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

Three Cocks. — From a public house of the name.Torpantau. — A compound of tor, a break, a rupture; and pantau, plural of pant, hollow: a name quitedescriptive of this wild spot. A great number of brooks rush impetuously from the higher grounds, formingexcavations in the hills, a glance at which immediately helps one to catch the meaning of the name. Englishname — Breakhill.Trallwng. — Some think the name signifies " a soft place on the road or elsewhere that travellers may be aptto sink into; a dirty, boggy place." Edward Llwyd derives it from Traeth-lyn, a quagmire. The distance of thisplace from the sea-shore dismisses the component ttaeth from the name altogether. Mr. Jones (History ofBrecknock) thinks the name is a corruption of Tre'r lleng, oppidum Ugionis, the town of the legion, foundinghis reasons upon the supposition that a summer camp of the second legion of Augustus must have been atTwyn-y-gatr, a hill in the parish where an artificial mound is still seen. — English name — Legionton.Trecastell. — Tre, a place; castell, castle. A castle was built here by Bernard de Newmarch, some ruins ofwhich are to be seen now; hence the name. English name — Castleton.Trefecca. — The name signifies Rebecca's home, from an heiress of the name of Rebecca Prosser, whobuilt it in the reign of Elizabeth. English name — Beccaston.Trefil. — Some think the name is a mutation of Tir-foel, barren land, which is very descriptive of the place,but we rather think it is a compound of tre, a place, and mul, an animal, a beast. Studfarms were verynumerous among the ancient Britons, and one might have been here. English name — Studham.Tre'r Esgob. — The tenants in this place owe suit and service to the bishop's courts leet and courts baron,and pay their chief rents at Llanddew-i, St. David's. Tre'r Esgob means Bishop's place. English name —Bishopston.Vaenor. — This is derived by some from Maenawr, which signifies a district surrounded by a wall, a manor.Others think it is of the same family as the Latin enanerc, which implies locality or stability. According to thelaws of Howell the Good, the Maenawv contained 1024 acres. This one was probably the demesne attachedto Morlais castle. In ancient MSS. the parish is called Y Faenor Wen, signifying Gwen or Gwenffrewi'sdemesne or manor. English name — Manor.Velindre. — The right wording is y felin-dre, the mill of the town, from an old mill, called the lord's mill, thatstood here in ancient times. English name — Milton.Ystradfellte. — Ystrad has already been explained. It means here a flat or low valley formed by the courseof the river Melite - Mellte — mellten, lightning. The river is so called because it runs very rapidly for somedistance on the surface, and then it is suddenly lost underground. English name — Rapid Vale.Ystradgynlais. — It is supposed that this Ystrad, vale, was the marriage portion that Gunleus ap Glewisseg,prince of Gwent, and father of Saint Cattwg, received with his wife, Gwladys, daughter of Brychan. Othersstate that the church is dedicated to St. Mary, and not to St. Gunleus, and that the proper name of the parishis Ystrad-Gwrlais, or Garwlais, signifying " the vale of the rough-sounding brook," and is derived from astream so called, which forms a boundary between the counties of Brecknock and Glamorgan. Iago Emlynderives Cynlais from cyn, primeval; and dais, a trench through which a stream flows. English name —Brookvale.CARDIGANSHIRE.Cardigan is a corruption of Ceredigion, the original name, which was so called after Ceredig, the son ofCunedda Wledig, who became its king about the end of the fourth century. It is also called Aberteifi, from thesituation of its capital at the estuary of the river ' which was called Aber-y-Porth, the mouth of the harbour.English name — Portsmouth.Aberystwyth. — This fashionable town and seaport is situated on the conflux of the rivers Ystwyth andRheidiol, the former of which gives the town its name. Its ancient name was Llanbadarn Gaerog, but it isknown by its present name since the reign of Queen Elizabeth. English name — Supplemouth.Origin of Place-names in Wales & Monmouthshire Page 25