handbook of the origin of place-names in wales and monmouthshire

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lue pool. Llewellyn uses the word hoen in that sense. " Hoen blodau haf," the colour of the summer flowers.Hoen also implies liveliness, gladness.Perhaps hoen was used to denote the lively nature of the river, and ddu, black, to indicate the hue of itswaters. Others seem to think that the name is a compound of hawn-heini, swift, wild, hasty ; and dwy, whichmeans original cause. Dwyf, which signifies 'I am', the self-existent, was frequently applied by the Druids torivers, such as Dyfrdwy, &c.We rather think the correct wording is Hawn-ddu, the rapid black stream, which is a true description of itscourse from its rise on the Eppynt mountain to its junction with the Usk.Aberllyfni. — Llyfni is a compound of llyfn,. smooth; and wy, water. The place is delightfully situated at thejunction of the Llyfni and Wye Rivers* English name — Sleekmouth.Aberyscir. — A corruption of Aberesgair, from its situation on the river Esgair, which discharges itself hereinto the river Usk. Esgair here implies a branch, or tributary. English name — Branchton.Battle. — This small parish, according to tradition, received its name from a battle that was fought here, inwhich Bleddyn ab Maenyrch, the last of the Brychan princes was killed by Bernard de Newmarch. We, findseveral names in the vicinity which favour the above derivation, such as Heol y Cymry,the Welshmen's road;Cwm Gwyry Gad, the vale of the battle men.Beaufort. — The popular Welsh name of this place is Cendl. from Kendall, the name of the proprietor of theIronworks that was once the mainstay of the place. The present name was given in honour of the Duke ofBeaufort.Beulah. — This village takes its name from a chapel of that name which belongs to the Congregational body.Bronllys. — Some spell it Brynllys, and others Brwynllys, but the former is the correct wording. A farmhousein the parish is called Bryn y Grots, the hill of the cross. History points to the probability that wars wereengaged here, from which we may infer that a llys, a court, was held on a certain hill in the vicinity. The oldcastle is still called Bronllys. English name — Courthill.Brynmawr. — It was anciently called Waun Helygen, willow-tree common, from a meadow in the placewhich abounded with willow-trees, but when it became an important seat of the iron and coal trades, the oldname was changed for the new and more dignified one of Brynmawr, the big hill. English name — Big-hill, orHillton.Builth. — This name is a mutation of Buallt. Some are of opinion that Buallt is the Balceum Silurum of theRomans, but others are induced to think the name is a derivative of Bual, the wild ox or buffalo. Llanfair-pi-Muallt, St. Mary's Church in the wood of the wild ox. Historians believe that the wild ox ranged unmolested inthe forests of this district. We offer the following derivation: Bu, an ox; allt, gallt, a wooded eminence. Englishname — Oxhill.Capel Isaf. — Isaf, lower, is a differentia added to distinguish it from Capel Uchaf. English name —Lowchapel.Capel Uchaf. — The name means the higher chapel, and it was so called from the chapel of ease that wasbuilt in the place. English name — Highchapel.Capelyffin. — The name signifies boundary chapel, and is derived by Mr. Jones (History of Brecknock) thus:" In 1708 there was a long dispute in the ecclesiastical court about this chapel (chapel of the boundary);Lewis Thomas, clerk, vicar of Llanigon, refused to do duty here as there was no salary annexed to the cure,whereupon he was cited to the bishop's court at the promotion of some of the parishioners, and in thearticles filed against him it is stated that sometimes a corpse remained uninterred a whole night, and childrendied without being baptized in consequence of the vicar's neglect, though he had theretofore regularlyofficiated there by himself or curate for ten or twelve years. In this cause many old witnesses were examined,two or three of them say the chapel is in the hamlet of Blaenbwch, in the parish of Glasbury, others that it isin Llanigon, but all agree that it is a chapel of ease to the latter." English name — Boundary Chapel.Cathedin. — A corruption of Caethadyn, which implies an incarcerated vagabond. Mr. Jones, in his " HistoryOrigin of Place-names in Wales & Monmouthshire Page 19
of Brecknock," states that this vicinity was given by Bernard de Newmarch towards the support of Gwrgan,who was to be kept confined in Brecon Castle. English name — Slaveton.Cefn-Coed-y-Cymmer. — Cefh, back, ridge; coed, wood; y y the; cymmer, confluence of waters. The villageis situated on a rising, and (one time) very woody eminence, below which the Taf Fawr and Taf Fechanembrace each other. English name — Woodridge.Cenol. — Catwl, middle, is the right wording. This picturesque neighbourhood forms the middle of Llanfiangel-Cwmdu;hence the name. English name — Midham.Cil-le. — This name signifies a sequestered place. English name — Nookham.Coelbren. — A corruption, probably, of cil-y-bryn, church on the hill, or the hill of the sanctuary. Cilybebyll,the church of the tents, is in the neighbourhood. English name — Churchhill.Crickadarn. — Some are of opinion that Crug-cadam is the true orthography. Crug, heap or bank; cadarn,strong. The church was built upon the top of a craggy hillock. We rather think it is a contraction of Cerrygcadarn,from the rocks and stones which appear frequently on the surface in different parts of the parish. Theriver Clettwr rushes over rocks and through craggy places until it falls into the Wye at Erwood. Clettwr is acontraction of caled-ddwr, hard water, or it might be Clyd-ddwr, sheltered water. English name — Cragton.Crickhowel. — A mutation of Crug Hywel, or Cerrig Hywel. Crug, a heap ; hywel, conspicuous. Cerrig,stones ; Howel, proper name. Historians differ as to the application of the word Hywel. Some apply it to theplace from the conspicuity of the hill ; others apply it to Howel, the prince of Glamorgan. The latter theory issupported by the fact that in this vicinity the territorial boundaries of Howel and the Lords of Brecknock weredetermined. After the battle Howel raised a huge heap of stones to define the boundary henceforth; hencethe name Crug Hywel, Howel's heap. Cerrig Hywel allude to the same circumstance. Some derive the namefrom Crug Hywel, an ancient British fortress, surrounded by large heaps of stones, situated about two milesnorth-north-east of the town, the remains of which are still visible. English name — Howelstone.Cwmioy. — A corruption of Cwm Iau, the vale of yoke, so called, probably, from the resemblance of the valeto oxen's yoke. Cymerwch fy iau arnoch," — take my yoke upon you. English name — Yokecomb.Defynog. — Some derive this name from dyfnog, which signifies a place abounding with glens. Dyfn, deep.Devon comes from the same root. Others think the patron saint is Dyfnog, the son of Medrod, a grandson ofCradoc Fraich-fras, who flourished in the sixth century. The right wording is Tref Cynog. Saint Cynog, son ofBrychan, flourished in the fifth century, and founded a church here, which is dedicated to him. His name ispreserved also in Merthyr Cynog and Llangynog. English name — Cynogton.Dolgaer. — Dol, meadow; goer — caer, a wall. This place took its name from a farmhouse of the samename. English name— Moorhall.Dukestown. — In honour of the Duke of Beaufort.Dyfnant. — A compound of dyfn, deep, and nant, a brook. English name— Deepbrook.Erwood. — Some think this is an Anglicized form of the Welsh Erw-yd, which signifies the land of corn. It is,probably, a corruption of y rhyd, the ford, in allusion to a certain ford in the river Wye, where cattle were wontto cross in time of yore. English name — Fordham.Felinfach. — The name means the little mill, probably derived from an old mill which formed the nucleus ofthe village. English name — Little Mill.Garth. — From an old mansion of the name, whence the celebrated Charles Wesley had his "better half."Garth has been explained in the introduction. English name — Hillton.Glasbury. — This name is derived by some from glasy green, verdant, and bury, borough, probably from thebeauty and fertility of the valley. The ancient name of this place was Y Clds, the green or verdant inclosure.Clasdir means glebe land. English name — Greenbury.Gwenddwr. — A compound of gwen, feminine form of gwyn, white, clear, transparent, and dwr, water.Origin of Place-names in Wales & Monmouthshire Page 20
Page 1 and 2: HANDBOOK OF THE ORIGIN OF PLACE-NAM
Page 3 and 4: § § § § §The Author begs to st
Page 5 and 6: pitiful cries of the railway offici
Page 7 and 8: Bishop Percy says that "in England,
Page 9 and 10: The city of Chester is still popula
Page 11 and 12: There's Cumwhitton, Cumwhinton, Cum
Page 13 and 14: Llwyn in its primary' sense means a
Page 15 and 16: PLACE-NAMES IN WALES.Wales. — The
Page 17 and 18: Church are generally dedicated to e
Page 19 and 20: think he was a contemporary of St.
Page 21: Rhosbeirio. — Rhos, a moor, a dry
Page 25 and 26: Cam cnwir ef Cwmdu,Cwm gwyn yw & n
Page 27 and 28: Penderyn. — A corruption probably
Page 29 and 30: Ardudwy. — Ar, upon or above; tud
Page 31 and 32: to mark its pre-eminence over the o
Page 33 and 34: Some think that eirw is a corruptio
Page 35 and 36: present form — Caerfyrddin.Abergw
Page 37 and 38: place of refuge; hence the name. En
Page 39 and 40: Llansawyl. — The church was dedic
Page 41 and 42: eject. The village took its name fr
Page 43 and 44: house, and attempted to kill an inf
Page 45 and 46: Gwydir. — Prima facie one may tak
Page 47 and 48: Nefyn. — The church was probably
Page 49 and 50: DENBIGHSHIRE.Anglicized form of Din
Page 51 and 52: Llangollen. — From Collen, a sain
Page 53 and 54: hands into their pockets to pay a c
Page 55 and 56: Cefn. — The name signifies a ridg
Page 57 and 58: Maesgarmon. — Named in honour of
Page 59 and 60: Abertridwr. — Tridwr, three water
Page 61 and 62: it is said, was originally built by
Page 63 and 64: Cwmllynfell. — Cwm, a narrow vale
Page 65 and 66: Gwarycaeau. — Gwdr, the nape of t
Page 67 and 68: means a cultivated region, a vale,
Page 69 and 70: Penrhiwfer.- Pen, head, top; rhiw,
Page 71 and 72: Port Talbot. — So called in 1835
Page 73 and 74:
Trealaw. — This appellation was g
Page 75 and 76:
Aberdyfi. — So called from its si
Page 77 and 78:
Llanddwywe. — From Dwywau, a desc
Page 79 and 80:
Crickhowell and some in the directi
Page 81 and 82:
Griffithstown. — This village was
Page 83 and 84:
and gwy, water. Treiddiod troth tna
Page 85 and 86:
derive Tintern from din, fortified
Page 87 and 88:
Caersws. — It appears that the Ro
Page 89 and 90:
English name — Ervylton.Llanymech
Page 91 and 92:
Angle. — Probably from the angle-
Page 93 and 94:
Gellyswick. — Another hybrid. Gel
Page 95 and 96:
that the two rivers in their flowin
Page 97 and 98:
ecame the bishop of the see, and wa
Page 99 and 100:
earth formerly stood on a summit on
Page 101 and 102:
Pilleth. — A corruption of pwll,
Page 103 and 104:
Howells, Rev. J., Mountain AshHowel
Page 105 and 106:
Williams, D., PenywernWilliams, Rev
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