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 30-99m Twmpau and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales is Park Quarry, and this was derived from the Tithe map.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Sylen

Name:  Park Quarry

Previously Listed Name:  Pen Ystrad-fawr 

Summit Height:  93.9m (LIDAR)

OS 1:50,000 map:  159

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 42853 12091 and SN 42859 12091 (LIDAR) 

 

Drop:  48.5m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  51.63%

Myrddyn Phillips (November 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales

Pen Twmp (SM 988 329)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 200m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the bwlch height and its Dominant status confirmed via LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

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

200m Twmpau – All Welsh hills at or 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. 

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 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 Mynydd Preseli group of hills, which are situated in the south-western part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B4), and it is positioned with the A 40 road to its west and the B 4313 road to its north and has the Nant y Bugail to its south-west and the River Aer to its north-north-east, and has the town of Abergwaun (Fishguard) towards the north-west.

The hill originally appeared in the 200m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the invented name of Bryn Pentre-newydd with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the North-East. 

Bryn Pentre-newydd

217m

SM988330

157

35

Name from buildings 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.  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.

During the initial compilation of the Dominant list I made a number of place-name enquiries for qualifying hills, including this one.  I was put in contact with Elin Evans and Julian Fry, at the time of our conversation Elin was a school teacher and Julian a web master for a site concentrating on Llanychaer, this being the small community where they lived.  Elin’s grandfather grew up at Penlan (SM 997 333), and her parents; John and Rhian Evans lived in the bungalow adjoined to the farm of Cronllwyn (SM 986 348), therefore her family have lived beside this hill for at least three generations.

On the day I phoned, Elin’s parents were upset as one of their sheep dogs had been put down, therefore Julian offered to speak with John and Rhian at an opportune moment, and he later did so and phoned me with details relating to this hill and its name.  The name given Julian for this hill by Elin’s parents; John and Rhian Evans is Pen Twmp.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 200m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales is Pen Twmp, and this name was derived from local enquiry.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Preseli

Name:  Pen Twmp

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn Pentre-newydd

 

Summit Height:  217m

OS 1:50,000 map:  157

Summit Grid Reference:  SM 98820 32984 

 

Drop:  109m

Dominance:  50.09%

Myrddyn Phillips (August 2018)

Significant Name Changes - Y Trichant and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales

Foel Cocyn (SH 624 042)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit height being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH survey which took place on the 14^th May 2018, and the drop of the hill being confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

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

Y Trichant – Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the Introduction to the list and the re-naming and publication history of it was published on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017.

Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales – Welsh P30 hills whose prominence equal or exceed 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 Tarennydd range of hills which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it overlooks the B 4405 road and the Afon Fathew to the south-east and the Afon Dysynni to the north-west, and has the small community of Dolgoch to its east and Bryn-crug to its south-west. 

Foel Cocyn (SH 624 042)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Ffridd Cocyn.  During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on the map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to.  Therefore I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are either inappropriate or where another name is viewed as being more appropriate, and although the name of Ffridd Cocyn has been consistently presented on Ordnance Survey maps, it was enquiries with a number of local farmers who gave the name of Foel Cocyn for this hill. 

Ffridd Cocyn

313m

SH625043

135

23

Marilyn. Clem/Yeaman.

When visiting this and adjacent hills I was fortunate to speak with a number of local farmers including Edward Cook of Perfeddnant (SH 628 055), who I met on the upper slopes of this hill, Edward was out on his quad bike with a colleague and two sheep dogs and I was surprised when he gave me the name of Foel Cocyn for this hill as I had accepted the map name for many years.  I asked if this should be Ffridd Cocyn and Edward replied ‘no, I know it as Foel Cocyn’.

Edward Cook of Perfeddnant

I descended from this small grouping of hills to Llanerch-goediog (SH 640 050) and met Stephen Jones who has lived at this farm all of his life outside of three years he spent at university.  When asked about this hill Stephen said that it’s known as Cocyn, he later referred to it as Foel Cocyn, I again asked if this should be Ffridd Cocyn, and was told that it’s a foel.

Stephen Jones of Llanerch-goediog

My route continued north-east from Stephen’s farm and I was fortunate to meet Joanne Redman at the summit of the next hill, she helped me with its name which will be documented in a forthcoming Significant Name Changes post, and suggested that I should contact her father; Tomos Lewis who lives and farms from Nant-y-mynach (SH 644 048), she then kindly gave me his telephone number.

The following day I phoned Tomos and two days later then visited him.  Tomos has lived in this area all of his life having been brought up in one of the council houses in Abertrinant and has lived at Nant-y-mynach since the age of six.  He gave me the name of Foel Cocyn for this hill during our telephone conversation and later confirmed this name when we met, I asked about the name of Ffridd Cocyn and he said that ‘we’ve always known the top as Foel Cocyn’.  

Tomos Lewis of Nant-y-mynach

The term ffridd is usually given to land that is enclosed and is lower than the mountain, or mynydd land adjoined to a farm, both are associated with the cynefin naming system, details relating to these are given below:

Many Welsh hills comprise bounded land that is separated either by a fence or wall; these boundaries indicate land that is adjoined to different owners or tenants.  These land boundaries have usually been in place for centuries and in the uplands of Wales they are referred to as the cynefin, or sheep-walk in English.

The sheep-walk is an English term given to enclosed land that is apportioned to a specific farm.  The Welsh term for this land is cynefin, which can be literally translated as habitat, as in that for the sheep.  The cynefin usually takes in land that is known as the mountain land of the specific farm, therefore the name given to this enclosed land is usually that of the name of the farm prefixed with the word mynydd (mountain), this land is usually given over for sheep grazing, hence the term sheep-walk.  When Ordnance Survey maps are examined one can find many examples where this form of cynefin naming system exists, with farms situated in valley’s having their name given to high mountain land and prefixed with the word mynydd.

The bounded land given over to specific farms also takes in middle ground between the higher mountain land and the lower pasture land of the valley, this is known in Welsh as the ffridd and can take in a variety of habitats including heath, moor, grassland, woodland and high pasture.  Again, when Ordnance Survey maps are examined one can find many examples of names prefixed with the word Ffridd, and its apportionment to a specific hill is dependent upon where the bounded land is situated and referring to the Tithe maps for confirmation is then advised.

It is the cynefin naming system that usually results in a hill being known by different names in opposing valleys, as in many instances the upper bounded land meet at the watershed on top of the summit ridge and therefore the same hill would be known by two different names, each name a part of a different farm’s cynefin.

When visiting these farmers I asked if there was a farm named Cocyn in the area which would substantiate the use of the word ffridd in relation to this hill, and was told there wasn’t, with Edward Cook telling me that the word cocyn refers to the small hummocks on the side of the hill. 

Although the name of Ffridd Cocyn has been consistently given on Ordnance Survey maps in relation to this hill, it seems this name is either no longer used in the local community or it was never used and that the transcript of this hill’s name was incorrectly given by Ordnance Survey as Ffridd instead of Foel.

Even if the name of Ffridd Cocyn was once used locally, this would refer to enclosed land incorporating a field, whereas the name of Foel Cocyn refers to the hill and not necessarily to just an enclosed field.

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

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Tarennydd

Name:  Foel Cocyn

Previously Listed Name:  Ffridd Cocyn

OS 1:50,000 map:  135

Summit Height:  312.9m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 62455 04290 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Bwlch Height:  62.5m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 67118 06459 (LIDAR)

Drop:  250.4m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  80.04% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

For details on the survey of Foel Cocyn

Myrddyn Phillips (July 2018)