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

Cefn. — The name signifies a ridge, which is quite descriptive of the place, being situated on a higheminence on the left bank of the river Alun. English name — Ridgeton.Coedmynydd. — A compound of coed, wood; and mynydd, mountain. English name — Woodhill.Coed Talon. — Coed, wood, trees; talon, plural form of tal, towering, high, tall. English name — Highwood.Coleshill. — Literally, hill of coal. The Welsh name is Cwnsyllt, which means the anvil of a smith, and theother English name, Englefield, means the field of the English, which was given to it, perhaps, because theEarl of Chester and his followers were encamping there when Owain Gwynedd marched to meet him andimpede his progress through his territory.Cilcain. — Cil, a place of retreat; cain, probably an abbreviation of Eurgain, the name of St. Asaph's niece.Pending the religious persecution that raged at the time, Eurgain repaired to a sequestered spot in thisvicinity, built a cell there, and became a religious devotee. Shortly afterwards she built a church near the cell,which was dedicated to her memory. English name- Fairnook.Coedllai. — Coed, wood; llai less. It is generally called in English Leeswood, taking llai to mean lees; but theproper English name is Lesswood. Owing to the abundance of wood in the district, Edward, before hisconquest of Wales, was obliged to cut a passage through them ; hence there were less trees than before.English name — Lesswood.Dolffin. — A compound of dol, a dale, a meadow; and ffin, boundary, limit. English name — Markdale.Dyserth. — Dy, on, upon; serth, a steep, a declivity. Dyserth also means a desert. The village probably takesits name from the ancient castle which occupied the summit of the rock. In time of yore it was known by thenames of Dincoiyn, Castell-y-Ffaidon, and Castell Ceri, and is supposed to have been the last of the chain ofBritish posts on the Clwydian hills. Pennant calls it Dissarch. We have Dysart on the Firth of Forth, andDyzard in Cornwall. English name — Steepton.Ffrith. — The right wording, probably, is ffridd, a forest, a plantation. Ffridd Celyddon, the forest ofCaledonia. The old Welsh fruith, and the modern Welsh ffrwyth, fruit, belong to the same family of words.English name — Woodland.Garneddwen. — Carnedd, heap of stones, cairn; wen, white. English name — Whitcairn.Gelli. — Celli, a grove, a bower, English name — Groveham.Glanyrafon. — Glan, brink, side, bank; yr, the; afan, river. Glanytnor, the . sea-shore. Glanydwr, the waterside.Glanyrafon, the river side. English name — Riverside.Gop. — So called from its close proximity to Gop-ar-Uni. It means the top, the summit. Copa'r pen, thecrown of the head. English name — Topton.Gwaenyscor. — A corruption of gwaen, meadow; is, below; catr, wall, fortress. English name — Plainfort.Gwespyr. — A compound of gwest, an inn, a place of accommodation; and pyr, lords. English name —Lords Inn.Gwernafield. — A compound of gwern, a swamp, a bog; and field. Perhaps gwern here means the commonalder trees. English name — Alderfield.Gronant. — Probably a compound of croyw, clear, sweet, fresh, and nant, a brook; or gro-nant, sandbrook.English name — Clearbrook.Hanmer. — A mutation of Handmere, with the d and the final e omitted. Hand requires no comment; mere,from the Latin mare, sea, lake, or pool. The village is situated near a lake, which lies between its banks in theform of a man's hand. English name — Handlake.Hawarden. — A corruption of Haordine, which is really a Welsh name; haw, fixed; ar y upon; den-din, hill;signifying a castle built on a hill. In " Domesday " it is Haordin. The " Brut" calls it Penharddhch. Penard orOrigin of Place-names in Wales & Monmouthshire Page 52