Tuesday 27 February 2018

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant


Mynydd Bach (SJ 051 123)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips which took place on the 26th January 2018.

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 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Y Berwyn range of hills which are situated in the south-eastern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A4), and is positioned between the Afon Banwy to the south and the Afon Efyrnwy (River Vyrnwy) to the north-east, with the A 458 road to its south-west and the small community of Dolanog which is to its east north-east. 

Mynydd Bach (SJ 051 123)

The hill appeared in the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Pen-y-graig.  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 a building which I thought that of the hill.

Pen-y-graig    323m    SJ051123    125  239

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now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and in the case of this hill it was a local farmer who owns the land where the summit of the hill is situated who gave the name of Mynydd Bach.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Historical map
The local farmer is Trefor Jones who farms from Maes Celynog which is situated towards the south of the hill.  Whilst visiting this hill and its adjacent P30 I was fortunate to meet Trefor who was on his way up to the lower field of this hill in his tractor.  He stopped and we chatted for a number of minutes with him explaining that the hill is known as Mynydd Bach and it is on land that he owns having bought it off an adjacent farm.  Trefor is a Welsh speaker and gave me the translation of the hill’s name as small mountain.

Trefor Jones

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Mynydd Bach and this name was derived from local enquiry.


The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Y Berwyn

Name:  Mynydd Bach

Previously Listed Name:  Pen-y-graig 

Summit Height:  324.9m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 05100 12325 
 
Drop:  28.5m (converted to OSGM15)


The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Mynydd Bach


Myrddyn Phillips (February 2018)


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