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

earth formerly stood on a summit on which the church is erected; or, perhaps, the name casgob might meanthe eminence impending over the brook Cas, which runs through the parish, and discharges itself into theriver Lug."Cefnllys. — Cefn, back, ridge; llys, court, hall. Ralph Mortimer built a castle here in the year 1242, whichsuggests the probability of the place being defended against the incursions of the Saxons. The name mighthave been derived from a martial court that was held here. Camden says that there were ruins of an ancientfortress upon the spot when he wrote, almost surrounding the Court House, except on one side, where it liesopen to the common. English name — Courthill.Cenarth. — Cen is Gaelic for pen, head; arth is an abbreviation of garth, a hill. The place forms the lowerend of the parish. English name — Upton.Cilgil, or Kilgil. — Cil, a hidden place, a nook; gil, probably a corruption of coll, the plural of collen, hazeltree;so called from the abundance of hazel wood in the district. English name— Hazelham.Coed-glassen. — Coed, wood; glassen, a corruption of gleision, the plural of glas, green; so named fromthe abundance of green trees that beautified the district in olden times. English name — Greenwood.Cwm-gellau, or Cwm-gilla. — Cwm, a vale; gellau, a corruption of collen, hazel-tree. The place lies in abeautiful valley, abounding with hazel wood's English name — Hazel Vale.Cwmdauddwr. — Dauddwr, two streams of water, so called from the situation of the parish church near theconfluence of the rivers Elain and Wye. The parish adjoins the counties of Brecon, Cardigan, andMontgomery, and is the only one in Radnorshire whereWelsh is understood and spoken. According to colloquial pronunciation it is Cwmwd Douddwr, the commoteof the two waters. English name — Watercomb.Clas Garmon. — Clas, a green spot of enclosure, a cloister; Garmon, perhaps the memorable German us.English name — Garmon's Cloister.Dyffryn Elan. — Dyffryn, a long vale; Elan, the name of the river that runs though it. English name — ElanVale.Evenjobb. — The popular opinion in the neighbourhood anent the name is that a man named Job lived hereat some remote period, and was proverbial, as the prototype Job, for patience and evenness of temper, andhence the place was called in honour of him. The name is, perhaps, a compound of efes, brink or margin;and hwpp, a slope. Burlinjobb, in the same county, means Brechla's hwpp or slope. It was anciently speltEvan's kobb, Evan's cop, i.e., Evan's hill-top.Felindre. — A compound of melin, mill; and tref, a place. English name — Million.Glascomb. — A compound of glas, green; and comb, an Anglicism of cwm, a valley, a dingle. The village liesin a beautiful and verdant valley, where also stands the fine mansion of Glascomb. English name—Greencomb.Golon. — A corruption probably of colwyn, a sharp hillock, a promontory. English name — Hillton.Harpton. — A translation of the Welsh name, Trefydelyn.Heyop. — A compound of haye, a grove, and cope, an eminence. English name— Grovehill.Kinnerton. — A corruption of Cenarth, headland, and town, signifying a place at the headland.Knighton. — The Welsh name is Trefyclawdd' Dykestown, so called from its contiguity to Offa's Dyke, tracesof which are discernible to this day. The English name means knight-town, which, after the NormanConquest, was probably held on the tenure of knightly service, and is one of those names that illustrate theold law phrase, " a knight's fee."Knucklas. — A corrupted form of knwc, a slight eminence, and glas, green. Cnwc has been corrupted in afew English place-names, such as Knocklin (Salop), Knock-holt (Kent), and Knook (Wilts); and in Ireland weOrigin of Place-names in Wales & Monmouthshire Page 96