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

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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
Ardudwy. — Ar, upon or above; tud, soil, land; wy y water; literally, on the land or banks of the Wye.According to Dr. Pughe, the name means a " maritime region." English name — Waterby'.Argoed. — Ar-ard, signifying height; coed, trees. The name signifies a place sheltered by woods. Englishname — Highwood.Atpar. — Probably an Anglicized form of At-bar, which means towards the top of the hill. The village is alsocalled Trefhedyn, which is probably a corruption of Tref-y-din - hill-town. English name — Hillham.Bettws-Bledrws. — Bettws has already been explained. The church is dedicated to St. Bledrws; hence thename. English name — Bledrws.Bettws I fan. — The church is dedicated to St. John. I fan or Ieuan is an old Welsh form of loan, John.English name— John's Church.Blaencaron. — This place is situated near the source of the river Caron ; hence the name. English name —Caronton.Blaenhownant. — This rivulet is called Hownant, which is a corruption of hoyw, lively; and nant, brook; andthe place was so called from its situation near the source of the Hownant. English name— Sprightham.Brechfa. — A compound of breck, brindled, freckled, and man, a place. It is supposed that Brychan, whocame originally from Ireland, and settled in Breconshire in the sixth century, was so called from his beingfreckled. English name — Freckleton or Spotham.Brongest. — Bron, a slope, or side of a hill; literally, breast. Cest, a deep glen between two mountains. Thename is quite descriptive of the situation of the place. English name — Hillcombe.Brongwyn. — A parish in Cardigan and Pembroke counties. Some are of opinion that this name is a relic ofthe Druids, to whose system belonged Ceryg y Bryn Gwyn, i.e., the stones of the hill of judicature. If so, theprefix bron here is a corruption of bryn, a hill. English name — Whitehill.Bwlchcrwys. — Bwlch, a break or breach, a gap, a defile; crwys, a corrupt form of croes, a cross. The nameBwlch-y-groes is of frequent occurrence in the Principality. We have many instances of croes being changedto crwys, Y Crwys, Pantycrwys and Bwlch-y -crwys, &c. " Dan ei gtwys," under the cross, is a phrase evennow frequently used in Wales in reference to the posture of a dead body before it is put into the coffin. InPopish times it was customary to put a cross or a crucifix on a dead body lying in its shroud; but now,although the phrase is occasionally heard, the usage of this Popish relic has been entirely abandonedamong the Welsh people. Many Welsh places still retain the name, among which is Bwlchcrwys. It wascustomary in olden times for pilgrims to prostrate themselves at certain passes to invoke the blessings of theCross before going through; hence the name Bwlchcrwys or Bwlchygroes. English name — Passcross.Capel Gwndwn. — Capel, chapel ; Gwndwn, is a compound of cwn, a head, top, summit; and twyn, ahillock. The name signifies a chapel built on an eminence. — English name— Highchapel.Capel y Drindod. — This village probably derives its name from a Welsh Calvinistic Methodist chapel of thename. English name— Trinity Chapel.Ceinewydd. — A hybrid name made up of quay, from French quai, a mole or bank formed toward the sea oron the side of a river for the purpose of loading and unloading vessels; and newydd, new. Or perhaps theprefix comes from cae, an inclosure. English name — New Quay.Cellan. — The name of this parish is a compound of cell, a sheltering place, a grove; and llan, a church,signifying a church in a grove. English name — Grovechurch.Cenarth. — Some maintain that the right wording is Genarth, the bear's jaw. Tradition has it that the jawboneof a bear was found in the place, and its head in Penarth. Penarth, as we show elsewhere, is Penygarth, and we are inclined to think Cenarth is a compound of cefn, ridge, back; and garth, a fort, a hill, acape. The name is a graphic description of the place, being perched on a high ridge, ever watching thegraceful movements of the Teivi. English name — Ridgeham.Origin of Place-names in Wales & Monmouthshire Page 26
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 and 22: Rhosbeirio. — Rhos, a moor, a dry
Page 23 and 24: of Brecknock," states that this vic
Page 25 and 26: Cam cnwir ef Cwmdu,Cwm gwyn yw & n
Page 27: Penderyn. — A corruption probably
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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