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

people were wont to cross to the other side by means of a boat, and the place where they disembarked wascalled Glanybad, the shore of the boat; hence the name of the village. English name — Boatside.Gower. — A corruption of the Welsh gwyr, from gwyro, to deviate, to swerve. This name was probablysuggested by the deviation of the peninsula from the mainland. Its original Welsh name was Rheged, whichimplies a promontory running out into the sea. English name — Swervington .Gower Road. — At a vestry meeting of the ratepayers of the parish of Loughor, held October 15th, 1885, itwas unanimously passed — " That the name of this village be changed from Gower-road to Gowerton." Afew gentlemen were appointed to communicate with the railway and postal authorities, with the view ofmaking the necessary arrangements for the new name to be adopted January 1st, 1886.Gwaelodygarth. — Gwaelod, bottom, base; y, the; garth, a hill. The mountain that towers above the villageis called Mynydd-y-Garth, and the village resting humbly at its base is naturally called Gwaelodygarth.English name — Foothill.Garw Valley. — The river Garw runs through it. Garw means rough. It is cognate with the Gaelic garble. Theriver Llyfnwy is not far from it, and the Garw rushes fiercely through a wild and rugged valley. Garry in Perthand Inverness, Yarrow in Selkirk, Gazelock in Ross, Garonne in France, and Guer in Brittany, probably comefrom the same root. English name— Rough Vale.Glyncorwg. — Two rivulets, called Corrwg Fawr and Corrwg Fach, join in the glen, near the church ofGlyncorwg. Some derive Corrwg from Carrog, an obsolete term for brook. Others derive it from corr, a Celticname for sheep ; and the affix wg, as already explained, implies a place or locality; hence it means sheepdale.English name— Sheepton.Gellionen. — Gelliy grove, an enclosure; onen, ash tree; signifying the ash-grove. Gellionen Well iscelebrated tor its remediate waters. English name — Ashgrove.Gadlys. — Gad-cad, battle, battle-field; llys, court. The name is one of the traces left us of that terrible battlefought in the upper part of the Aberdare valley between Rhys ab Tewdwr and Iestyn ab Gwrgant. The generalopinion is that Iestyn's army encamped in the Lower Gadlys, and Rhys's army in the Upper Gadlys, whencecame the name. English name — Battle Court.Gelligaer. — This name is probably derived from Caer Castell, the ruins of which still remain near the village.It was built by Iorwerth ab Owen in 1140. English name — Castle Grove.Gellideg. — Gelli, grove; dig, teg, fair. English name — Fairgrove.Glyn Neath. — Glyn, valley, glen; neath, a corruption of Nedd, the name of the river that runs through it.English name — Glenneath.Groeswen. — The name, literally, means white cross, but, figuratively, blessed cross. White in olden timeswas an emblem of moral purity, and, therefore, a source of blessedness. English name — White Cross.Gileston. — The Welsh name is Llanfabon~y-Fro f from the dedication of the church to Mabon, and itssituation in the Vale of Glamorgan. The English name was given to it by a Norman, named Giles, who tookup his abode here.Glais. — The village derives its name from the word Clais, which implies a trench through which a stream ofwater rushes. English name — Glenbrook.Goytre. — A compound of coed, wood, and tre, a dwelling-place. English name — Woodham.Gelli. — A rising village in the Rhondda Valley, so called from a farm of the same name. English name —Groveton.Gilfach Gocu. —Cilfach, a place of retreat, a nook; coch, red. The village probably derives its name from aheap of red cinders that remain as a memento of the ironworks that stood there in olden times. English name— Rednook.Origin of Place-names in Wales & Monmouthshire Page 61