Place-Names in Wales

T HO ~S..

SECOND AND REVISED ED ITION .

SOUTHA‘L L , 149, D-oc x, STREET .

PREFACE TO THE REVISED AND SECOND

EDIT ION .

The first edition of this work wa s published in 1887,

a n d wa s sold out in a very short tim e . Orders were

c on tinually sen t for copies , but n on e could be foun d in

the m arket . Even tually, J . E . Southall

,Newport

, who

has taken deep in terest in Welsh literature, Wrote to

a sk the author for perm ission to publish a secon d edition

of it . Arran gem en ts were m ade to revise the work care

fully a n d to brin g it up to date . The om ission of Mon

m ou thshire Place - Nam es is due to the follow ing fact :

The au thor won a £10 I os. prize in the Newport Nation al

E isteddfod,1897,

for A Diction ary of Welsh Nam es

of Places a n d Rivers in Monm outhshire,

a n d it is in ten ded

t o publish a separate edition of this in due course . The

a uthor gratefully ackn owledges the service rendered b y

S . J . Eva n s , Esq.,M. A.

,Llan gefn i

,in revising this work .

H is suggestion s were useful a n d destin ed t o enhan ce the

value of the work .

In con clusion ,the author repeats what he said in the

first edition In writing upon a subj ect so full of in t r i

c acies a n d difficulties the author is fa r from satisfied with

his etym ological attem pts in m any in stan ces .

T . MORGAN .

J anuary,r oth ,

1912 .

Prefixes a nd Su ffixes

Ca r-n fa rv onsh ire

Me r ion eth

PLACE-NAMES IN W ALES

INTRODUCTION .

T is surprisin g that a subj ect so deeply in teresting,

a n d so full o f historical value , should not have

in duced som e com peten t Welsh scholar to explore

every possible field of research , a n d give the results of

his etym ological investigation s to the public in a perm a

n en t form .

Welsh n om en clature ha s n ot had the atten tion it

deserves . This in terestin g field has b een sadly n eglected .

Very few have m ade it the am bition of their life to en ter

therein,a n d glean every possible in form ation n ecessary

to throw light upon ou r Welsh place - n am es . The

ren own ed Lewis Morris wa s deeply engrossed in this

bran ch of literature , a n d the publication of his Celti c

Rem a ins would , assuredly , be a n invaluable boon t o

Welsh literati . Iago Em lyn’s Essay which gain ed the

prize at Carm arthen Eisteddfod , Septem ber, 1867 , is

em in en tly calculated t o be a n adm irable quota ren dered

by the E isteddfod to the elucidation of this subj ect .

Most of our Eisteddfod io produ c t ion s are locked up in

im pen etrable secrecy , but this , fortun ately , has seen the

l ight of day.

2 PLACE- NAMES IN W ALES .

With the exception of the above - m en tion ed essay

our n ationa l in stitution has don e but very little to fill

this gap in Welsh literature. Worthy attem pts have

been m ade by som e Welsh t opog r a phist s to clear up the

etym ology of a m oiety of our place - n am es . Others have

endeavoured to explain their origin a n d m ean in g, but

owing to their im perfect acquain tan ce with the v er

n a c u la r , m any of their attem pts have been futil e a n d

un satisfactory : as Ca erm a rthen , the coun ty of Merlin ,

a Welsh en chan ter ; Den b z’

g k , a dwelling in the vale ;Pem b roke, the

“hill over the brook ; Dou g la s is given to

m ean black -water ; Pon typm'

dd , bridge of beauty ; Tyr

Escofi,B ishop’s tower ; Lla nfa wr , the church of four

sain ts,&c . , &c . We m ight quote a large n um ber of

sim ilar m isleadin g explan ation s of Welsh words a n d

n am es that are foun d in English books written eviden tly

by other than W elshfl

et ym olog ists. The attem pts m ade

by En glishm en a n d others ign oran t of the lan g uage of

dean—old Cam bria to explain Celtic n am es are often

failures a n d som ethin g more . Alt m a en , high rock , in

the Lake district has been tran sform ed in to the Old

Ma n of Con iston ; Bryn Hu el or Hu a l , hill of shackles , is

n ow spelt Brown Willy , a Corn ish ridge , a n d Pen san t

has been design ated Pen zan ce .

Tourists’ Guides to Wales m a y be quite safe a n d

trustworthy in their geographical in form ation , but the

m aj ority of them are woefully m isleadin g in their

etym ological peregrin ation s . Som e of their derivations

really deserve to be rem itted to the cabin et of philo

PLACE- NAMES IN WALES. 3

logica l cu riosities. Out of m an y hun dred place - n am es

in Wal es very few of them are explain ed satisfactorily

by gazetteers , a n d the m ost abstruse of them are left

in tact .

It is n eedless to say that Welsh philologists on ly c a n

deal satisfactorily with purely Welsh n am es, a nd even

they find it no easy task to investigate a nd a scertain

the origin of m an y of them , especially those that

have un dergon e so m an y processes of corru ption

a n d m utation . Man y Welsh appellation s a nd loc a l

n am es ,”writes on e em in en t Welsh historian , have

been so lon g corrupted that it would be affectation t o

attem pt to reform them . We m a y be allowed to give

a few in stan ces of nam es that have already been grossly

m utilated Llechwedd has been dislocated at Leckwith ;

Llys y Fro Nu dd has been cruelly distorted in to

Lisworney ; Ca er a u has been pulled down to Carew ;

M u gwyr ha s been alm ost ruin ed in Magor ; a o-

g la s

has been twisted in to the form of Kn ucklas ; Mer thyr

has been brutally m a rtyred atMa r threy ; Ta fa m Yspytty

(hospi ti um ) has been lon g converted in to Spite Tavern ;

Mein c i a u has been m in ced in toMinke ; Gze'en tllwg has been

chan g ed in to Wen tlooge Myddfa i has been m u ffled in

Mo thv ey Sa rn a u ha s been beaten down in to Sarn ey ,

&c . , &c .

Con sidering the rapid strides of English education

in the Prin cipality , we fear the tim e is not far distan t

when a m oiety of our m utilated Welsh place- n am es will

be n othin g less than a series of en igm at ical problem s ,

4 PLACE - NAMES IN W ALES .

even to children of Welsh paren tage . Man y of themalready seem to them as a m ean in gless a n d un pron oun ce

able jum ble of letters . This process of m utilation

appears to be gettin g m ore prevalen t . Ou r En glish

frien ds , n ot on ly do no t exhibit a ny sign of brin gin g

forth fruit worthy of repen tan ce,but they seem to

persist in the error of their wa y in dealing with Welsh

n am es . Brynm a wr , big hill , is pron oun ced with sten torian

voice Brynmor , which sign ifies the hill by the sea . A

com plete stran ger to the place , yet con versan t with the

Welsh ton gue , on hearing the latter pron un ciation of

the n am e , would n aturally expect he wa s goin g to

inhale the salubrious sea - air ; whereas , after little

en quiry , he would fin d him self in a t a n t a l ized‘

rn ood

d istan tly situated from the sea . A few m iles dist a n t , . a t

Na n tybwc h,the buck’s brook , he m ight be pardon ed if

he con cluded from the pitiful cries of the railway officia ls

that there were n on e- to- b ook at that station . I f he pursued

his j ourn ey to Llwydcoed, grey wood , which is pron oun ced

b y the railway m en Lycod , he would n aturally con clude

t hat the place m ust have been som etim e n oted for rats,

b ecause Lln d is the Welsh for rats .

In going through Loughor , provided his g eo

g raphical kn owledge were deficien t , he would im agin e

h im self to have reached Lloeg r , which is the Welsh

n am e for En glan d . An d a few m iles lower d own he

would fin d him self at Lla n elly , which is pron oun ced by

c ertain parties Lem- hea lthy , where he would be in duced

t o ca l l his inhalin g powers in to full play,positively

PLACE- NAMES 1N W ALES. 5

thin kin g he wa s landed in a place fam ous for i ts

sa l ubriousness. In North Wales he would discover

the sam e aptitu de in the art of m ispronun ciation .

Am id the din of the fiery horse he m ight hear a n am e

pron oun ced Ab er - jeel , the suffix of which would rem in d

him at on ce of the Hin dost a n ee for a m ora ss , or a

sha ll ow lake ; but a few m inutes’ talk with a Villager

would soon rel ieve him from the n ightm are of this

con fusion of ton gu es by furn ishin g him with the right

pron un ciation , Ab er - gele, a n out - a nd - out Welsh n am e.

At Dolgella u , which‘ is pron oun ced Dol—jelly, he m ight

a lm ost im agin e the n am e to im ply a doll m ade of j elly ;

a nd atqn gollen , pron ou n ced La n - jolen , he would , both

from a geographical a nd etym ological poin t of view ,

in dulge him self in little selfe c on g r a t u la t ion on bein g

con veyed to a j olly place.

Now he has travell ed fa r en ough to be thoroughl y

con vi n c ed of the n ecessity of m a king a n effort to save

our loca l‘

n ames from the relen tless han ds of the

foreign er before they bec om e so distorted as to b e

difficu l t of recogn ition even by Welsh etym ologist s .

Pure Welsh n am es should be left in tact—thosethat have u ndergon e an y changes shou ld , if possible , b e

restored to their prim itive form , a nd English equivalen tsor n am es shou ld be given to each and every one o f

them .

In pu rsu ing the study of Welsh plac e - n am es , We“

were forc ibly rem inded of Hom e Tooke'

s observation ,

6 PLACE - NAMES IN W ALES.

a s to letters, l ike soldiers being very apt t o desert a nd

d rop off in a long m a r ch. Con traction in creases our

d iffi cu l ties in en deavourin g to get at the fu l l a nd correct

im port of words . If the Am erican ten den cy—to pron oun ce words exactly as they are spelt arid writt en

w ere a u n iversa l prin ciple , the burden s of phil ologists

wou ld be con siderably lessen ed . Such is not the case

in Welsh n om en clature . Al though every Welsh letter

is supposed to have its own distin ct soun d , Wherever

placed , m an y of them have dropped off in lon g m arches ,a nd som e indeed in exceedin gly short m arches , a n d it

is with g reat diffi culty we have in duced som e of them

to retu rn t o their proper places in the etym ological

army—som e , probably , n ever to return ; hen ce the

pr im ary form of m any a n am e cann ot be obtain ed n or

t he true m ean in g ascertain ed .

Latin ized a nd Anglicized form s of Welsh n am es con

sider a b ly enhan ce our difficulties . Mon wa s tran sm uted

t oMon a , Ab er conwy toAb er c on ov z’

u m ,Gob a nn i u m toAb er

=g a v enny, Ab erogwr to Ogm ore, Nedd to Nidi u m , Coed - dy to

Coyty, Ta lyfem to Ta la v a n , Si lz'

to S u lly, Llys-

y- Fro-Nu dd

t o Lisworney, Lla nyflydd to La m phey , Lla ndeg to Len tea

g u e, Gwyn fa ‘

to W en voe, &c . Ou r n am es , l ike ou r fathers ,

were m ercilessly treated by our foreign invaders .

Hybridism is an other elem en t that ren ders Welsh

n om en clature exceedingly diffi cu l t a nd perplexin g.

Differen t n ation s visited our shores , a nd played sad havoc‘with our local n am es, especia l ly those havin g g u t ter a ls

in them . We have n ames of such barbarou s origin ,

”

PLACE NAMES IN W ALES 7

writes on e, com poun ded one - half of on e language a nd

the other of an other , that it is im possibl e to fix a

criterion how they ought t o be spelt .” The Flem ish

colon y in Pem brokeshire , in the reign of Hen ry I. , a n d

the Norm an settlem en t in the south of Glam organ , in

the 11th cen tury , are chiefly respon sible for this etym o

logical j um ble . The Norm an Con quest affected the

En glish lan guage m ore than an ythin g that happen ed

either before or after it,but very little of its effect is

foun d in the Welsh , except in place - n am es. These

hybrid n am es , albeit , are full of historical value , because

they give us geographical clues t o the in roads a nd

settlem en ts of these foreign in vaders.

Alludin g to the desirability of gettin g a correct

d efin ition of a n effete nom en clature , on e writer rem arks,It m ust be born e in m in d that the n om en clature of our

coun try gr eatly explain s the early history of Britain

from the tim e of the first colon ists , the settlem en t of

the Druids,a nd their subsequen t power both in civil

a n d religious m atters , a n d its con tinuan ce down to the

age of Sueton ius,a n d later still, as the old superstition

wa s n ot quite eradicated for m an y ages afterwards.

Their m ythology has left its m arks on num erous

places,even where their lithon ic structures have been

dem olished.

”After a l l it is , as Defoe iron ically rem arks

in his True- born En glishm en ,

W i th ea sy pa ins you m a y d ist in g u ishYou r Rom a n - S a xon - Da n ish - Norm a n - En g lish .

8 P LACE - NAMES IN W ALES.

Person al n am es enter very largely in to Welsh

nam es of places. The first place - n am e we have on

record wa s form ed after this fashion , An d he (Cain )builded a city , and called t hen ame of the city after the

nam e of his son ,En och .

”Gen . iv . , 17 .

These person al n am es are invariably in the

vern acular affixed to words , m ore or less , of a

descriptive character , as Tr ela les tre, the descriptive

first,then com es the person al , La les P or thrn a dog , por th,

t he descriptive , then follows the n am e Ma dog . The

m aj ority of n am es begin n in g with Lla n belon g to this

section . In Saxon a n d Norse n am es the reverse of this

is the gen eral rule . The descriptive part of the n am e

com es last , preceded by a person al or com m on n am e ,such as Ten b y Ten , a m utation of Dan e , a n d b y ,

the

Norse for a dwellin g , hen ce the dwellin g - place of the

Dan es . Walton , Walter’s town ; Wil liam ston ,

William ’s

town ; Gom frest on , Gom fre’

s town ; &c .

It wa s custom ary in olden tim es in Wales for m en

t o take their n am es from the places where they were

born or resided , as Pen n a n t , Mostyn , &c . ,a nd often

tim es the case wa s reversed . Brecon wa s call ed after

Brycha n Cardigan after Ceredz’

g Merion eth after

Mei rz'

on ; Edeym ion after Edeyrn ; Dog feilir afterDog/a el

Merthyr Tydfil after Tydfil , Brycha n’

s dau ghter, &c .

The n am es of popul a r Welsh sain ts have been bestowed

so liberally on the Lla n a n as to occasion n o little

con fusion . A simil ar practise prevails in the Un ited

States from respect to their popular Presiden ts. The

.PLACE -NAMES IN WALES. 9

Rev . Isaac Taylor tells u s that no less than 169 places

bear the n am e of Washington, 86 that of J efferson , 132

that of J ackson , 71 that of Mun roe , a n d 62 that of

Harrison . Hagiology has left a deep a nd wide im press

upon our n om en clature . St . Mary’s n am e has been

bestowed upon upwards of 150 churches a n d chapels in

the Welsh sees , that of S t . Michael upon about 100,

a n d that of St . David upon 60 or 70.

A great num ber of our place - n am es describe

gr aphically the physical features of the coun try.

Moun tain s , hill s , a n d m oun ds , rocks a n d cliffs , glen s

a n d com bes , m oors a n d woods , rivers a n d brooks , all

con tribute their quota to the treasury of our n om en cla

ture .

Man y of them are traced to local tradition s , which

rarely com m an d m ore than a local circulation . In

m akin g en quiries at differen t loca l ities we were m ore

than am used to observe the prevalen t tenden cy of the

inhabitan ts to trace the origin of their local n am es t o

tradition ary sources . The philologist is often super

seded by the tradition ist . Graphic a n d descriptive

n am es are frequen tly explain ed from a tradition al

stan d - poin t . Ma chyn ll a i th—a n am e descriptive of the

g eographical position of the place—wa s very dogm a t i

cally referred by on e to a n an cien t legen d con cern in gsom e m ochyn

-

yn-

y- lla eth,

” the pig in the m ilk. Troed

rhiwfu wch ,explain ed an other , m ean s Troed - rhym

- fa wch,

the foot of som e cow , in allusion t o a local tradition

about a c ow that had gon e astray. Man orbier , the third

I O PLACE- NAMES IN W ALES.

opin es , has referen ce t o a severe conflict between a

m a n a n d a bear in tim es gon e by. Wrexham , says the

fourth,is obviously a cor ruption of Gwr a t

'

g Sa m , Sam’

s

wife . Crymm ych , the fifth avers , is a tran sposition of

Ych yn crym u ,the ox stoopin g , &c . , &c . The reader

m a y take these fan ciful an d un ten able derivation s for

their worth , as eviden ces of the ten acity with which

som e people hold to their folk - lore.

The m aj ority of our place - n am es , as m ight have

been expected,have been derived from purely Celtic

sources .

B ishop Percy says that in En glan d , although the

n am es of the town s a n d villages are alm ost un iversally

o f Anglo - Saxon derivation,yet hills

,forests

,rivers , &c .

,

have gen erally preserved their old Celtic n am es .” In

i llustratin g the prevalen ce of Celtic n am es in Britain ,

t he Rev . Isaac Taylor writes Throughout the whole

islan d alm ost every river - n am e is Celtic , m ost of the

shire - n am es con tain Celtic roots , a n d a fair sprinklin g

of n am es of hills,valleys

, a n d fortresses , bear witn ess

that the Celt wa s the aborigin al possessor of the soil ;whil e in the border coun ties of - Salop

, Hereford,

G loucester, Dorset , Som erset , a n d Devon , a n d in the

m oun tain ~ fastn esses of Derbyshire a n d Cum berlan d,

n ot on ly are the n am es of the great n atural features of

the coun try derived from the Celtic speech , but we fin d

occasion al village - n am es , with the prefixes Ia n a nd tre,

in t erspersed am on g the Saxon patronym ics .”

PLACE ’NAMES IN W ALES . I I

What is true of En glan d is pre - em in en tly true of

Wa l es , where the great bulk of place - n am es ared istin ctly Cym ric , everywhere thrusting them selves

upon our n otice as stan ding proofs of the vitality of the

la n guage of our progen itors . Many are the false

prophets that have sarcastically declared,from tim e to

tim e, that the days of the Welsh language have beenn um bered. W e m i ght observe , en pa ssa n t, that it

con tain s m ore vitality than the Gaelic . The latter is

on ly spoken in som e parts of Scotlan d,but the Cym ric

is the dom estic langu age of a large n um ber of the

Welsh people , wheresoever situated. It’

is calculated

that n early a m il lion of the inhabitants of Wales

a n d Monm outhshire use the vern acular in dom estic

c on versation,in l iterary a n d n ewspaper reading

,or in

religious exercises . What with the con tinuation of the

Cym ric in the curriculum of our Un iversities a n d

Theolog ical Colleges , its in troduction as a com pulsory

subj ect in to m an y of our public elem en tary schools,the

arden cy a n d faithfuln ess with which it is taught in our

Su n d a y‘Lschools from Ca ergyb i to Caerdydd , the ever

in creasin g atten tion paid a n d the n ew life in fused in toi t by various in stitution s, as the Eisteddfod , the Hon ou r

able Society of Cym rodor ion ,the Society for Util ising the

Welsh langu age, a n d the proverbial clan n ishn ess of the

Cym ry ; lookin g retrospectively a n d prospectively ourc on viction is that the dear old language con tain s germ s

of a lon g a n d healthy life , a n d when it shal l cease to be

a vern acu lar , m uch of its in trin si c va l ue a n d glory will

be preserved in i ts local n am es .

PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES .

We shall n ow deal briefly with the chief prefixes

a nd suffi xes that occur so frequen tly as com pon en ts in

n am es of places in Wales , in order to avoid en terin g

largely in to details in tracing their origin in the su b se

quen t pages . Man y of them con tain the geographical

a n d historical clues to a large n um ber of n ames, a n d

sin ce they en ter so exten sively in to Welsh n om en

c l a t u r e, we thin k it essen tial to offer a few explan atory

n otes thereon .

ABER m ean s the m outh of a river , a_ particular

poin t at which the lesser water di scharges itself in to

the greater . In the old Welsh it is spel t a per , a n d

Professor Rhys , Oxford ,derives it from the root b er ,

the Celtic equivalen t of fer , in La t . fer - o, Greek phero,English b ea r . It origin ally m ean t a volum e o f water

which a river b ea rs or b r ings in to the sea , or in to an other

river ; but it is n ow gen erally used to den ote a n estuary,the m outh of a river. Som e thin k it is Cogn ate w ith the

Irish i n v er Inverary,m outh of the Airy ; a nd that in v er

a n d a b er are suitable test -words in discrim in atin g

between the two chief bra n ches of the Celts . Mr

Taylor says that if we draw a lin e across the m a p

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14 PLACE NAMES 1N W ALES.

redun dan cy in the En glish language. To say Bristol

is on the river Avon is tan tam oun t to sayin g Bristol

is on the river river.” Afon,a com m on n am e , ha s

becom e a proper n am e in En glan d, but in Wales it is

the gen eric term for a river.

AR sign ifies ploughed lan d . Arddn , to plough.

The Greek word for a plough is a r otron , the Latin is

a r a trnm ,the Norse is a r a r , the Irish is a r a t li a r , a n d the

Welsh is a r a a r . The En glish harrow wa s origin ally

a rude in strum en t dr awn over ploughed lan d t o level it

a n d break the clods , a n d to cover - seed when sown .

Ploughin g a n d reapin g are called earin g a nd harvest ."

Com pare Gen . xlv . , Ex. xxxiv . , 21.

When a r is used as a suffix it gen erally has a n

agricul tural sign ification , but when used as a prefix it

is a preposition ,m ean ing on

, upon : Arddwr , on the

water ; Argoed , on . or above a wood. Ar,sign ifies a

plain surface , level groun d , a plot of lan d taken in

from the m oun tain .

BEr rws.-This is on e of the m ost popular place

n am es in Wales , a n d yet one of the m ost difficult,t o

explain . We shall give a few of the m an y derivation s

given . 1. Eyd- b od , a dwell ing - place

, a n d tms, a n

extrem ity , either of a valley or a glen , or a copse of

wood . 2. A corrupted form of pea t - hou se, a house

con structed of peat or turf. 3. B a i t - hou se, a house for

refreshm en t by m en , or food by beasts , on a j ourn ey .

4. Bed - b edd , a grave ; ws, a place ; Sign ifying a burial .

PRE FIXES AND SUFFIXES. 15

place. 5 . Som e derive “ the n am e from the Latin Hos

pi t i um , or the Welsh Yspytty ,hospital ; a n d m ain tain

that they b ecam e very prevalen t at the tim e o f theCru sade. 6. Som e think it is a Welsh form of the Latinb ea tu s, blessed, a nd that it refers to the religious inst it u

tion of St. Beun o. 7 . Bedw- a s, a bir ch -

g rove situ ate

between hill a n d va l e. 8. Bod , dwell in g- place ; gwys

sign ifies low a nd deep , what lies low. Bettws would

then signi fy a low or sheltered place . The proverb

0 fryn'

i fettws ( from hill to dale) accords with this

sign ification . 9. Som e refer it to a b b a tis, a n appendage

to a m on astery or a n abbey , taking it as one of the few

Latin words which foun d a perm an en t place in the

Welsh langu age. 10. The m ost popular derivation is

b ea d -hou se, a n ecclesiastical term Sign ifying a hospital

or alm s - house , erected for poor religious person s n ear the

church in which'

the'

foun der wa s in terred, a nd for whose

sou l they were required to pray.

An em in en t Welsh an tiquarian writes that Bettws

wa s n ever a n in stitut ion properly speaking, a nd i t

n ever existed as a dist in ct religious house,but u m

dou btedly it did exist in som e in sta n ces as a cell in

conn ect ion with large abbeys. Soon after the prin cipal

abbeys had been foun ded in this coun try, a nd their

fam e as seats of piety a n d learnin g had spread far a n d

wide , pilgrim s began to flock to them , m any of whom

had long dist an ces to travel , on accoun t of which houses

of prayer,called b ea d - hou ses, were erected at long

in tervals along their course , in to which the wearied

161 PLACE- NAMES 1N -W ALES . '

pilgrim s en tered to offer prayers on their wa y t o a n d

from the abbey. I '

b eliev e we n ever have_

a b ea d - hou se

(B ettws) but on the wa y to a n abbey. When the abbeys

were suppressed , m ost of these b ea d - hou ses fell in to

r uin ,as a m atter of course , while a few of them m a y

have been developed in to parish churches a n d chapels

of ease , after the Reform ation . I do n ot think it has a

W elsh origin ,for the reason that the thing itself wa s

im ported from Norm an dy , a n d I a m of opin ion that

B ettws as a place - nam e wa s n ot in existen ce prior to the

Norm an survey .

Som e aver that the application of the term B ettws

t o parochial churches first occurs in the Taxation of

Ben efic es by order of Pope N icholas IV,about the year

1292 . The n am e probably origin ated between the early

p art of the12th a n d the latter part of the 13th cen turies .

The best wa y to ascertain the etym ology a nd sign ification

o f the word is by investigatin g the history a n d topo

g raphy of each place bearing that n am e . If the word

i s to be derived from En glish or Latin words ; how are

we to accoun t for the fact that it is exclusively used in

Wales a nd Monm outhshire , while there is n ot a sin gle

i n stan ce of it in the whole of England Professor Rhys

says,

B ettws would be phon ologically accoun ted for

exactly by supposing it t o be the English b ed - hi ts,or

hom e of prayer , but - if that origin be the correct one to

assum e , there is the historical difficulty where is there

a ny accoun t of this in st itution bearin g a n English

n am e P” Just so . If the n am e had been perpetuated

PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES I 7

in English as it has been in Wales , b ea d - hou se would be

the m ost plausible of all the derivation s . There were

no religious houses peculia r to Wales,a nd if there had

been such , the Cym ry, assuredly , would not have given

them foreign n am es but their own . When the thing is

pecu l iarly a nd exclusively Welsh , the people always

give it their own , a nd not a borrowed n am e. Eisteddfod ,for exam ple

,is a purely Welsh in stitution

,hen ce

the n am e . We offer the 11th explanation . Bedw,

birch trees ; 1213 , a term appended to places with u n

du la t in g grounds , precipitous. I f the word wa sja pplied

in olden tim es to chapels in Wales which were subj ect

to other churches in the n eighbourhood, they were

probably so ca l led because they were built in birch

groves .

BLAEN m ean s extrem ity, the tOp of an ything , a

beginn in g or source . I t is frequen tly used as a prefix in

the n am es of places that are situated at the extrem e

en d of a vall ey or n ear the sources of brooks a n d rivers .

Bla en a u a fonydd ,the sources of rivers . Dwfr y b l a en a u ,

water or stream from the height .

BOD origin ally m ean t a lord’

s residen ce. Having

fixed upon a certain spot of land , he would build a

dwell ing - house thereon , which wa s called b od , a n d the

n am e of the builder or own er wa s added to distinguish

it from other dwellin g- houses , hen ce we have Bodowa in ,

Bodedeyrn , &c .He had two residen ces—yr Ha /od , the

summ er residen ce , a nd Ga ea fod , the win ter residen ce.

Bu t in course of tim e b od wa s used to design ate a ny

house or dwellin g - place . Com pare the English abode.


BRON m ean s a roun d protuberan ce , a n d is equ iv alen t to the En glish breast . In place - n am es it sign ifies

the breast of a hill . Ar [rest y mynydd , is a very comm on

expression , m ean in g on the breast of the m oun tain .

BRYN seem s t o be a com poun d of b r e, a m oun tain ,

a n d the dim inutive yn hen ce b reyn , afterwards c on

tracted in to b ryn ,a sm all m oun tain , a hill . I t en ters

largely in to Welsh place - n am es , a n d we find it also

Anglicized in Brea n down ,a high ridge n ear Weston

super-Mare ; Bren don ,a part of the great ridge Of

Exm oor ; Brin sop ,n ear Hereford

,&c .

BWLCH sign ifies a break or breach . It is gen erally

foun d in n am es of places where there is a n arrow pass

in the m oun tain s .

CAER is one of our en chorial n am es for a wall or

m oun d for defen ce , the wall of a city or castle , a fortress

Perhaps the root is c a n , to shut up ,to fen ce , to en close

with a hedge . Ca e m ean s a field en closed with hedges .

Cd er a zi were the m ost an cien t m il itary earthworks in the

Prin cipality , a nd when the B riton s began t o build cities

they surroun ded them by a fortified wall called c a er .

The city of Chester is still popu larly called Ca er,

from the an cien t wall that has en circled it for ages .

Chester— a Saxon ized form of the Latin c a str a m ,a fort

.

a nd one of the few words recogn ised as directly inherited

from the Rom an invaders— is a com m on prefix a n d

suffix in English place - n am es ; as Colchester , Ma n

chester , Chesterford , Chesterton . In the Anglian a n d

PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES. 19

Dan ish districts we fin d chester is replaced by

caster as Don caster , Lan caster, &c but both

form s are all ied to c a stm m , which is a Latin iz ation of

the Celtic c a er . As the Latin c a str a m will always be a n

etym ologica l souven ir to future gen eration s of the

Rom an in cursion s , a nd the havoc they com m itted here

ere “

Britann ia ruled the waves,even so the Celtic

word c a er, which is found in so m any Welsh a n d a few

English place - n am es , will ever be a n historical fin g er

post, poin tin g to the n ecessity which wa s laid upon our

forefathers t o defend them selves again st foreign ban ds

of invaders. The word is also a stan din g proof in

Englan d that the dom in ion of the an cien t Cym ry wa s

erstwhile con siderably m ore exten sive than that of

little Wales . I f the reader will be so fortun ate as t o

fin d a m a p of Englan d which wa s published in the tim e

of Ell a , the first Bretwa l da of the Saxon race , the

recurren t c a er would m ake him alm ost im agin e he wa s

peru sin g the m a p of Wales. There he wou ld fin d

Carer - leg ion ,Chester, which is still call ed Ca er lleon ;

Ca er - B a don , Bath ; Ca er - Glon , Gloucester ; Ca er - Eb r a we,

Eboracum of the Rom an s , a nd the Saxon York ; a n d

Ca er - La n den e or Ca er ln dd ,Lon don , &c . In course of

tim e the vowel ewa s elided , hen ce we have such exam ples

as Carm arthen ,Cardiff, Carlisle , Carsey , Ca rsoP,

Pen c a rrow (Pen c a er a u ) , Carew,&c .

CARN ,Ca rnedd , or Cairn ,

m ean s a heap of ston es.

These cairn s or tum uli are foun d in large num bers in

Wales.They were , according to som e , either fam ily

2 0 PLACE - NAMES IN W ALES.

cem eteries or m onum en ts raised to comm em orate the

r elics of a num ber of heroes who fell in defen ce of their

c oun try. Bu t others are in clin ed to think they were

t hrown , as token s of disgrace , over executed m alefactors .

Dr . Owen Pugh says The c a r n edd a u a n d the tum uli

of earth were the com m on m onum en ts that the an cien t

B riton s erected in hon our of their great m en . Which

of the two kinds wa s probably determ in ed by the

circum stan ce of the coun try being ston y or otherwise.

These m odes of in term en t con tin ued in use m an y years

after the in troduction of Christian ity ; but when the

custom of burying in churches becam e gen eral,the

form er ways were not on ly disused,but condem n ed as

fit on ly for the great crim in als . When the c a rnedd wa s

con sidered as the hon ourable tom b of a warrior,every

passenger threw his addition al ston e out of reveren ce

t o his m em ory. When this heap cam e to be disgraced

b y being the m ark where the guilty wa s laid , the customfor everyon e that passed t ofling his ston e still con tin ued

,

b u t n owise as a token of detestation .

”

Professor Rhys , in his Celtic B ritain ,gives a

g raphic description of the rem oval of one of these

c airn s in the v icin ity of Mold , in 1832. I t wa sb elieved ,

” he writes , in the coun try aroun d to be

h aun ted by a spectre in gold arm our, a nd when m ore

t han 300 loads of ston es had been carted away the

workm an cam e t o the skeleton of a tall a nd powerful

m a n placed at full len gth . He had been laid there

c lad in a fin ely - wrought corslet of gold, with a lin ing of


2 2 PLACE - NAMES IN W ALES .

d en ote the fortified residen ce of the tribal Chieftain s ,

who aspired to be the politica l successors Of the Rom an s

in this coun try. Com pare the Breton Ka stel , the Irish

b a isel , the Gaelic oa istea l , a n d the Manx ea shta l .

It is difficult to ascertain the exact tim e when

c astles were first in troduced in to W ales .

The Rom an s probably began t o erect fortresses in

t he territories con quered by them ,a n d the Saxon s

followed their exam ple ; but stron g castles Of defen ce

were com paratively few here ere the com m en cem en t of

the Norm an Conquest. Feudalism gave rise t o castles

i n the sen se of fortified residen ces , a n d it is from the

a dven t of the Norm an s to ou r lan d we m ust date the

castle as a n in stitution . A large n um ber wa s also

erected durin g the reign of Edward I I I a n d his

im m ediate successors . That old fortress , said Mr .

G ladston e , poin tin g w ith his stick to the rem ain s of

Hawarden Castle , is on e of the em blem s of the diffi

c u l ty the En glish had in govern in g the Welsh in form er

tim es . They had to plan t their stron gholds all alon g

t he Welsh border.

CEFN ,in n am es of places

, m ean s a high ridge . It

i s but n atural that this prefix should be applied to so

m any places in m oun tain ous Wales . The Chevin"

H ills

in Yorkshire , a n d Ceven n es in Fran ce , derive-

Ltheirn am es from the sam e root .

PREFIXES AND SUFF IX ES. 2 3

CIL im plies a sequestered place , a place of retreat .

Ci l ha u l m ean s the shade or where the su n does n ot

shin e . Ci l y llyg a d , the corn er of the eye . In Irelan d it

is spel t ki l ( the c being chan ged t o k ) sign ifyin g a

church , a n d is foun d in n o less than n am es , a n d

in m any in Scotlan d . Kilken ny , church of Ken ny ;Kilpatrick ,

church of Patrick ; Kilm ore (Ci lm a wr ) , the

great church . G ilm our is still a surn am e in the Scottish

lowlan ds , a n d we fin d Gilm orton in Leicester . We

fin d the root in c i lio, t o retreat , to go away. C i lfa c h, a

place t o retreat to , a creek , a n ook Som e Welsh

historia n s thin k that oi l is a local m em orial Of those

Irish m ission aries , who ,about the sth cen tury , visited

the shores of Wales for evan gelistic purposes , a n d

foun ded churches in the m ost quiet a n d sequestered

spots they could find .

CLYD m ean s shelterin g , warm , com fortable . Lle

c lyd , a warm ,com fortable place . We have it in

differen t form s in Clydach , Clydlyn , Clyder , Clyde ,

St r a thc lu d ,Clodock .

CLYN sign ifies a place covered w ith brakes , Clyn o

ei thin ,a furze brake .

CNW C l iterally m ean s a bum p , a swellin g a o y

gweg i l ,the back part of the skull ; but its geographical

sign ification is a kn oll or m oun d . We fin d it corrupted

in a few Welsh n am es , Knucklas (a o-

gla s) , &c . ,a n d

in Irish n am es , Kn ockg la ss (a o-

g la s) , Knoc km oy

2 4 PLACE NAMES IN W ALES.

(a c - m a i ) , Kn ockaderry (a o-

y—der i ) , &c . ,

a n d in

En glan d we have Nocton,Kn ockin ,

Kn ook , &c .

COED is the Welsh for wood , trees . In rem ote

tim es the sum m its of Ca m b r ia ’

s hills were covered with

wood , which accoun ts for the word c oed bein g still

applied t o barren a nd hil ly districts.

CRAIG ,a high rock or craig

,a n d som etim es it is

applied to a steep,woody em in en ce . It takes the form

of c a r r a ig or c a r r i ck in Irelan d ; Ca r r ig a foyle (Cr a igy

foel ) , the barren rock ; Carrickfergus , the rock where

Fergus wa s drown ed ; a n d in En glan d we fin d it in

Crick , Cricklade , &c .

CROES m ean s a cross . Croes-fiordd , a cross -wa y .

The word eviden tly poin ts to the Rom an epoch , a n d

also to the an cien t Welsh custom of buryin g m a l efactors

n ear the cross roads . Croes- fein i , ston e - crosses , in the

tim e of Howell the Good , were used prin cipa ll y t o

m ark lan d property , a n d som etim es , when placed in

hedges , t o caution travellers n ot t o cross the fields .

Som e of them ,with the n am es of the prim itive British

sain ts in scribed upon them , were placed by the road

side in com m em oration of the blessed fact that the

Gospel had been preached there .

CRUG m ean s a heap,a m oun d . Cr a g 0 g erryg , a

heap of ston es . It appears that the Briton s held their

bardic a n d j udicial g orsedd a u or assem blies on these

m ounds , a n d hen ce crug a n d gorsedd,

” accordin g

to Dr . Owen Pughe , are som etim es used as syn on ym ous

PREF IXES AND SUFFIXES. 2 5

term s . Cru g is a frequen t com pon en t in Welsh

n am es , a nd we fin d it An glicized in Crich (Derby) ,Creach (Som erset ) , &c .

CWM den otes a low place en closed with hills . I t

has a large place in Welsh n om en clature, a nd it often

occurs in En glish loca l n am es , especially in the western

coun ties. In Devon shire the Saxon ized form com b or

com b e m eet us fi equ en t ly : Wide - com b , Wel - com b ,Ilfr a - com be , B a b b a ~c om b , Burles - com b , Challa- com b ,Hac - com b , Para- com b , Yarn s - com b , &c . In Som erset it

is m ore plen tiful than in a ny other English coun ty we

have Nettle - com b , Od - com b , Tim ber - com b , Cha rlsc om b ,

Wid - com b , Mon cton - com b , Com b - hay , Cros - com b ,Win s - com be , &c . We find King - com be , Ra t - com be ,

Bos- com b , &c . , in Dorset . Cum berlan d , a Celtic

coun ty , aboun ds with com b es. So writes Anderson , a

Cum berlan d poet , of his n ative coun ty

There’

s Cu mwhi t ton ,C u mwh in ton . Cu m r a n ton ,

C u m r a n g a n , Cu m rew ,a n d Cu m c a t c h ,

And m a ny m a i r Cu m s 1 the c ou n ty,

B u t n on e wi th Cu m div ook c a n m a t c h .

CW RT , probably fr om the Latin cortis, which m ean s

a closed place, or a court where the la w is adm in istered .

In olden tim es when the kin g or a Chieftain wa s on his

m il itary or sportin g tour through the coun try , it wa s

n ecessary to provide accom m odation for him a nd his

party durin g their stay in the district , a nd that place

wa s design ated y e t,

’ the COu r t . Those that lived

in the v i llein townships were expected t o build or provide

2 6 PLACE - NAMES IN W ALES.

t he Court , n in e buildin gs which the vil l ein s of the

kin g are to erect for him ,a ha l l , a cham ber , a buttery ,

a stable , a doghouse , a barn ,a k ilyn ,

a privy, a n d a

dorm itory .

”

CYMMER m ean s a j un ction or con fluen ce , a n d is

frequen tly applied t o places situated n ear the j un ction

of two or m ore rivers . The root is related to a b er (vide

a b er ) .

DIN is a n an cien t Welsh word for a fortified h ill , a

cam p , from which we have ou r din a s, a fortified town or

city , a n d probably the En glish den i zen . Ou r cities were

on ce surroun ded b y fortified walls,like Chester , on

accoun t of which every on e of them wa s den om in ated

din a s. Professor Rhys groups the Welsh din with the

Irish dun , the An g lo - Saxon t un ,a n d the En glish town .

The da n a m , di n a m ,a n d din inm of the Rom an s are

probably allied with it .

The En glish suffix b n ry is closely related t o it in

m ean in g. Very few Welsh place - n am es have the

term in ation burgh , bury , or borough . The root is

alm ost a n En glish m on opoly. Horn e Took says that

a burgh or borough form erly m ean t a fortified town .

”

In the En cyclopaedia B ritan n ica ”we fin d the follow

i n g exposition of the word Bou r g ign on s or Burgun

dian s,on e of the n ation s who over - r a n the Rom an

Em pire,a n d settled in Gau l . They were Of great

stature a n d very warlike , for which reason the Em peror

Valen tin ian the Great engaged them again st the Ger

m aus . They lived in ten ts , which were close to each

PRE FIXES AND SUFFIXES. 2 7

o ther , that they m ight the m ore readily un ite in arm s

on a ny un foreseen attack . These con j un ction s of ten ts

they called b u rg hs, a n d they were to them what town s

are to us. It is supposed that the Burgun dian s

in troduced the word to the Germ an s , a n d they , again ,

l eft it in En glan d as a trace of their settlem en t here .

DOL sign ifies a m eadow. Dol - di r , m eadow- lan d.

We fin d‘

it in m an y of ou r place - n am es , a n d also in

variou s form s in Arun del,Ken dal (Pen - ddol) , An n an

da l e , Dalkeith , Dal rym ple , Dovedale , &c . The word is

foun d in n am es of places situate in valleys all over

Wales , Cornwall , a n d Brittan y .

DW FR is the m odern Welsh for water. It is

frequen tly spelt dwr Cwm dwr , the water - vale . In

En glish it has suffered m uch from phon etic decay

Derwen t , Dover , Appledore,Durham , Dore , Thur,

Durra , &c . It is also foun d in European n am es :

Dordogn e , Adour , Du r b ia n , Durbach , Douron ,Dwern a

,

Oder , &c . Words a n d Places ,” p . It m a y be

c om pared with the Corn ish doa r ,the Gaelic a n d Irish

d a r , a n d dob ha r , pron oun ced doa r , a n d the Greek a dor ,

a ll probably cogn ate with the Celtic da b r .

DYFFRYN is popularly derived from dwir , water , a n d

hyn t , a wa y ,a course ; literally a water - course , or a vale

through which a river takes its course . In the an cien t

Welsh laws the word dyfiryn t is used t o den ote a river.

Ynysoedd yn n yffryn t , islan ds in a river . It m a y be

a com poun d of dwir - b ryn ,sign ifying a hilly place through

which water flows .

28 PLACE- NAM ES IN W ALES .

GALLT m ean s a n ascen t , a slope . Gellt o goed , a

woody slope or em in en ce . In North Wa l es it sign ifies.

a steep hill ,”

a n d in South Wal es “ a coppice of

wood.

”

GARTH origin ally m ean t a buttress , a n in closure .

The Norse g a r th,the Persian g i rd ,

a n d the Anglo - Saxon

ya rd , den ote a place girded roun d , or guarded. Garden

is a place fen ced roun d for special cultivation . Bn a r th,

from b u ,kin e , a n d g a r th,

a sm all in closure,wa s situated

on a hill in perilous tim es . Lla a r th from llu , a legion ,

a n d g a r th,in closure , m ean s a n en tren chm en t on a hill .

In course of tim e the word becam e t o sign ify a ridge

a hill,a rising em in en ce , a prom on tory. Com pare t he

Breton li - orz, a nd the Irish la b -

ghor t , a n en closure for

vegetables.

GELLI - Celli m ean s a wood , a copse . The sim pler

form cell m ean t a grove , a n d the Irish c oi ll bears a n

iden tical m ean in g . Cell ysg a w, a n elder grove . The

aborigin es of Scotlan d were cal led Ca eoi ll da oin , which

m ean t the people of the wood , which n am e wa s

chan ged by the Rom an s to Caledon ia . A great n um ber

Of places have received their n am es from species of

trees , as Clynog , Pa n tyc elyn , Cly n eiddw , &c .

GLAN m ean s brin k , side , shore . Gla n yr a fon , the

river side , or the bank of the river. Gla n y m or , the sea

shore . The word is gen erally prefixed t o river - nam es ,as Glan - Conwy , Glan Taf , &c .



on e en d to em it the sm oke from the fire which wa s

m ade ben eath . Its stools were ston es , a n d beds were

m ade of hay ranged alon g the sides .

LLAN is iden tified with n early all the n am es o f

parish churches in Wa l es , from which a n exceedingly

large num ber of places take their n am es . I t has been

said that Englan d is pre—em in en tly the lan d of hedges

a n d in closures . The term in ation s, t on , ha m , worth ,

stoke,fold

,garth

,park , burgh , bury , brough , burrow ,

alm ost invariably convey the n otion of in closure a nd

protection . The Welsh prefix Lla n , which orig inally

sign ified a n in closure , probably suggested the idea t o the

Saxon colon ists . We fin d the word in per lla n , orchard ;

gwin lla n ,vin eyard ; cor la n , sheep - yard , in Welsh place

n am es it is n ow gen erally taken t o m ean a church ,

probably in cluding the church - yard , though originally

applied to a n in closure with or without a buildin g.

Myned i’

r lla n m ean s goin g to church .

”

The British sain ts , havin g been deprived of their

possession s by the powerfu l a n d ever - in creasin g

foreign ers a n d invaders , retired to the m ost solitary

places in the coun try to l ive a wholly religious

l ife , a n d foun ded churches which will bear their

n am es as lon g as hagiology rem ain s a part of

Welsh history. Judgin g from the n u m ber of churches

dedicated to the sain ts , it appears that the m ost popular

am ong them were St . Mary , St . Michael , a nd St . David

the patron sain t of Wales . It is n eedless to say that the,

first two n ever foun ded churches , although we fin d that

PREF IXES AND SU FFIXES . 31

28 churches* in the see of Bangor ; 27 in the see of St .

Asaph ; 59 in the see of St . David’s ; a n d a few in the

see of Llan daff ; in all about 150 churches a n d chapels

have been dedicated to S t . Mary , a n d to St . Michael

48 in the see of St . David’s ; 8 in the see of St . Asaph ;16 in the see of Bangor ; 20 in the see of Llan daff ; a n d

a few in the see of Hereford , m aking a total of n early100. Next com es St . David . We fin d that 42 so - called

sacred edifices bear his n am e in the see of St . David’s

8 in the see ofLlan daff a n d a few in the see of Hereford

such as Dewstow .

Man y churches were a lso n am ed from their

con tiguity t o water , as well as to other obj ects : Lla n

wr tyd (Llan wr th -

y- rhyd) , the church by the ford ;

Lla n da f, the church on the Taff , &c . The llan , a publ ic

house, a n d a few cottages , form ed the n ucleus Of the

m aj ority of ou r rural villages a n d parishes , a n d when the

Village or parish becam e worthy of a n appellation , the

n am e of the lla n wa s alm ost invariably applied to them .

The word sa n t , sain t , n ever becam e a popular term in

Wales as it did in Cornwall . We have sim ply the

lla n a n d the un adorn ed n am e Of the sain t who foun ded

it,or wa s ded ic a t ed , _

n ot Lla n sa n tddewi , St . David’

s

church,but Lla n ddewi , David

’

s church .

When several churches are dedicated t o the sam e

sain t som e differen tial words are added , a n d so we have

those lon g n am es which arouse the curiosity of our

English frien ds , a n d Often supply a healthy exercise

P roba bly m ore n ow) .

3 2 PLACE - NAMES IN WALES.

t o their risible faculties,such as Lla n fa i r -Ma tha fa r n

ei tha f, &c .

For the sake of euphon y a n d brevity we have , in

m any of our En glish equivalen ts , om itted the word lla n ,

a n d have given the n am es of the sain ts on ly , except

when they are tran slatable . When differen tial words

a re added to the hag iological n am es , as Penyb ryn ,

Helygen , &c ., we have thought it advisable to om it

the ecclesiastical term , a n d give the m un dan e portion of

the n am e on ly as a n En glish quasi- equivalen t . For

i n stan ce , Lla ndewi -Aberarth , om itting St. David’s

, a n d

r en der Aberarth in to a n in telligible English n am e . We

fin d the word lla n in m an y place - n am es in Englan d, in

t he Cym ric part of Scotlan d , i .e. between the Clyde

a n d the Solway , e.g . Lan ark , La n r ic k , &c ., a n d in

Brittan y , as Lan geac , Lan n ion , La n c e , &c . The word

eg lwys, church , is now used for a m odern ecclesiastical

building in m ost parts of the Prin cipal ity.

LLECH , a flat ston e , a flag,refers probably to the

Druidical circle ston es . Notice should be m ade of the

differen ce between Crom lec h a n d Cistfa en . The form er

wa s a sepulchral m onum en t a n d always above groun d,

a n d the latter wa s the coffin,con cealed by a tum ulus

e ither of earth or of ston es. The crom lech gen erally

had a c ist fa en un der it . The English league is probably

derived from this word , a“ league wa s a m easure of

distan ce m arked by a ston e stan ding on en d .

LLW CH is the an cien t Welsh for a n in let of water,

a lake , Ma esllwch ,n r . Three Cocks S tation .

It

PREFIXES AND SU FFIXES . 33

correspon ds to the S cotch loc h,the Irish la u g h, a nd

the English la ke. Loch Leven—sm ooth lake .

LLW YN in its prim ary sen se m ean s a bush , but it is

frequ en tly u sed to den ote a grove .

LLYS origin ally m ean t a royal court , a palace .

Llysdin , a city where a prin ce’s court wa s kept , but i t

is n ow the comm on appellation for a court .

MAENOR origin ally m ea n t a division of lan d m arked

by ston es , from m a en ,a ston e ; hen ce it becam e to

sign ify a district , a m an or. The m a en - hi r , lon g- stone

m onum en t , is con sidered by Professor Rhys to be a s

old as the crom lech , but n ot so im posin g a nd costly.

Croes- fa en . (See Croes) .

MAES , a n Open field,in con tradistin ction to c a e, a n

en closed field. It is som etim es used as a m ilitary term

sign ifyin g a battle - field . Ca d a r fa es is a pitched battle ,

a nd colli y m a es is to lose the battle . In the m aj ority of

n am es where this com pon en t occurs we m a y fairly in fer

that a battle has been fought there .

MAI m ean s a n open ,beautifu l plain . I t is also the

Welsh for Ma y ,the m on th when n ature in duces one to

go ou t to the open fields t o View her gem s of beauty.

MOEL when used as a substan tive sign ifies a ba ld ,

con ical hill . Dyn penfoel , a ba l d - headed m a n . In olden

tim es it wa s used as a surn am e . Hywel Foel , Howell ,

the ba ld- headed. It is derived by som e from the Celtic

root m u ll , a bald head . Moylisker (Westm oreland) is a

D

34 PLACE fNAMES IN W ALES. f

corrupted form of Moel - esga i r ,bare ridge . Malvern is

supposed to be a con t raction of Moel - y- fa rn ,

the hill of

judgm en t . In Irelan d we fin d it corrupted to m oyle

K ilm oyle , bald church ; Din rn oyle ,bald fort .

MYNYDD is the popular Welsh word for m oun tain ,

from mwn , what rises con siderably above the surface of

the surroun din g lan d . Myn”d i fynydd or fyny m ean s

going upwards . In Shropshire this word appears in

Lon gm yn d ; in Gloucestershire , n r . Mitcheldean . as the

Meen d .

NANT in its prim ary sen se sign ified a ravin e , a

d in gle ; but n ow it is m ostly used in South Wales t o

den ote a brook ,a stream let . The root en ters larg ely

in to Welsh n om en clature , a n d it is also foun d in m an y

place - n am es in the region of the H igh Alps . Na n h a n

a n d Na n n ey are plural form s of it , om ittin g t , a n d

a ddin g the plural term in ation a n .

PANT m ean s a low place , a hollow . It is c on

sider a b ly less than a cwm or dyfiryn ,com be or valley

,

bein g som ewhat sim ilar to a glen .

PARC , from the Norm an - Fren ch , is a n in closure,

equivalen t to c a e, a piece of lan d en closed with hedges.

It is used in the latter sen se in the south -west coun ties .

P a r th com es from the sam e root , which m ean s a divisi on

of lan d . P a r tha n Cym r u, the division s of Wales . The

En glish park is a derivative , which has a m ore

exten sive m ean in g .

PREF IXES AND SUFF IXES. 35

PEN in geographical n am es m ean s the highest

part or the extrem e en d , as of a m oun ta in or a field,or

a m eadow. We fin d it in tact in n am es of places in

Cornwall , as Pen zan ce , Pen rhyn (headl an d) , a nd in

the n orth of En gla n d we have Pen rith ; but in its n ative

cou n try the con son an t n has been om itted in m an y

in stan ces , a nd m substituted , as in Pem broke , Pem brey,&c . Ben ,

a m oun tain , en ters largely in to the c om

position Of place - n am es in Scotlan d , especia lly in the

H ighlan ds ,as Ben - m ore , (Penm a wr ) , great m oun tain , &c .

Cen or c en n is an other Gaelic form , sign ifying the sam e

as pen a n d b en . Ca n tyr e (Pen tit ) , headlan d ; Kenm ore

(Penm awr ) , great m oun tain ; Kin loch (Penllwch) , head

of the lake . In South Scotlan d b en is replaced by pen ,

the Cym ric form ,as Pen c r a ig , the top of the rock ;

Pen pon t , the en d of the bridge , &c . We find it also

in European n am es poin tin g out the earlier settlem en ts

of the Celtic race , as Pen n in e , Apenn in es , Penn e ,

Penm ark , &c .

PONT is gen erally derived from the Latin pon tem ,

( a ce ) a bridge . The m on ks were great bridge- builders , a nd

it is supposed that they in troduced the word to us.

Pon tage is a duty paid for repai rin g bridges . The

Rom an pon tiff wa s so ca l led because the first bridge

over the Tiber wa s con structed an d con secrated by the

high priest . Pon tefract is a pure Latin n am e , from

pons, a br idge , a nd fr a n ger e, to break , sign ifyin g a-broken

bridge,so called from the bridge breaking down when

Will iam ,Archbishop of York , wa s passing over.


PORTH is referred by som e t o the Latin por t a , a

passage -wa y , a gate , a n open in g .

RHIW is the Welsh for ascen t , acclivity , slope . It

has a n an alogous m ean in g to Eppyn t , the n am e of a

chain of m oun tain s in Brecon shire , probably from eb ,

a n issuin g out , a n d hyn t , a wa y , a course , sign ifyin g a

wa y risin g abruptly . Hyn tio m ean s to set off abruptly.

RHOS m ean s a m oor. Som e thin k the Latin rns is

a cogn ate word , sign ifyin g un drain ed m oorlan d . The

Cym ric rhos is of t he sa m e orig in a s the Gaelic r os,which sign ifies a prom on tory. Ross , the n am e of a

town in Herefordshire , is probably a corruption of the

form er .

RHYD in its prim ary sen se m ean s a ford ,but its

secon dary m ean ing— a stream , is frequen tly given to it .

Rhyd- erwi n m ean s the rough

,dangerous ford

, whereas

Rhydfelin design ates a stream of water that turn s a m ill .

SANT : The title sa n t wa s very sparingly used in

Med imv a l Welsh ,a n d then m ostly in the case of sain ts

other than Welsh . Som e historian s m ain tain that

churc hes were dedicated t o Welsh a n d Irish sain ts from

500 to 800, t o St . Michael a n d som e of the Apostles

from 800 t o ~1000,a n d to St . Mary a n d others in the

12th cen tury.

The earliest use of the word M a b sa n t , the typical

holy m a n of the parish , appears to be in a eulogy Of the

Welsh patron sain t Can u y Dewi by Gwynfa rdd

Bryc hei n iog (1160


38 PLACE- NAMES IN W ALES .

p iece of lan d taken for the purpose of cultivation . It

i s used in Glam organ t o den ote a green sward.

TREF wa s the prim itive Welsh appellative for a

hom estead,a dwellin g - house . Myn ed tn a thr ef, goin g

hom e“

,is still a com m on expression in South Wales . In

course of tim e the term wa s exten ded to in di cate a

group of hom esteads . Havin g buil t a house for him self

the lord would proceed t o build dwellin gs for his people

a n d h is cattle , a n d these form ed what wa s called tr ef.

The word gradually becam e to be applied to a n

aggregate of houses , hen ce the reason why it is used SO

frequen tly in Village as well as in town - n am es .

The root is widely distributed over B ritain a n d

Europe . The Norse b y ,the Dan ish thorpe, the Germ an

dorf , a n d the En glish ha m a n d ton m a y be con sidered as

i ts equiva l en ts . It is spelt tr en in Dom esday Book ,hen ce we have Treu ddyn for Treddyn .

Hen dr ef form s the n am es of m any old m an sion s ,a n d is syn on ym ous with the English Al t a nd

Oldham . Hyd y dr ef (October) , wa s the harvest season

the tim e t o gather the produce of the fields to the

barn s , a n d leave the ha fod ,summ er - house

,to spen d the

Win ter m on ths in the hen dr ef, the Older establishm en t.:The origin a l m ean in g of c a n tref (can ton or hun dred) is

supposed to have been a hun dred hom esteads .

TROED is the W elsh for foot , base . The Irish tr a i gsign ifies the sam e , both of which , Professor Rhys thin ks ,

PREPIxEs AND su r r ixE’

sfi 39

a re of the sam e Origin as the Greek trecho,I ru n.3 The

En glish trea d m ean s to set the foot . The wor d is fre

quently applied t o places situated at the foot" of a m oun "

t ain. The Welsh Troedyr hiw a n d the Ita l ia n pie di

m on te are syn on ym ous term s .

TY gen era lly m ean s a house , a dwellin g- place,but

in Welsh n om en clatu re it is occasion a lly used to den ote

a church or place of worship , as Ty Ddewi , St. David’s.

The house of God is con sidered by m an y as equivalen t

to the church of God . Ty has a n in ferior m ean in g to

b od the latter wa s the residen ce of a superior, a nd the

form er is of a later date , sign ifying a n ordin ary house, a

cottage.

W Y—Gwy is a n obsolete Celtic word for water,

m ostly used as a suffix in river- n am es, as Elmy, Ta wy

a n d som etim es as a prefix , as gwya ch, a water- fowl ;

gwyla n ,sea-

g ull ; gwydd , goose . Gwysg is related to it ,

which m ean s a ten den cy to a level , as of a fluid or

stream . We find the root in various form s, as Wysg ,

ea sk, u isge, a sk, esk, is- c a , &c .

YNYs an cien tly sign ified a n islan d, a n d also a

quasi- island an swering to inc h in Scotla n d, In ch Kei th;a nd in is or enn is is Irelan d, Enn is Kil len , Enn is Got tb y ,

In n iskea ,&c . The word is applied to som e places with

no river or water n ear them , nor anything su ggestin gthe probabil ity that they had, in rem ote tim es , been

islan ds .

40 PLACE- NAMES 1N W ALES.

YSTRAD is a gen era l term for a low or flat valley

through which a river flows. The Latin str a ta , the

Scotch str a th, a nd the En glish street are supposed to be

of the sam e origin . The term ystr a d wa s used som etim es

t o den ote a paved road.

PLACE NAMES IN W ALES .

W a LEs.—The real a n d correct n am e is Cym r u ,

or

a s the late Mr . T . Stephen s in variably spelt it , Kym ru ;

from cym- b ro, the com patriot , the n ative of the coun try,

in con tradistin ction t o a ll - fro,the foreign invader who

c am e to dispossess him of his n ative lan d.

Professor S ilvan Evan s derives it from - cyd , the d

bein g chan ged to m for assim ilation with the followingb ; an d b r o, a va l e , a coun try . Som e think it is a

com poun d of eyn , first,prior a n d b r u , m atrix , hen ce

im plyin g P r im i t i v eMother , a n expression sign ifyin g that

the aborigin al Brythons, t o sustain their in alien able

c laim to the cou n try , con sidered them selves as

descen ded from the direct Offsprin g of their n ative soil .

Accordin g to som e the n am e is syn onym ous with the

Cim m er ii a n d Gom ari .

A few derive the n am e from Ca m b er , the son of

Br u tu s, whilst others in sist upon a rem oter origin ,a nd

trace it back to Gom er , the eldest son of J a phet ._

In

the laws of Hywel Dda the n am e is spelt Cyb r u ,a n d in

G . a p Arthur’s Chron icle the n am es Kym ry a n d Kym r a ec

a re respectively given to the n ation a n d the lan gu age .

Mr . Stephen s derives Kym ry from Hom er’

s Kim

m eroi a n d Ger'

m an ia’s Cirn b r i . These people gave

4 2 PLACE- NAMES IN W ALES .

their n am e to Cum berlan d , a n d subsequen tly they

settled in their presen t coun try ,a n d called them selves

a n d the c ou n t re ym'

ry or Cymry , the form Cym ru for

Wales bein g a m odern varian t .

Professor Rhys thin ks the ties of un ion between

the Brython s of Upper B ritain proved so"

stron g a n d

close that the word Cym ry , which m ean t m erely

fellow- coun trym en ,acquired the force a nd charm of a

n ation al n am e , whic h'

i t still retain s am on g the n atives

of the Prin cipality. I t is also popularly call ed

GWALIA, of which Wales is a Saxon ized form .

Very m an y favour the Germ an derivation zea l , foreign ;wa ller , foreign er . The gen eral n am e given by the

'

Teuton ic races to their n eighbours is W a lsc h,foreign ers

or stran gers . The word Du tch is a n adj ective

sign ifying n ation al , a n d wa s the n am e by which the old

Teuton s called them selves in con tradistin ction to other

people , whose lan gu age they were un able to under

stan d . They styled them selves the ( in tell igible )people , but called others , as the Rom an s a n d the Kelts

in B ritain , W a lsc h a n d W elsh.

”

(Morris H ist . Gra m ) .

W a lsch- la nd is the Germ an n am e of Italy , a nd

Wea l - la nd is the n am e given by the Saxon Chron icle t o

Brittany . Cornwa les wa s the origin al form of Cornwa ll ,Which sign ifies the coun try inhabited by the Welsh of

the Horn . Som e derive the n am e from Ga l , the ancien t

Ga l , whilst others give the p referen ce to g a l , a n open ,

cu ltivated coun try.

“

Le P r in ce de Ga lles is the n am e?

PLACE- NAMES IN W ALES. 43

g iven to the Prin ce of Wales in Fran ce . The people

of Ga la ti a in the tim e of St . Paul possessed som e

characteristic features of the Celtic race. J acob

Grim m traces the n am e back to Ga lli (Gaules ,which wa s taken by the Germ an s from the n eighbourin gGauls . It is gen erally supposed that when the Saxon s

settled am on g the Britan n ic Loeg r ia ns ( the Cym ry of

En glan d) they call ed them Vea les,W ea la , or W ea lha s,

from which the n am e Wales probably origin ated.

CAMBRIA .— Som e derive it from Ca m b er of fabulous

record,but we rather thin k it is a distorted Latin ized

form of Cym r u .

We shall now proceed t o deal with the n am es of

the an cien t territories of Wal es , n am ely , Gwynedd ,

Powys, Dyfed , a n d Gwen t .

GW YNEDD ,or VENEDOCIA .

— This territory c om

prised the coun ties of Anglesey , Ca rn a rfon , a nd Den bigh ,

Or Gwyn edd i s Conwy,Ven edocia below Conway ,

a nd

Gwynedd u c h Gonwy , Ven edocia above Conway . It wa s

som etim es applied to a ll North Wa l es .

Professor Rhys thin ks the word Ven eti is m ost

likely _ ,

of the sam e origin as the An glo- Saxon wine, a

frien d , a n d m ean t all ies ; the Irish fine, a trib e or

sept,is m ost likely related , a n d so m a y be the Welsh

Gwynedd.The Ven eti have left their n am e to the part

of Brittan y called by the Breton s Gu ened , Van n es , a n d

it is this n am e probably that laid the foun dation for

the ta l es which trace a n arm y of Cym ry from Gwyn edd

to Gu en ed . (Celtic Britain , p .

44 PLACE- NAMES IN WALES.

PowYs.—This in cluded the coun ties of Merion eth;

Flin t , a nd Mon tgom ery. The word , according to

som e , m ean s a state of rest . Pwyso m ean s to lean ;

gorphwyso, to rest. I t is said that Cer idwen placed

Gwi a n , the son of Gwrea ng , the herald of Lla n fa ir , the

fan e of the lady,in Ca er Ein i a wn , the city of the j u st in

Powys, the lan d of rest. (Davies’

Myth. , p .

Powys Fa dog m a y m ean Madoc’s settlem en t or rest.

DYFED,or DEMETIA.

—This provin ce em braced thecoun ties of Pem broke , Carm arthen , a n d Cardigan ; the

form er con stituted the pri n cipa l part , a nd is cal l ed

Dyfed even to - day by the Old inhabitan ts. In the seven th

cen tury Dyfed con sisted on ly of Pem brokeshire. Som e

derive the n am e from Deheu b a r th, which is rather far

fetched. We are in duced t o thin k the root is dwfn ,

deep or low, in dicating the geographical position of

Dyfed, which is the lowest part of the Prin cipality.

Devon is probably of the sam e origin . Dem et ia is

Dyfed Latin ized.

GWENT. This territory com prises part of

Glam organ , a lso Monm outhshire , a nd part of Hereford

shire, the latter districts are to be deal t with in a su b

sequ en t work .



The Rom an s called it Ga da v i a g a da ,t o fall or r u n

d own ; v i a , wa y ,sign ifying

“

the swift or run n ing water .

This place wa s one of the 3 Royal residen ces of Wales ,

a n d a seat of their chief courts of j ustice .

AMLWCH .— This n am e has elicited various c on

jec t u res. Som e thin k it is a com poun d of a m l - llwch,

sign ifying a dusty place . Others derive it thus : a m ,

roun d , about ; llwc h, a lake , a n in let of water , sign ifyin g

a circul ar in let of water . Llwc h is cogn ate with the

Scotch loc h. Man y places in Wales take their n am es

from this word , as P en llwch,Ta lyllyc ha u ,

Lla n llwc h,a n d

,

perhaps , Am lwc h. In a n an cien t book , The Record of

Carn arvon ,

” supposed to be written about 1451, the

n am e is spelt Am log h. The harbour at Am lwch is a

sort of llwch.

BEAUMARIs.—Various n am es are given to this town

Bu m a r is, B im a r is, Beu m a r ish , Bello -Ma r iseu m , a n d

B eaum aris . In the Myv yr i a n l ist of the parishes Of

Wales it is spelt Bywm a r es. Edm un ds derives it from

b a w,a c ow ; m or , the sea ; a n d is, low ; sign ifyin g the

low place of cows by the sea . Som e thin k the n am e is

a com poun ded form of b is, twice ; a n d m a r is, the sea ,foun din g their reason upon the position of the town as

lyin g between two seas , the Irish Sea a n d St . George’s

Chan n el . Others thin k the radices are b ea u ,beautiful

,

fin e ,a n d m a ree, sea ; sign ifying a place n ear the beautiful

sea . Man y w ill have the suffix to be the Fren ch m a r a is,

m arsh ,a tract of low lan d occasion ally covered w ith

w ater , hen ce the n am e sign ifies the beautiful m arsh .

-\NGLESEY. 47

The town wa s an cien tly called Porth W yg yr ; por th,port ; wygyr ,

which m a y be a corruption of W i g - i r ; gwig ,

a n open in g in the wood , a wood ; i r , fresh , florid. P ren i r

a green tree . The n ew n am e , Beaum aris , it is said , wa s

given t o the town by Edward I . Hé b uil t the castle

about the year 1285 , a n d chan ged the n am e of the place

t o B eaum aris , descriptive of its pleasan t situation in

low gr oun d.

BELAN .—An abbreviation ofLla n b eu la n , the church

dedicated t o Beu la n , son Of Paulinus .

BETHEL .— So called after a Non con form ist chapel

in the village . The edifices of the Established Church

a r e gen erally dedicated to em in en t .Welsh sain ts ; but

the Non con form ist san ctuaries are gen erall y den om in ated

after Scriptural place - n am es .

BODEDERN .— Bod ,

a dwell in g - place , a n abode ;

Edern ,or Edeyr n ,

the son of Nu dd , the son of Beli .

H e wa s a w arrior a n d a poet , a n d before the end of

his earthly career becam e very devoted to religion ,

a n d built a church in this place , which wa s dedicated

to him ,hen ce the n am e .

BODEWRYD .— This place is situated about four

m iles west of Am lwch . Bod , a dwellin g ; ewryd , a

con traction ,pe rhaps

, of ewi a r , sm ooth , clear , a n d rhyd ,

a ford ; the n am e , therefore , sign ifies a m an sion at the

clear ford .

48 PLACE NAMES IN W ALES.

BODFFORDD.—Bod ,

a dwelling ; flordd , a wa y , a

road ; the n am e,therefore

,sign ifies a residen ce by the

wa y or road .

BODOW YR.-The habitation of the priests . A

ham let situated n ear Tre’r Dryw,the seat of the

chief Druid.

BODWROG .—Bod

,a dwellin g ; Twr og ,

supposed t o

be the son of Ithel W a el , of Brittan y ,to whom the

church is dedicated . The n am e sign ifies a fortified

dwellin g .

BRYNSIENCYN .—Bryn ,

a hill ; Sien cyn ,a W elshified

form of J enkin , which m ean s little a n d pretty John .

CAERCEILIOG .—From a farm so n am ed . Som e

thin k the right wording is Ca ergei lyg—Ca er , a fortified

wall ; Gei lyg , clear, prom in en t : others thin k the n am e

is a slight corruption of Ca e’

r cei li og , the cock’s field

,

from the tradition that a certain field belon ging to the

farm stead wa s som etim e n oted for c oc kfight in g .

CAPEL GWYN .—Ca pel , chapel ; Gwyn ,

a con tracted

form , probably , of Gwyn gen a u , the son of P a wl , the elder ;or , perhaps , gwyn here has a n ecclesiastical m ean in g

,

sign ifying blessed .

“

Gwyn ei fyd y gwr ,

” blessed is

the m a n .

CAPEL MEUGAN .— Ca pel , chapel ; Meu g a n , son of

Gwynda fHen , the son of Em yr Llyda w. Meu g a n is a nOld person al n am e which m a y have com e through the

Irish , c .f. Feg a n .

ANGLESEY . 49

CEI RCHIOG .—This n a m e m ean s aboun ding with

oats . The soil of the district is rem arkable for yielding

large crops of oats .

CEMAEs.—This n am e is very comm on in Wales .

It is a com poun d word , m ade up of c e/n ,back ridge ;

a n d m a c s, a field , sign ifyin g a high field . Som e thin k

the n am e den otes ridged or arable lan d, from the fer

t i li ty of the soil in the district . Others thin k it a

com poun ded form of c a m p , a feat , a gam e a nd m a cs, a

field . The Welsh had 24 gam es , or qualification s , that

m a y be called their course of education . We rather thin k

the word must be un d erstood here in a m artial sen se ,Sign ifyin g a field on a high place , form ing a van tage - groun d

for m ilitary Operation s . The n am e in dicates sign s of the

defen sive conflict of the Kym ry from the tim e of Ca dwa la dr

down to the fall of Llewelyn , with whom t he in depen den ce

Of Cam br ia term in ated .

CERRYG CEINWEN .

—Cer ryg ston es ; Ceinwen , the

daughter Of Bry cha n Brychein iog , to whom the church

is dedicated .

CERRYG v GW YDDYI .—Cerryg , stones ; Gwyddyl ,

Irishm en . Ca swa llon La w~H i r (Long Han d ) , abou t

the year 500 , fought v a'

i i a n t‘y again st the Ir ish in vaders

in North Wales . Having achieved such a

n oble victory at a certain place in Mon a , he built a

church thereon,a n d called it Lla n y Gwyddyl , but n ow

i t is kn own by the n am e of Cerryg y Gwyddyl .

CLEGYROG .

— The root,probably , is c leg r , which

m ean s a rock,a cliff . Clegyrog , rocky , rugged ; the

n am e is quite descriptive of this craggy district .

E

50 PLACE NAMES IN WALES .

COEDANA .—Coed ,

wood ; An a“

An n e , supposed to be

a Welsh lady t o w hom the parish church is dedicated .

Ann e or An n is a con traction of H a n n a h .

DW YRAN .—Dwy ,

two r a n,part or

“

portion . This

ham let w a s divided in to two by Idwal , the Prin ce of Wales ,

a n d he gave on e t o St . Beun o , a n d the other to the Bishop

o f Ban gor , hen ce the n a m es Dwyr a n B eu n o,a n d Dwyr a n

Esgob . The place is also called Ab er b r a i n t .

GAE-KWEN .

—A com poun d of c a er , a fortified wall , a

fortress ; a n d wen ,the fem in in e form of gwyn ,

whi te ,fair

,blessed ,

what is desirable or affords ha ppi n ess .

GWREDOG .—The root m a y be gwa r (g wa r edd a wg ) ,

t am e , m ild , g en tle ; som e thin k the correct wording is

Gwa r edog ,what is bein g protected or saved . Perhaps it

is derived from gwa ered ,a declivity . We adopt the

latter . The right wordin g,therefore

,is Gwa eredog , a

flat or bottom at the foot of high groun d . It is the

n am e of several farm s in Anglesey a s Gwa eredog ,Am lwch ,

a n d Gwa eredog Ucha f, a n d Gwa eredog Isa f , n ear Lla n

er chym edd .

GW YNDY .

—Gwyn ,white

,blessed dy z ty ,

house the

n am e sign ifies a blessed house . The n am e w a s on ce

used t o den ote a n episcopal residen ce . In the tim e of

St . Germ an n s , gwynda i—episcopal residen ces or houses

were first alloted to the bishops . It wa s supposed

that a Cloister wa s on ce in the place where a large

n um ber Of virgin s devoted them selves en tirely t o holy

service .

HOLYHEAD .

—The Welsh n am e is C a ergyb i or accord

in g t o som e , Co‘

r Cyb i . Cyb i , the son of the Kin g of

Cornwall , flourished about the latter half Of the fourth

ANGLESEY . 51

cen tury . Havin g spen t som e tim e with Bishop Hilary,

i n Gaul , he return ed a nd took up his abode here . It is

said that the Prin ce of Mon a took com passion uponhim in his great poverty

,a nd presen ted him with a

castle in the place,wherein he established a sm all

m on astery , from which circum stan ce the castle wa sc alled Cor Cyb i

—Cyb i’

s Choir . Penn an t thin ks the

right wording is Ca ergyb i , from the afore - m en tion edc astle , ruin s of wh ich are discern ible now . The sain t

also is m em orable for his con n ection with the Rom anpharos or lighthouse on a hill adj acen t t o the town . At

the n orth en d of the pa rish church the following

in scription m a y be seen z—Sa n c teKyb i , or a pro nob is, i .e. ,

“

Oh "Sain t Cyb i , pray for us . Opin ions differ as t o

the origin of Holyhead . Som e thin k it wa s so n am ed

from the large n um ber of sacred“

edifices in the place .

Others thin k the English gave the'

a ppell a t ion“

Holy

head t o the place on accoun t of the holy a nd san ctified

l ife of the ever m em orable Sain t Kyb i . Others m ain tain

that the right wording is Hollyhea d—a tran slation of

Pen c elyn ,or m ore correctly , P en Cyhelyn , Cyhelyn

’

sHead .

Pen m ean s head ; a n d Cyhelyn wa s reduced to Cetyn ,

which sign ifies holly - wood,hen ce Hollyhea d ,

a n d then

Holyhead .

LLANALLGO .—The church wa s dedicated t o Ga llgo,

a son ofCaw Cawlyd ,a nd built in the 7th cen tury . In this

n eighbourhood the Royal Charter wa s lost , October 2 6th ,

1859, when upwards of 400 lives perished . In the

parish there is also seen a large c rom lech.

LLANBABO .—P a b o Post P ryda i n wa s a n em in en t

w arrior , a n d ere the close of his life he devoted

him self un reservedly to religious m atters . He founded

5 2 PLACE—NAMES IN WALES .

the church of Lla n b a b o,where still rem ain s a ston e on

which his im age a nd the following in scription m a y b e

seen H i c y'

a c et P a b o Post P r u d Corpors- te- P r im a .

LLANBADRIG .— The IolO MSS. in form us that P a d r ig

wa s a sain t of the seven th cen tury ,a con tem porary of

Elford ,a n d a fellow of Kyb i

’

s sem in ary . He built the

above church,which still bears his n am e . This is St

Pa trick , the great apostle of Irelan d . (The n am e

Patrick m ean s a sen ator,a n oblem an ) .

LLANDEGFAN .—Som e thin k the church wa s built

by Tydecha a n d his sister Tegfedd ,a n d that it wa s

dedicated t o the latter in the sixth cen tury ; but we

rather thin k that Teg fa n ,un cle of Elian

,a n d a sain t

a n d con fessor in Kyb i’

s sem in ary,gave his n am e to it .

(William s’ “

Em in en t Teg/a n m a y m ean a

fair spot, or a fin e place .

LLANDYSSILIO .

—The church is dedicated t o Tyssi lio

a celebrated sain t Of the sixth cen tury .

LLAN DDANIEL FAB —Mr . Rowlan ds writes :Dan iel , who had a church n ear that of Llan Aiden

,

wa s son of Dan iel,

first Bishop of Ban gor ; a n d there

fore , the church is com m on ly called Lla n Dd a m’

el Fa b .

LLANDDE I: SANT .

—The church is dedicated to da u

sa n t , two sain ts— Marcellus a nd Marcellin us .

LLANDDW YN .

— The church is dedicated to St . Deu wen

or Dwynwen daughter of B rych a n , on e Of the prim itive

Christian s of Britain . This parish wa s,in the reign of

w

Hen ry VII I , on e of the richest prebends in the cathedralof Ban gor . The com m on people were superstitious

en ough t o m ake pilgrim ages here to c rosses,reliques

,holy

wells , ordeals , a n d fish divin ation .


54 PLACE - NAMES IN WALES .

m ade of hon ey a nd water ; that an cien t beverage wa s

probably prepared a n d con sum ed at the above tavern ,

hen ce the n am e .

LLANEUGRAD.—The church wa s ded icated t o

Eu g ra d , son of Ca w Ca wlwyd ,a fellow of Ill tyd

’

s

sem in ary,a n d a sain t of the sixth cen tury . It is said that

a very great battle wa s fought here in 873 between Rhod r i

Mawr a nd the Dan es , a n d that the latter had t o retreat .

LLANPACHRETH .—The church wa s dedicated to S t

Ma chr a i th, who flourished in the seven th cen tury ,a n d

founded churches in Merion eth a nd Anglesey .

LLANFAELOG .—The church wa s dedicated a bout

the seven th cen tury t oMa elog , son of Ca w Ca wlwyd . Hard

by there is a lake called Llyn M a elog ,

Ma elog’

s pool .

LLANFAES .—Ma es, a field . The n am e den otes a

church built on the spot where a m em ora ble battle

wa s fou ght in the year 819 between Egbert a nd the

W elsh . The rem ain s of the imm ortal j ohn Eli a s o Fon ,

were in terred here in Jun e , 1841.

LLANFAETHLU .—The church wa s dedicated t o

Ma ethlu, son of Ga r a da g Frei chfr a s, in the sixth cen tury

Ma ethl u or M a ethle m eans a nursin g place .

LLANFAIR -MATHAFARN - EITHAF.—The n am es of this

a nd the adj oin ing parish m ust be com pared here inorder that they m a y throw light on each other

Lla n b edr -

goch, or Lla n b edr -M a tha fa rn - Gwion - Goch,the

con tiguous parish is called Lla n b edr,the church dedi

c a t ed to St . Peter ; M a tha /a rn ,the place (m a n ) of a

tavern ; Gwion Goch, the n am e of the own er . Now

take the n ext . Lla n fa i r,St . Mary ’s Church ; M a tha /a rn ,

ANGLESEY . 55

tavern ; ei tha f, extrem e , furthest ; the suffix ei tha f wa s

added t o the latter tavern to distinguish it from theother .

This parish is fam ous for being the birthplace ofGoronwy Owen , on e of the greatest poets of Wales .

He wa s born here,Jan uary 7th ,

172 2 .

LLANFAIR- PWLL—GW YNGYLL .—Lla n fa i r

,St . Mary

'

s

Church ; pwll , pool ; gwyn ,white ; eyll , hazel wood .

Ceris Pool, Men ai Stra i ts , is con tiguous to this place ,

an d the ban ks of the straits were som etim e covered with

white hazel wood . The full n am e is som etim es play

fully given a s Lla n fa irpwllgwyn g yllgog erychwyrnd ro

b wlltysiliogog og ogoch— a rather pretty a nd inviting word

to a Saxon tourist . The railway station is called Llan fair

P .G .

LLANFAIR- v N- NGHORNW Y .

—Lla n fa i r —a church dedic a t ed to St . Mary yn ,

the corn - wy , lan d proj ecting out

to the water, which is very descriptive of this part of the

parish .

LLANFAIR—YN—NEUBW LL . Lla n fa i r St . Mary’

s

church ; yn , in ; n eu bwll da u bwll,two pools , which

are visible from the church .

LLANFECIIELL .—Mechell or Mechyll , the son of

Echwydd, wa s a Welsh bishop , a n d the church wa s

dedi cated to him in the seven th cen tury . He wa s buried

in P enrhos Llu gwy ,a n d Mr . Rowlan ds (Mon a An tiqua)

says that a n old ston e wa s foun d there in the

eighteen th cen tury bear in g his n am e .

LLANPIIIANGEL DIN SYv .—Lla nfiha ngel , St .

Michael’s Church . Din Sylwy,according to som e , is a

con traction of Din a s Sylwi , the gazin g city ; others


t ra ce it to Din Sol , the city of the su n . It is gen erally

believed that a n old British stronghold stood here , a n d

wa s taken by the Rom an s durin g the subjugation of

Mon a . We offer the following derivation : Di n , a hill ;syl

—syllu ,to gaze ; the n am e

,therefore

,sign ifies a

church on a hill which com m ands a view of the river

or water.

LLANFIHANGEL TRE ’R BEIRDD .—Lla nfiha n gel , St .

Michael ’s Church . Tre’

r Bei rdd ,the bards ’ dwellin g

place . It is supposed that a Druidic station a n d a

bard ’s sem in ary existed here in rem ote tim es,from

which circum stan ce the village a nd parish derive the

n am e .

LLANGADWALADR .

- The Church is said to have been

foun ded by Ca dwa la dr , last king of the Briton s , a n d m ade

on e of the san ctuaries of Mon a .

LLANGEFNI .—The n am e sign ifies a church on the

river Ce/n i , which run s through the place .

LLANGOED .—The n am e sign ifies a church in the

wood , so called from the woody n ature of the n eighbour

hood . The church wa s dedicated to Ca wrda f in the

sixth cen tury ,a n d the parish is som etim es called Ll a n

g a wrda f.

LLANCRISTIOLUS.— Cr ist iolu s, a descen dan t of E -m yr

L lyda w, flourished in the seven th cen tury,a n d buil t the

church which comm em orated his n am e .

LLANIESTYN .—The titular sain t of this church wa s

St . Iestyn , son of Gerain t , on e“of Arthur’s kn ights .

LLANRHYDDLAD .—Rhu ddla d ,

a daughter of the King

ofLein ster, Irelan d , wa s a sain tess of the seven th cen tury ,

a n d the supposed foun der of the above church . On e

ANGLESEY . 57

a uthor thinks the right wording is Rhyddla d ; rhydd, at

l iberty,free ; la d = gwla d, coun try . Perhaps the prefix

is rhu dd, red ; the n am e,therefore

,m ean s red soil or

c oun try .

LLANTRISANT .—The church is dedicated t o tr i sen t ,

three sain ts : Afren,Ieu a n ,

a n d S a v a n ,who,

it is sup

posed , foun ded i t in the year 570 .

A m onum en t is seen here in m em ory of Rev. Hugh

W illiam s , D.D. , father of SirW m .Will iam s,speaker of the

House of Comm ons a n d Solicitor Gen eral in 1687.

LLECHYLCHED .— Som e thin k the church is dedi

c a t ed to Ilched or c hed . The n am e is , probably , a

com poun d of llech,a flat ston e ; a n d cylched , a circum

feren ce , that which goes about or en closes . Cylchedu ,to

en circle , to in clude in a circle Perhaps the n am e

has referen ce to the Druidical circle ston es .

MALLDRAETH .—M a ll sodden tr a eth, beach

or m arsh . The place is som etim es called Cors

Ddyg a i . The hun dred of Ma lld r a eth con tain s m an y

parishes,a nd reaches from the sea n ear Aberffraw to the

vicin ity of Tr a ethc och .

MENAI BRIDGE —The Welsh n am e is Por tha ethwy,

which is variously derived . The late Rev P . B .

William s writes This ferry,probably , to

'

ok its n am e

from the hundred or division in which it is Situated

Tinda ethwy. Ia go Em lyn derives a ethwv thus : Ac th,

t errible ; wy—gwy ,water ; foun din g his reason on the

perilousn ess of the passage- across the Straits . An other

Writer thinks it is P or th—y - c a ethwy ,the port of the

n arrow water. The place has been popularly called

Men ai Bridge ever sin ce the con struction of the world


ren own ed bridge that span s the straits . Men a i com es

from M a in - a w,whi ch sign ifies the n arrow water ; or it

m ight be Ma in - wy ,which m ean s the sam e .

MOELFRE .— A very com m on place - n am e in Wales .

It is a com poun d of Moel , bare , bald ; a n d b re, a hill ,m oun tain . The n am e is gen erally applied t o a treeless

hill,but covered with short

,sm ooth grass , som etim es

in terspersed with heath .

MYNYDD Pa RYs.

—P a rys m oun tain ,probably from

a Robert Parys, who wa s Cham berla in of North Wales

in the reign of Hen ry IV . This hill is n oted for

i ts copper ore .

NEBo .

—This vi llage takes its n am e from a Non con

form ist chapel in the place .

NIW BW RCH, or NEWBOROUGH .

—Its an cien t n am e ,according t o som e wa s Rhosfa i r , from a sm all church

dedicated t o St . Mary . Mr . Rowlands thin ks the n am e

w a s Rhos Hi r , lon g m eadow,from its situation in a n

exten sive m arshy plain on the eastern side . The place

w a s on ce the capital of Mon a , a n d the residen ce of the

prin ces of North Wales . Edward I . m ade it a free

corporation,from which circum stan ce origin ated the

presen t n am e of Newborough . Niwbwr ch probably

represen ts the older pronun ciation of Newborough .

PENCARNEDDI .

— P en ,head

,top

,en d Ca rn eddi , a

plural form of Ca rn edd,which den otes a sepulchral heap

of ston es . Ca rn edda u were the com m on m on um en ts

erected by the an cien t B riton s in hon our of their great m en .

PENMYNYDD .—The n am e sign ifies m oun tain top

,

a nd wa s given t o the village from respect to the

m an sion of the sam e n am e, which is fam ous for bein g

the place where Owain Tudor wa s born in 1384.

ANGLESEY . 59

PENSARN.—P en , head ,

end S a rn , Rom an paved

road , a causeway. A n am e of frequen t occurren ce in

Welsh topography .

PENTRAETH .—The parish is also called Lla n fa i r

Bettws—Ger a in t . The church wa s dedicated to St . Maryabout the sixth cen tury , a n d supposed t o have been built

by Cera in t or Gerim iu s, gran dson of Con stan tin e . The

village is called P en tr a eth from its bein g situated at the

head or upper en d of the sa ndy beach ,or bay , which is

called Tra ethcoch or Red W harf B a y .

PONTRIPONT .—A corruption ,

probably , of Pon trhyd

y- b on t . The an cien t n am e wa s Rhydpon t , or Rhyd

—y

- b on t ,

the ford of the bridge . The prefix pon t wa s probablyadded when an other bridge w a s built across Rhydyb on t .

RHOSBEI RIO .—Rhos, a m oor , a dry m eadow Pei r io,

the n am e of the son of Ca w of Twr c elyn , to Whom the

church is dedicated . P ei r io im plies what causes or

effects . Abwy a b a i r wy b od llc b o—carrion will cause

i t t o be kn own where it is .

RHOSCOLYN .—Rhos

,a m oor , a dry m eadow ; Colyn

is perhaps allied with Colo/n ,a colum n , a pillar. It

is said that the Rom an s erected a colum n here t o

perpetuate the m em ory of their con quests in Mona .

The an cien t n am e of the parish wa s Lla nwen/a en , from

respect to Gwenfa en ,the daughter of Pa wl Hen , who is

supposed to have foun ded a religious in stitution here .

RHOSNEIGR .—Rhos, a m oor ; neigr is gen erally

supposed to be a corruption of n ig er = b la ck , in allusion

to the black hue a n d peaty n ature of the soil .

RHOSYBOL .—Bol is a n etym ological puzzle . It looks

like a con tra ction of P a u l - P a u lin u s. Edward Llwyd

refers t o a place called P a n t -

y- P olion ,

n ear which he


foun d a n in scription of the n am e P a u lin u s. Som e thin k

t hat Sueton ius Paulinus on ce took up his abode in Taly

b olion . We are in clin ed t o thin k b a t is a corruption ofmoel ,

a coped hill . Moel Don is n ow comm on ly called B ol yDon .

Ta lyb olion wa s, probably ,som e tim e called Ta lym oelion .

The n am e therefore,den otes a m oor n ear a coped hill .

TRAETHCOCH .—Tr a eth —beach

,san ds c och, pro

bably from Gwion Goch.

TREGAIAN .—Ca i a n

,a sain t who flourished about

the m iddle Of the fifth cen tury,

a n d foun ded the

c hurch of Treg a i a n .

TRE—WALCHMAI .— Tre, a dwelling - place ; Gwa lch

u za i,the son of Meilir . The n am e wa s bestowed upon

the place about the twelfth cen tury . Gwa lchm a i im plies

a hero in w a r .

VALLEY .—A gross m utilation of the WelshM a el—dy ,

or

Jll a el - le, a house of trade or tra ffic . Tacitus in form s us

that a n exten sive trade wa s carried on between this district

a n d Irelan d in the tim e of Julius Agricola . There is a

hom estead n o t far from the place called Ty Ill i lo,

”

which , eviden tly , is a corruption of“

Ty M a elu ,

” a

house of trade .

Yxr s BRONWEN .— It is recorded in the M a b i n

og ion that B ronwen ,the daughter of Llyr ,

w a s buried

here B edd petrya l a wn a cd i I'

ronwen ,v er ch Llyr , a r [a n

a /on .~l la w

” square grave wa s m ade for B rom r'

c n,

the daughter of Llyr , on the ban ks of the river Ala w

(Ca m b rO—B riton ,v ol . ii . , p . Ynys m ean s a n islan d .

YNYS SEIRIOL .—It is also called Puffin Islan d .

It is about on e m ile in len gth a n d half a m ile in breadth .

Seir iol , son of Owen Da nwyn , erect ed his cell here in the

sixth cen tury .



C r a i , with the river Ta wy . Cr a - a f, the issuin g forth , the

c han n el torn by the im pulsive force of the stream , as

well as the act of tearin g or breakin g up a ny substan ce .

C r a fu m ean s to scratch ; er a /a n g u , t o claw ,to gripe .

ABERGWESYN .—The place is situated at the c on

flu en c e of the rivers Gwesyn a n d I r b ou . According t o

the Welsh Triads, Gwesyn is a n old Welsh word for a

shepherd,a n d he w a s so called after Gwesyn , the shep

herd of Goronwy a b Ednyfa in . The district is n oted for

rearin g sheep,a n d som e thin k that the n am e Gwesyn

w a s given to the stream that run s through the place in

hon our of som e popular shepherd .

ABERHONDDU .

—Hon ddu ,the n am e of the river that

,

on approaching the town ,flows quietly in to a n d j oin s

t he Usk t o r u n t o its destin ation . Hon represen ts or

older Hodn ,a n d ddu

,black

,seem s t o indicate the

r espective hue of the water . Man y Welsh stream s

a nd lakes received their n am es from the peculiar hue

Of their respective waters , such as Gwenflrwd ,white

stream ; Pwllg la s, blue pool . Llewellyn uses the word

hoen in that sen se : Hoen b loda u ha ], the colour of

the sum m er flowers . Hoen also im plies livelin ess,

gladn ess .

Perhaps hoen wa s used t o den ote the lively n ature

o f the river , a n d ddu, black , t o in dicate the hue of its

waters . Others seem t o thin k that the n am e is a c om

poun d of ha wn - hein i , swift , wild ,hasty a n d dwy ,

which

im plies a sacred cha racter . The term w a s applied by

the Druids to their sacred stream ,such as Dyfrdwy ,

&c .

We rather think the correct wordin g is H a wu - dd u,

the rapid black stream ,which is true description Of

BRECONSHIRE . 63

i ts course from its rise on the Eppyn t m oun tain to its

jun ction with the Usk .

ABERLLYFNI .—Llyfn i is a com poun d of llyfn ,

sm ooth ; a n d wy,water . The pla ce is deli ghtfully

situated at the jun ction of the Lly/n i a nd Wye Rivers .

ABERYSCIR .—A corru ption of Ab eresg a i r ,

‘

from its

situation on the river Esg a i r , which discharges itself

here in to the river Usk . Esg a i r here implies a bran ch ,

o r tributary.

BATTLE —This sm a ll parish ,according t o tradition

,

r eceived its n am e from a battle that wa s fought here ,in which Bleddyn a b M a enyr ch,

the last of the B rycha n

prin ces wa s killed by Bern ard de Newm a r ch . We fin d

several n am es in the vicin ity which favour the above

d erivation,such as Heol y Cym ry, the W elshm en

’

s ro a d

Cwm Gwyr y Ga d, the vale of the battle m en .

BEAUFORr .—The popular Welsh n am e of this place

is Gen dt , from Ken dall , the n am e of the proprietor of

the Ironworks that were on ce the m ain stay of the place .

The pre 'sen t n am e wa s given in hon our of the Duke of

Beaufort .

BEULAH .—This villa g e takes its n am e from a chapel

of that n am e which belon g s to the Congregation al b ody .

BRONLLYS . —Som e Spell it Bryn llys, a n d others

B rwyn llys, but the form er is the correct wording . A

farm house in the parish is called B ryn y Groes, the hill

of the cross . History poin ts to the probability that

wars were engaged in here , from which we m a y in fer tha t

a llys, a court , wa s held on a certain hill in the vicin ity .

The old castle is still called B ron llys.


BRYNMAWR .

—It wa s an cien tly called W a u n Helyg en ,

w illow - tree com m on ,from a m eadow in the place which

a boun ded w ith willow- trees,but when it becam e a n

im portan t seat Of the iron a n d coal trades , the old

n am e wa s chan ged for the n ew a n d m ore dig n ified on e

of B rynm a wr,the big hill .

BUILTH .—This n am e is a m utation of B u a llt . Som e

are Of Opin ion that B u a llt is the B u lceu m Si lu r u m of the

Rom ans, but others are in duced t o thin k the n am e is a.

derivative of B u a l , the wild 0x or buffalo . Lla n fa i r—yn

M u a llt , St . Mary’s Church in the wood of the wild ox.

H istorian s believe that the wild ox ran ged unm olested

in the forests Of this district . We offer the followin gderivation ; B u ,

a n ox ; a llt , g a llt , a wooded em in en ce .

CAPEL ISAP .

—Isa /, lower , is a difieren t i a added to

distin guish it from Ca pel Ucha f.

CAPEL UCHAF.

— The n am e m ean s the higher chapel,

a n d it wa s so called from the chapel of c a se that wa sbuilt in the place .

CAPELYFFIN .

—The n am e sig n ifies boun dary chapel ,a n d is derived by Mr . J on es (History of Breckn ock )thus In 1708 ther e wa s a lon g dispute in the

ecclesia stica l court about this chapel (chapel of the

boun da ry) ; Lewis Thom as , clerk ,vicar Of Llan igon

,

refused t o do duty here as there wa s n o salary a n n exedt o the cure , whereupon he wa s cited to the bishop ’s.

court at the prom otion of som e of the parishion ers,a n d

in the articles filed a gain st him it is stated tha t som e

tim es a corpse rem ain ed un in terred a whole n ight , a n d

children died without being baptized in con sequen ce of

the vica r ’s n eglect , thou gh he had theretofore reg u larlyofficiated ther e by him self or curate for ten or twelve

BRECONSHIRE 65

years. In this cau se m any old witn esses were exa m in ed ,

two or three of them say the chapel is in the ham let of

Bla en bwch, in the parish of Glasbury ,others that it is in

Lla n igon ,but a ll agree that it is a chapel of ease to the

latter .

CATHEDIN .—Mr . Jon es , in his History of Breck

n ock,states that this vicin ity wa s given by Bern ard

de Newm a r ch towards the support of Gwrg a n ,who

wa s to b e kept confin ed in Brecon Castle . The

origin of the word is un certain .

CEFN - COED - Y - CYMMER .—Cefn , back , ridge ; coed ,

wood ; y ,the ; cym m er ,

con fluen ce of waters . The

village is situated on a risin g ,a n d (one tim e ) very

woody em in en ce , below which the Ta ] Fa wr a n d Ta f

Fecha n em brace each other .

CENOL .—Ca n ol , m iddle , is the right wording . This

picturesque n eighbourhood form s the m iddle of Lla nfiha ng el

- Cwm du ; hen ce the n ame .

CIL - LE .—This n am e sign ifies a sequestered place .

CILMERY .—Some thin k the right wordin g is Ci t M i er

'

i

oi l , is spelt Ki l in Irelan d a n d sig n ifies a church m i er i ,

plural of m i a r en ,a bram ble . We rather think the n am e

is a corruption of Gi l - M a ry , St . Mary’

s Church ,

COLBREN .

— C0l,a sharp hillock ; pren , a tree , a

piece of wood . Som e thin k the word is a corruption of

c oel b ren ,a pie 'ce of wood used in choosing or balloting .

CRAY .—This n am e is , proba bly , a corruption of

c r a i,Which ,

when used geographica lly , den otes a deep

place in a valley . The Word is used to sig n ify a hole

in the handle of a weapon . Cr a i'

r n odwydd ,the eye or

hole of a n eedle .

F


The Swan sea reservoir is s ituated in this beautiful

valley .

CRICKADARN .— Som e are of opin ion tha t C ru g - c a da rn

is the true orthography . Cr u g , heap or ban k ; c eda rn ,

stron g . The church wa s bui lt upon the t op of a craggy

hillock . We rather thin k it is a con traction of C a ry ,

c eda r n ,from the rocks a n d ston es which appear

frequen tly on the surface in differen t parts of the parish

The river Clettwr rushes over rocks a n d throu gh craggy

places un til i t falls in to the W ye at Erwood . Clettwr

is a con traction of c a led—ddwr , hard water , or it m ight be

Clyd- ddwr , sheltered w a ter .

CRICKHOW EL .— A m utation of Cr u g Hywel , or Cer r i g

H v zr'el . C r u g , a hea p ; hywel , con spicuous . Cer r i g ,

ston es ; Howel,proper n am e . Hi storia n s differ as t o

the application of the word Hywel . Som e apply it t o

the place from the con spicuity of the hill ; others apply

it to Howel , the prin ce of Glam organ . The latter

theory is supported by the fact that in this vicin ity the

territorial boun daries of Howel a n d the Lords O fBreckn ock were determ in ed . After the battle Howel

raised a huge heap of “ ston es t o defin e the boun dary

hen ceforth ; hen ce the n am e Cr u g Hywel , Howel’s heap .

Cerr ig Hywel alludes t o the sam e circum stan ce . Som ed erive the n am e from Cr u g Hywel , a n an cien t British

fortress , surroun ded by large heaps of ston es,Situated

about two m iles n orth—n orth—east of the town,the

rem ain s ofwhich are still visible .

C\V1\IIOY .—A c orruption of Cwm I a u , the vale of

yoke , so called , probably ,from the resem blan ce of the

vale t o oxen ’s yoke . Cym erwch fy i a u a rnoch.

” takeMy yoke upon you .

BRECONSHIRE . 67

DEFYNOG .—Som e derive this n am e from “

dyfn og ;which sign ifies a place aboun din g with glen s . Byin ,

deep . Devon com es from the sam e root . Others thin k

the patron sain t is Dyfnog ,the son of Medrod ,

a gran d

son of Cr a doc Frei ch—fm s,who flourished in the sixth

c en tury . The right wordin g is Tref Cynog . Sain t

Cynog , son of B rycha n ,flourished in the fifth cen tury ,

a n d foun ded a church here , which is dedicated to him .

His n am e is preserved also in Mer thyr Cynog ,a nd Lla m

DOLYGAER. Dol,m eadow g a wk

—c a ter , a wall . Thisplace took its n am e from a farm house of the sam e

n am e .

DUKESTOWN .— In hon our of the Duke of Beaufort .

DYFNANT .—A com poun d of dy/n ,

deep ,a n d wa n t , a

b rook .

ERWOOD .—Som e thin k this is a n Anglicized form

of the Welsh Erw-

yd ,which sign ifies the lan d of corn .

I t is,probably

,a corruption of y rhyd , the ford ,

in

allusion t o a certain ford in the river Wye , where

cattle were won t to cross in tim e of yore .

FELINFACH.—The n am e m ean s the little m ill

probably derived from a n old m ill which form ed the

n ucleus of the Village .

GARTH .

—From an old m an sion of the n am e , when ce

the celebrated Charles Wesley had his better half .”

G arth has been explain ed in the in troduction .

GLASBURY .—‘This n am e is derived by

,

som e from,

g la s,green

,v erdan t , a nd b u ry , borough , probably from

t he beauty a nd fertility. of the valley . The an cien t


n am e of this place wa s Y Chis,the green or verdan t

in closure . Cla sdz’

r m ean s glebe lan d .

GWENDDWR .—A com pound of gwen , fem in in e form

of gwyn ,white , clear , tran sparen t , a n d dwr , water .

GW RAVOG .—This n am e has suffered a little from

m utation . Gwa r,a ridge a / from ha ], summ er hat /0g .

sum m er—li ke .

HALFWAY .—This village derives its n am e from a n

inn so called ,which is situated half - wa y between Tre

c a stell a n d Lla ndov ery .

HAY .—The origin al n am e w a s Gelli , which sign ifies

a n en closed park or forest,con tain in g wood or boscag e

within a fen ce or pale ; a grove ; a n d the presen t n am e

is supposed t o have b een derived from the Norm an

Fren ch H a ye or H a i e,which origin a lly m ean t the hedge

or in closure itself on ly , but in course of tim e its m ean in g

wa s am plified ,a n d the n am e wa s used t o den ote the

wood a nd groun d in closed . H a ter,t o in close . Here

we perceive the Welsh n am e supplan ted by tha t of the

Norm an Castle .

LIBANUs.

— This place probably derives its n am e

from a sacred edifice so called ,which belon gs t o the

Con gregation al body .

LLANAFAN FAWR .

— The chu rch wa s dedicated t o

bishop Im a n or I v a n ,whose n am e is foun d in the list of

'

the prelates of St . David ’s durin g the ten th cen tury,

a n d who is supposed to have been m urdered by the

Dan es in a m ea dow on the W hefr i side , a little belowthe Vicara ge house , where a m a en hi r wa s pla ced

,

obviously ,in mem ory of the m a rtyred bishop . On a n

altar—tom b in the churchyard the following inscriptionis discern ible ' H t

'

c fa c et s c tu s Am n a s Epi scopu s.



dedicated to Ellyn ed or Eilin eth ,a daughter of Brycha n .

Som e thin k it wa s an cien tly called Lla n ellyn ed ,of which

Lla n elly is a n abbreviation .

LLANFEUGAN .

—Men g a n ,the son of Gwyn d a f Hen ,

wa s a sain t of the sixth cen tury ,a n d foun ded the

church which bears his n am e .

LLANFIHANGEL CWMDU .

—Lla nfiha ng el , St . Michael’

s

church. Opin ion s differ as t o Cwm du , the black or

gl oom y vale . The old in habita n ts very stron gly ob

jec t ed to the n am e Cwm du , as the followin g couplet

Shows Ca m enwi r ef Cwm d u ,

Cwm gwy n, yw’

n cwm mi .

I t is wron g ly c a l led t he v a le of g loom ,

O u rs is a fa i r a n d br i g h t c oom b .

A glan ce at this cheerful vale would n ever suggest such

a gloom y appellation . The an cien t n am e of the parish

wa sLla nfiha ngel tref Cerm'

a u,or Ca er a u , from the n um erous

fortification s there are in it , a n d the presen t n a m e is

supposed t o have taken its origin from the black m oor

ston e rock ,which is on the brow of a n adj acen t hill .

Som e der ive it from Cwm De, the south vale , from i t s

bein g situated in the southern part of the c a n t rev of

Crickhowell . We have in stan ces of du bein g chan ged

in to de a n d dee,such as Tyda - Tydee. &c .

,a n d it m ight

have un dergon e the sam e process here .

LLANFIHANGEL NANTBRAN .

— The church wa s dedi

c a t ed to St . Michael , a n d is situated on a tributaryc alled B r a n . N a n i B r a n , Bran brook .

LLANFILO .—The church is dedicated to Milb u rg ,

the eldest daughter of Merwa ld ,Kin g of Mercia , a n d a

sain t of the seven th cen tury . F/yn on Vi lo,a well in

the n eighbourhood,also preserves her n am e .

BRECONSHIRE . 71

LLANFRYNACH .—B ry n a ch,

a n abbot a n d con fessor ,m arried Cor t h ,

the daughter of B rycha n . The church

wa s dedicated to him .

LLANGAMMARCH .

— Som e thin k the n am e sign ifies

the church upon the river Ga mm on/ ck,but the gen eral

opin ion is that the church is dedicated t o Ga mm a reh, a

gran dson of Brych a n .

LLANGAe - TALYLLYN .

—Ga styn wa s a n em in en t

religious teacher in B rycha n’

s fam ily , a n d the above

church wa s dedicated to him . Ta lyllyn ,the en d of the

lake,in allusion to the situation of the church .

LLANGANTEN .

— The church is dedicated to Ca n ten ,

gran dson of Brycha n .

LLANGATTOCK .—The church is dedicated to Ca ttwg ,

gran dson of Brycha n .

LLANGORS .

—A con traction of Lla n—yn -

y-

gors, the

church in the Fen or Marsh . The soil n ear the lake is

very m arshy . The correct n am e of the lake is Llyn sa

fa ddcm ,the stan din g water or lake . An old tradition

sa ys that the lake covers the rem ain s of a n an cien t

a n d popul ous city called Lov en ti u m .

LLANGYNIDR .—St . Cyn idr , gran dson of B rycha n ,

foun ded the churches at Ll a n gym’

dr a n d Ab erysc i r ,which

were subsequen tly dedicated to him a n d St . Mary .

LLANIGON .—The old church wa s dedicated either

to E ig en ,daughter of Cradoc ab Bran , or to Eig ion or

Eig ron ,son of Ca w,

a sain t of the sixth cen tury . The

presen t church is dedicated t o N icholas .

LLANILID .

—The church wa s dedicated to St . Ilid ,

a n d is situated on the ban ks of'

the river Crai .


LLANLLEONFOEL .—Lleon m ight have referen ce to

S a m Lleon or Sa m Helen ,Helen ’s causeway , a bran ch

of which,it is supposed

,passed throu gh the place .

The suffix foel sig n ifies a bare tra ct of lan d .

LLANSPYDDYD .—A corrupti on ,

accordin g to som e ,of Lla n - osb a i dd - ty ,

a house of en tertainm en t or refresh

m en t for guests . In an cien t tim es hospitable m an sion s

were kept by the m on ks to en tertain m a n a n d beast

free of charge , a n d the chief officer therein wa s ca lled

Host i lla r i u s, whose sole duty wa s“

To welcom e the

com in g,speed the going gu est .” It is said that this

hospi t im n wa s supported by the priory of Malvern .

LLANWRTYD .—The church

,accordin g t o som e

,is

dedicated t o St . W r tyd ,but we cann ot find the n am e in

Bonedd y Sa i n t ." Its proxim ity t o the river Ir v on ,

where, in tim es of yore , there wa s a ford ,

which is now

spa n n ed by a ston e bridge , in duces us to think the right

wordin g is Lla n - wr th-

y- rhyd ,

the church by the ford . A

place in Herefordshire is ca lled Byford from the situa

tion of the church by a ford . The a n cien t n am e of the

village wa s P on trhydyb ere, which is a com poun d of pa n t ,bridge ; rhyd ,

ford ; y ,the ; fler a u ,

an kles ; sign i fy in g a

bridge spann ing a ford which on e could wade w ithout

going over on e’s ankles . I rfon ,or Ir/a wn ,

sign ifies the

oozin g s from the turba ry,which is very descriptive of

the river .

LLANYWERN .—Gwem m ean s a bog or swam p ;

gwem en ,the alder tree the alder grows in wet swam py

places . The n am e sign ifies the church in the swam p

or alderwood .

LLECHFAEN.—The an cien t etym ology of this n am e

m ean s the “ upright or lofty ston e . There wa s a

BRECONSHIRE . 73

c hapel of ease here som et im e to the m other church ofLla n a m lech.

LLECHRYD .—From a farm of the n am e

,but it is

n ow called Rhym n ey Bridge from the railway station .

LLWYNEGROG .

—The right word in g is Llwyn -

y-

g rog ,

which m ean s the bush of the cross .

LLYSWEN .—The n am e sign ifies a white court . A

Welsh pri n ce resided in the parish at som e period , a n dprobably held a court here ; hen ce the n am e . Som et hin k it is Llys Owen ,

Owen ’s court but who this Owenwa s

, we are n ot in form ed .

LLYWEL .—Som etim es spelt l

’

wel,which

,accord

in g t o som e is a m utation of Llu - lle, the residen ce of

the arm y ,in allusion to the soldiers of Rhys ab Tewdwr

m akin g this pla ce one of their station s to resist the

attacks of the Norm an in vaders. It is derived by som e

from Lle Wyllt , a n ephew of Rhys a b Tewdwr . We offer

the following : Lly ,what is m an ifest ; wel—gmel , see ;

sign ifyin g a con spicuous place . Trec a stell m oun tain is

feet high .

MAESYGWARTHAF.—Ma es, a field gwa r tha f, the

u pper part , the summ it . The village lies in the upper

part of the parish ; hen ce its descriptive n a m e . Som e

of the in habitan ts thin k the nam e is a cor ruption of

M a esygwa r theg , cattle field .

MAESYMYNYS .—Ym , ya , in ynys, islan d therefore ,

it literally m ean s a field in the islan d . This derivation

i s supported by the fa ct that Lla nynys is the n am e of

the con t iguou s parish .

MERTHYR CYNOG .—Merthyr , m artyr Cynog , the

e ldest son of Brycha n . He wa s m urdered by the Sa xon


pagan s on a m oun tain called Y Fa n,where a church

wa s built on his grave in com m em oration of his m artyr

dom ,which wa s called Merthyr Cyn og .

NANTYFFIN.—The n ame sign ifies the boun dary “

brook . The boun ds of a pari sh or coun ty are frequen tlydefin ed by certain m arks or boun daries , such as heaps

of ston es , dikes,hedges , ditches , rivers , stream s ,

rivulets , &c .

NANTYRARIAN.— It sign ifies the silver brook .

NEWCHURCH .—The an cien t n am e of this church wa s.

Lla n - ddu la s- ti r -

yr—Ab b a d .

— It wa s presen ted by Rhys ab

Gruffydd ,t o the m on astery of Strata Florida , on accoun t

of which it wa s called Ti r—yr- Ab b a d , abbot

’s lan d . In .

1716 a n ew church wa s built here hen ce the n ew n am e .

ONLLWYN .

—This appears like a tran sposition of

Llwyn On ,the ash grove .

PANTYCELYN .—P a n t , a hollow ,

a low place ; c elyn .

holly wood .

PATRISHow.

—The n am e is a corruption,either of

P a r tha u yr Ishow,the territory of Ishow,

the patron sain t

o f the parish,or of Mer thyr Ishom . It appears that

B ishop Herewa ld, in the eleven th cen tury ,

dedi cated

the church t o Ishow,

a n d n am ed it Merthyr Yssm'

.

PENCELLI .—This is a com poun d of pen ,

head , a nd

celli,grove .

PENDERYN .—A corruption probably of P enyda ren ,

which is a very frequen t term in South Wales,sign ifyin g

a rocky cliff , a rocky tum p . The church is situated on

the very summ i t of a rock . P en - m a i la rd is close by ,

which is a corruption of P en - m oel—a r th ,the summ i t of the

ba re cliff.

BRECONSHIRE . 75

PENTRE BERW .—P en tre— village Berm

,perhaps

refers t o P la s Berm . Berw’

rdwr m ean s water cress,a n d

b erw’

r g erddi—garden cress . Near P la s Berm there is a

sm all waterfall . Berm m ean s also a boiling,a n eb u lli

tion .

PENTRE BW AAU .

— P en tre —villa ge ; Bwa a a — bows .Tradition has it that this place w a s n oted som etim e for

bein g the arm oury where ou r forefathers kept their bowsin tim e of wa r .

PENTREFELIN .

—P en tre, village ; felin , m ill .

PENTRE SOLERs.

— From the Solers or de Sola r i is,Norm an con querors

, who settled in the n eighbourhood ,

a n d con tin ued to be very wea lthy a n d influen tial here

un til the middle of the seven teen th cen tury . An other

bran ch of the house of Solers settled a t Paun tley a n d

Shipton Solers,in Gloucestershire .

PENW YLLT .—A corruption of P en - wyli (gwyll) , the

gloom y place . Gwyll is a n old Welsh word to den ote a

fairy,a n d perhaps this isolated spot wa s a fairy hill .

PONTBRENLLW YD.

— P on t,bridge pren , wood llwyn

grey,a dorable . In olden tim es a very an cien t oak - tree

w a s thrown across the rivulet in the place , which wa s

a very good specim en of the un adorn ed wooden bridges

of our forefathers . In course of tim e this old m uch - worn

oak becam e a kin d of trough ,for which it wa s called

P on t b ren llwyd .

PONTNEDDFECHAN .—Nedd fecha n ,

the lesser Neath ,

is a tributary em ptying itself in to the greater Neath

river,a n d span n ed by a bridge in the village , hen ce the

n am e .


PONTSARN .

—P on t,bridge sa rn ,

Rom an paved road .

The n am e is a n abbreviation of P on t—y—Sa rn—hi r , the bridge

of the long Rom an road . On e bran ch of the Rom an road

called Sa rn H i r wen t through the Rhym n ey Valley‘Gelligaer

,Twyn ywa u n ,

Pen yg a rn du ,P a n t c a d ifor ,

Pon t

sa rn a n d ascen ded the Brecon Bea con s a n d term in ated

at Ca er b a nn a u n ea r the town of Brecon . This road

crossed the Taff a little below the presen t bridge , where

the river could be forded .

PONTSENNY .

—The n am e sign ifies a bridge across

t he Sen ny river . Sen ny is derived by som e from sa n ,a

fishery,n ets a n d gwy,

water ; sign ifying a river

aboun din g in fish . Mr . Jon es H istory of Breck

n ock derives it from the Celtic sea n a i dd,t o drop or

ooze forth,the n am e , accordingly ,

sign ifying the oozin g

or flowing water.

PONTSTICYLL .—A com poun d of poa l‘, bridge ; a n d

ysz'ig l , a stile , from the An glo - Saxon st ig el , a step .

S t ig a n , t o ascen d . About the beginn in g of this cen tury

there wa s a n old bridge,a little below the village

,Wi th

a stile at each en d of it,from which the place received

its n am e .

PRINCETOWN .

— Fr0m a n old public house in the

place called Prin ce of Wales .

PW LLGW RAc n .

— Pwll , a pool gwr a ch,a b a g ;

l iterally , the hag’s pool . The village lies in a deep

v alley at the base of Talgarth Hill .

RHOSFERRIG .

— Rhos, m oor, m eadow ; Fer r ig from

Fer reg ,a n exten sive district situa te between the rivers

W ye a n d Severn . The suffix is probably a corruptiono f Mea r ig .



TRALLW NG .—Som e thin k the n am e sign ifies a soft

place on the road or elsewhere that travellers m a y be

apt to sink in to ; a dirty , boggy place .

”Edward

Llwyd derives it from Tr a eth—lyn , a quagm ire . The

d istan ce of this place from the sea - shore dism isses the

com pon en t tr a eth from the n am e altogether . Mr . Jon es

(History of Breckn ock) thin ks the n ame is a corruption

of Tre’

r lleng , oppidzm z leg ion is, the town of the

legion,founding his reason s upon the supposition that

a summ er cam p of the secon d legion of Augustus m ust

have been at Twyn -

y-

g a er , a hill in the parish where a n

a rtificial m ound is still seen .

TRECASTELL .—Tre

,a place c a stell , castle . A castle

wa s built here by Bern ard de Newm a r ch, som e ruin s

of which are to be seen n ow ; hen ce the n am e .

TREFECCA .—The n am e sign ifies Rebecca’s hom e ,

from a n heiress of the n am e of Rebecca Prosser , who

built it in the reign of Elizabeth .

TREFIL.-Som e t hin k the n am e is a m utation of

Ti r - foel , barren lan d ,which is very descriptive of the

place,but we rather thin k it is a com poun d of i re, a

place,a nd m a l

,a n an im al , a beast . Stud farm s were

very num erous am on g the an cien t Briton s , a nd one

m ight have been here .

TRENGARTH . Tre,a hom estead , a village n -

yn , in ,

y ,the

, g a r th, prom on tory .

TRE ’R ESGOB .—The ten an ts in this place owe suit

,

a nd service t o the bishop ’s courts leet a nd courts

baron , a nd pay their chief ren ts at Lla nddc zc'i , St .

David ’s . Tre’

r Esgob m ean s B ishop’s place .

VAEXOR—This is derived ' b y som e from M a en a wr,

which sign ifies a district surrounded by a wall,a m an or .

BRECONSHIRE . 79

Accordin g t o the laws of Howell the Good,the M a en a wr

c on tain ed 1024 acres . This on e wa s probably thed em esn e attached t o Morla is castle . In an cien t MSS.

the“

parish is called Fa enor Wen,sign i fying Gwen or

Gwenfirewi’

s dem esn e or m an or . It survives in North

Wales as Va enol . Som e thin k it is etym ologically dis

tin c t from English m an or,a nd seem s to have m ean t a.

g roup of ston e buildin gs . Others think that the root

is b a n , high or lofty ; a nd‘or

’ added t o den ote a borderor a boun dary . The pa rish is situate n ear the base ofB a nn a u Brychein iog—Brecon Beacon s .

VELINDRE .—The right wording is y feli n - dre, the

m ill of the town,from a n old m ill

,called the lord ’

s

m ill , that stood here in an cien t tim es .

YSTRADFELLTE .—Ystr a d has already been explain ed .

I t m ean s here a flat or low valley form ed by the course

of the riverMellte. Mellte—m ellten ,lightn ing . The ri ver

is so called because it run s very rapidly for som e

d istan ce on the surface , a n d then it is sudden ly lost under

g round .

Ysr RADGYNLAIS .—It is supposed that this l

'

st r a d ,

vale,wa s the m arriage portion that Gn n len s a p Glewisseg ,

prin ce of Gwen t , a n d father of Sain t Ca t twg , received

with his wife , Gwla dys, daughter of Bry cha n . Others

state that the church is dedicated t o St . Mary,a n d n ot

t o St . Gn n lens, a n d that the proper n am e of the parish

is Ystr a d Gwrla is, or Ga rwla z'

s,sign ifying the vale of the

rough - soun din g brook ,

”a nd is derived from a stream so

called,which form s a boun dary between the coun ties

of Breckn ock a n d Glam organ . Iago Em lyn derives

Cyn la is from eyn ,prim eval a nd d a is, a tren ch through

which a stream flows.

CARDIGANSH IRE .

CARDIGAN is a corruption of Ceredz’

g ion , the orig in al

n am e , which wa s so called after Ceredig , the son of

Cu n edda W ledig , who beca m e its king a bout the en d of

the fourth cen tury . It is also called Ab er teifi, from the

situation of its cou n ty town at the estuary of the river

Tei v i . Ta / is the r a dix,which m ean s spreadin g . Ta f—gwyTeifi,

the Spreadin g or exten ding water .

ABERAERON .—This place is situated at the m outh.

of the river Aeron , which is proba bly a com poun d of a i r

a n d a in ,sign ifyin g bright a n d clear water.

ABERARTH .—'

This village is situated at the m outhof the river Ar th ; hence the n am e . Ar th is the Welsh

for b ear,

”a nd perhaps the river received its n am e on

a ccou n t of the n oisy,blu sterin g , bear- like character of

its waters . Arthu m ean s to growl , like a bear ; to bark

roughly or hoarsely . Ar thog is the nam e of a n other

brook in the coun ty ,which m ean s bearish

,gruff.

Cy/a r th, t o bark , belon gs t o the sam e fam ily of words .

ABERCERDIN .—A rivulet called Cerdin flows in to

the river ' Teiv i about a m ile a bove Llandyssul ; hen ce

the n a m e of the pla ce . The comm on opin ion in the

n eighbourhood is that the rivulet wa s so called fromthe abun dan c e of cerdz

’

n , ash trees , that on ce a dorn ed i t s

ba n ks .

ABERGW Roc .—Gwrog , the river

's nam e , is a corrup

t ion of gwyrog , crooked , devious . Another river in the

sam e cou n ty is called Gwyre, which m a y have the sa m e

sign ification .

CARDIGANSHIRE . 81

ABERMAID .—Ma i d m ean s a boun da ry , what

separates , or lim i ts . The n am e fit ly describes the

place , sin ce i t is a term in atin g poin t separating on e

valley from the other.

ABERPEITHNANT .—P a i th, clear , open ,

tran sparen t ;n a nt , brook : sign ifyi ng the m outh of the clear brook .

P a i th is the chi ef radix in the word gob a i th,hope . One

who possesses hope has a clear view of the futureDyfiryn P a i th, the vale of prospect , is in the sam e

coun ty .

ABERPORTH .—P or th m ean s a harbour . The place

is a ki n d of a n atural harbour, on accoun t of which it

wa s called Ab er -

y- P or th, the m outh of the harbour .

ABERYSTWYTH .—This fashion able town a nd seaport

is situated on the c onflu x of the rivers Ystwyth a n d

Rheidiol , the form er of which gives the town its n am e .

Its a n cien t n am e wa s Lla n b a da rn Ga erog , but it has

been kn own by its presen t n am e sin ce the reign of Queen

Eli za beth .

ARDUDW Y .—Ar , upon or above ; ta d , soi l , lan d ;

wy ,water ; literally , on the lan d or banks of the Wye .

ARGOED .—Ar - a rd , sign ifyin g height ; coed trees .

The n am e sign ifies a place sheltered by woods

ATPAR .—Pl '0b a b ly a n Anglicized form of At - b a r ,

which m ean s towards the top of the hill . The villa ge.

is also call ed Trefhedyn , which is probably a corruption

of Tref—y- din .

BEr rws- BLEDRws.—Bettws has already been ex

plain ed . The church is dedicated t o St . Bledrws ;

hen ce the n am e .

82 PLACE—NAMES IN WALES .

BEr rws IFAN .

—The church is dedicated to StJ ohn . Ifa n or Ien a n is a n old Welsh form of I c a n , John .

BLAENCARON .—This pla ce is situated n ear the

source of the river Caron hen ce the n am e .

BLAENHOW NANr .—This rivulet is ca lled Hown a n t ,

which is a corrupti on of koyw,lively ; a n d n a n t , brook ;

a n d the place wa s so called from its situation n ear the

source of the Hown a n t .

B LAENPORTH .—B la en ,

the extrem e end porth

(portus) harbour . In 1114 Gru ffydd ab Cyn a n ,Prin ce

of North Wales , cam e t o Ceredigion Isc oed ,a n d laid

siege to a fort that Ea rl Gilbert a n d the Flem ings had built

a t a place called Blaen Porth Gwytha i .

BLAENYPORTH .—Bla en

,the extrem e end ; y ,

the ;porth,

harbour . The parish li es on the extrem e en d of

t he huge rock which form s the southern side of the

n atural harbou r called Aberporth .

BRECHFA .

—A com pound of b reak,brin dled

,freckled ,

a n d m a n , a place . It is supposed that B rycha n ,who

cam e origin ally from Irelan d , a n d settled in Brecon

shire in the sixth cen tury,wa s so called from his bein g

freckled .

BRONGEsr .—B ron , a slope , or side of a hill ;

literally , breast . Cest, a deep glen between two

m oun tain s . The n am e is quite descriptive of the situa

tion of rhe place .

BRONGWYN .—A parish in Cardigan a n d Pem broke

coun ties . Som e are of opin ion that this n am e is a reli c

of the Druids , t o whose system belonged Ceryg y B rynGwyn , i .e. , the ston es of the hill of j udicatur e. I f so

,

the prefix b ron here is a corruption of b ryn ,a hill .

CARDIGANSHIRE . 83

BW LCHCRW YS .

—Bwlch, a break or breach ,a gap

,a

d efile ; erwys, a varian t form of c roes, a cross . Then am e Bwlch-

y-

g roes is of frequen t occurren ce in thePrin cipali ty . We have m an y in stan ces of c roes bein gc han ged to c rwys, Y Crwys, P a n tyc rwys a n d Bwlch-

y- erwys,

& c .

“ Da n ez'

g rwys,” un der the cross

,is a phrase even

n ow frequen tly used in Wales in referen ce to the

posture of a dead body before it is put in to the coffin .

In Popish tim es it wa s custom ary t o put a cross or a

c rucifix on a dead body lyin g in its shroud ; but n ow ,

a lthough the phrase is occasion ally heard,the usage of

this Popish relic ha s been en tirely aban don ed am ong

the Welsh people . Man y Welsh places still retain the

n am e , am ong which is Bwlcherwys. It wa s custom ary

in olden tim es for pilgrim s t o prostrate them selves at

c ertain passes t o in voke the blessin gs of the Cross

before goin g through ; hen ce the n am e Bwlchc rwys or

Bwlchyg roes.

l h

CAPEL Y DRINDOD.

—This village probably derives

i t s n am e from a Welsh Calvin istic Methodist chapel of

t he n am e .

CAPEL S ION .— So called from the Calvin istic Methodist

chapel in the place .

CAPEL GW NDW N.—Ca pel , chapel own ,

a n elevation ,

a risin g ; dwn ,dusky , swarthy , dark .

CEINEW YDD .—A hybrid n am e m ade up of qu a y ,

from Fren ch qn a l , a m ole or ban k form ed toward thesea or on the side of a river for the purpose of loading

a n d un loadin g vessels ; a n d n ewydd ,n ew

CELLAN .

—The n am e of this parish is a com pound

o f cell,a shelterin g place , a grove : a n d lla n , a chu rch ,

sign ifying a church in a grove .


CENARTH .— Som e m ain tain that the right wordin g

is Gen a r lh, the bear’s ja w . Tradition has it that the

jaw- bon e of a bear wa s foun d in the place , a nd its head

in Pen a r th. Pen arth , as we show elsewhere , is P enyg a r th,

a nd we are in clin ed t o thin k that Cen arth is a com poun d of

ce/n ,ridge

,back ; a n d g a r th,

a fort,a hill

,a cape . The

n am e is a gra phic description of the place , bein gperched on a high ridge , ever watchin g the graceful

m ovem en ts of the Tcivi .

CEULAN .—This place derives its n am e from the

river Geela n that flows through it . Traditi on poin ts t o

this place as Taliesin ’s place of sepulture .

CILCENIN .—Cl l , a place of retreat ; Cenn i n , a

corrupted form of St . Car men,t o whose m em ory the

parish church is dedicated .

C ILCENNIN .—This place probably takes its n a m e from

Cenwyn., a sain t belon gin g t o the con gregation of Pa d a rn ,

called Bangor Pa d a rn in Llan ba darn Fawr. The churchis dedicated to St . Cenwyn .

C ILIAU AERON .—The retreats on the Aeron .

CLARAc n .—This place takes its n am e from the

river Cla ra ch, n ear which it is situated . Cla r—c la er,.

clear ; a eh, river.

CNW CH COCH .-A corruption , probably of a n Irish

form of C is Cook,the red kn oll or m oun d .

CROEs.-This place takes its n am e from the river

Croes, which sign ifies cross .

CW M BARRE .—~A valley through which the river'

B a r re flows . B a r , a lim it ; re, a corruption of ra n ,

pluralising b a r . The river is the boun dary between.



GW ENFYL .

— The village takes its n am e from St .

Gwen fyl , who flourished 433—464 The Calvin istic

Methodist s began to worship here in a barn own ed by the

Rev . Dl . Rowlan ds,Llan geitho

,in 1757. The Post

Office wa s open ed here in July ,1853 .

GWBERT .—Gwy— water b er l z per l , pretty .

HAWEN .

—The village takes its n am e from the

river H a wen . H a wen ist a com poun d of a w,a m ovin g

agen t,water

,a n d a n or a in

,brook

,sign ifyin g the runn in g

stream . Som e thin k the n am e is a n a bbreviated form of

ha fod—wen , the whi te summ er - house .

HENBELIN .

~—A corrupted form,probably

,of Hen

feli n,old m ill .

HENFYNYW .— The n am e sign ifies Old Men ev ia .

Tradition has it that the cathedral of St . David ’s wa sorigin ally design ed t o have been erected here . This

parish is fam ous for being the place where the patron sain t

of Wales Spen t his earlier days . A sprin g that is

n ear the church is still called Ffyn on Ddewi , St . David’

s

Well .

HENLLAN .

— The n am e sign ifies old church,a n d it

poin ts ou t the great an tiquity of the origin al edifice ofthis pari sh .

HENLLYS . ~—Hen, old ; llys,

court,hall

,or seat

,

sign ify in g the an cien t hall . Hen llys a n d Ga dlys a re

found t o be very n um erous in Wa les,as traces of the

battles fought by the Welsh prin ces .

LLANANERCH .

— A com poun d of Lla n a n d lla n n er ch,a n

en closure , a n d som etim es the la tter sign ifies a risin gemi n en ce .

CARDIGANSHIRE . 87

LLANARTH .—Ar th here m ean s a bear

,accordin g t o

som e . The gen eral opin ion of the inhabitan ts is that

bears existed here at som e rem ote period . It is hardly

credible that the sain tly Cym ry , would do the bear su ch

a n hon our as to couple his n ame with the sacred

edi fice ; We derive the n am e from Lla n ,church ; a nd

g a r th, a hi ll , a n d som etim es en closure .

LLANBADARN .—The church is dedicated to P a da rn ,

who,accordin g to Usher

,wa s a n Arm orican bishop ,

a nd cam e t o Wales with his cousin Ca dv a n in 516.

He left Illtyd’

s sem in ary for Ceredigion , a n d gathered a

con gregation of 12 0 m em bers at a place called after

wards Lla n b a da rn Fa wr . The differen tia fa wr wa s added

to m ark its pre - em in en ce over the other parishes of the

sam e n am e , a n d t o distin guish it from the adj acen t

town of Aberystwyth ,which wa s an cien tly called Lla n

b a da rn Ga erog .

LLANBEDR - PONT - STEPHAN .—The popular En glish

n am e is Lam peter , which is a n Angli cized form of

Lla n b edr . We fin d m any churches in Wales bearing

the n am e Pedr , Peter, but who this Peter wa s is a

m atter of con j ecture . Most writers poin t to Peter the

Apostle . From a certain docum en t the pon t , bridge ,appears to have been erected early in the fifteen th

cen tury . Rhys,the son of David a p Rhys , of

Pen carreg, m arried Llen an ,daughter of Ieu a n David

Llwyd a p David Ddu a p David Decka a p Steven ,the

m a n who erec ted La m peter b r i dge a t his own expense.

"

LLANDAIN FACE —Dam m ean s beautiful , fin e ja ch

li ttle . The n am e sign ifies the beautiful little church .

LLANDEGW Y .—Tegwy wa s a sain t of the sixth


cen tury,a n d a descendan t of Nudd Hael . The above

chu r ch'

wa s dedicated t o him .

LLANDYSILIOGoc o .

— St . Tysi lio ,a bishop a n d a n

em in en t author,who flourished about the m iddle of the

seven th cen tury . B ru t Tysi lio,a copy of which is in the

Myv . Ar ch ,is attributed t o him . He wa s the patron

sain t of m a n y churches in Wales . The differen tia

g og o is a m utation of gogo/a n ,caves

,which are very

num erous in the parish .

LLANDYSSUL .—Tysn l , a d escen dan t of Cu n edd a

W ledig ,a n d a sain t of the sixth cen tury

,t o whom the

above church wa s dedicated . At Esgair W en,a sm all

farm in this parish,the im m ortal Chr istm as Evan s wa s

born on Christm as Da y ,1766.

LLANDDEINIOL .—B ei n i ol Wyn ,

or Dan iel,a ssisted

his father,Dn n a wd Fa r , in foun ding the celebrated

m on astery at Ban gor Isc oed ,a n d he foun ded several

churches , of whi ch Llan ddein iol is reckon ed to be on e ;

hen ce the n am e .

LLANDDEwr—ABERARTH .

—The church w a s dedicated

to Dewi,the patron sain t of Wales . Ab er

,estuary ;

Ar th, the n am e of the river, n ear the m outh of which

the village is Situated . Ar th sign ifies rough,harsh .

LLANDDEWI - BREFI . —B refi m ean s bellowing . The

trad ition al ox overstrain ed him self in en deavourin g t o

draw the a v a n c (beaver) from the lake,a n d sudden ly

expired . The other,having lost his yoke—fellow

, would

n ot be con soled,refused food

,a n d wan dered about

un til he died in a place called B r efi, so ca lled from the

dism al m oan s of the sacred an im al . Dewi,the patron

sain t of Wales,foun ded a church a nd a relig ious

CARDIGANSHIRE . 89

sem in ary on the spot hen ce Lla n ddewi—B refi. A fam oussyn od wa s held here in the 6th cen tury with the View ofsuppressin g the Tela g i a n heresy .

LLANDDYFRIOG .—Tyfr iog , a sain t who flourished

a bout the close of the sixth cen tury,foun ded the church .

LLANFAIR .

—The church wa s dedicated to St .Mary ; hen ce the n am e of the little village would beMary ’s Church .

LLANFIHANGEL CAe LL GW ALLr ER.

—The churchwa s dedicated to St . Michael . Walter l ’Espec built ac astle on a hill n ear the church durin g the Norm anc on quest ; hen ce the addition al n am e .

LLANFIHANGEL LLEDRon .

—The church is dedicated

t o St . Michael . Lledrod is a com pound of llelhr,a slope

,

a n d lroed ,a foot , base ; the church bein g built at the

base of the Slope .

LLANFIHANGEL - Y - CREUDDYN .

—The church is dedic a t ed t o St . Michael. Lewis Morris derives Creu ddyn

from c r en,blood ; a n d da n

,a fort

,sign ifyin g a bloody

fort . There is a com m ot of the sam e n am e n ear

Conway,in which the ca stle of Dyg a nwy wa s situated,

where the En glish kin gs , John a n d Hen ry I I I . , had

their cam ps in their fruitless expedition s again st the

W elsh .

LLANGEITHO .—St . Cei tho ,

son of Cynyr Ta rfdrwch ,

who flourished in the sixth cen tury, foun ded the church ,whi ch wa s dedicated t o him .

LLANGOEDMOR.

—Coed, wood ; m or - m a wr , great . The

spot where the church is built aboun ds with tim ber

o f an cien t a n d luxurian t growth.


LLANGRANNOG .

— Som e trace the n am e to St

Cr a nog ,the son of Gorun ,

the son of Cer edig ; whilst

others derive it from Gwyddn o Ga r a nhi r (lon g- Shan ked ) ,

which m ean s the cran e , reckon ed t o be a represen tative

of the priest of the ark,who safely lan ded the vessel

upon the reef of S a r n B a dr ig , Pat rick’s Causeway . W e

adopt the form er derivation .

LLANGUNLLo .

—Cu n llo ,on ce a prin ce , becam e the

patron sain t of severa l churches in Wales . He is .

recorded in Rees’

s Welsh Sa in ts as Cyn llo,the kin g .

LLANGWYRYFON .

—Gwyry/on ,virgin s . Tradition says

that this church wa s d edicated t o Ursula a n d 1100

blessed virgin s,who fled with St . Padern from

Arm orica to avoid the persecution that raged there in

the sixth cen tury,a n d settled in this parish

,leadin g a

pure a n d holy life .

LLANILAR .—The church wa s d edic a ted to St . H ila ry ,

who flourished in the 6th cen tu ry . The parish con t a in s .

two ham lets,bearin g the n am es Llan ilar Uchai (higher) ,

a n d Llan ilar Isaf (lower) .

LLANINA .

— The church wa s dedicated t o In a ,Kin g of

the West Saxon s .

LLANLLWCHAIARN .—Llwchha ia r n wa s a sain t of the

7th cen tury . 1010 MSS give him the hon our of havin gfoun ded m a n y churches

,am ong which the above is n a m ed .

LLANLLYR.

—Llyr Mer i n i flourished about the en d

of the 5th cen tury ,a n d foun ded a church a nd n un nery

at the above place .

LLANRHYSTYD .—The church wa s dedicated to Rhyslyd ,

a descen dan t of Hywel a p Em yr Llyd a w , who flourishedin the 6th cen tury .

CARDIGANSHIRE . 91

LLANSAN’

I‘

FFRAID.—The comm on opin ion is that the

church wa s dedicated t o S a nfir a id ,but we are in clin ed t o

thin k it wa s dedicated to St . Ffr a id , who wa s calledB ridget or Bri de , a celebrated Irish sain t .

LLANWENOG .— St . Gwen og ,

son of G ilda s , is recordedt o have fou nd ed the church .

LLANW NDW S .—St . Gwynws foun ded the church in

the 6th cen tury.

LLANWNEN .—The church is supposed t o have been

dedicated t o St . Gwn en .

LLECHRYD .—Llech,

a ston e rhyd , a ford , a stream .

This place is gen era lly poin ted out as the scen e of a

terrib le en gagem en t that took place between Rhys a p

Tewdwr a nd the three son s ofBleddyn a p Cyn fyn , in 1087,

in which the sons -

of Bled dyn were defeated a n d two of

them slain on the field . In course of tim e it is thought a

ston e wa s raised here in m em ory of Rhiryd , on e of

Bleddyn’

s son s . Som e thin k the n am e is derived from

the river bein g sea m ed with ledges of rock .

LLW YNDAFYDD.—Llwyn ,

bush Da fydd, David from

a n a n cien t house in the pla ce , which belonged to Da fydd

a b Iena n ,a n d where he en tertain ed the Earl of Richm on d

on his wa y t o Bosworth field .

MERTHYR CYFLEFYR.— Mer thyr , m artyr Cyflefyr ,

n am e of a descen dan t of B rych a n ,who is supposed to have

been m urdered a t a place ever sin ce called after his n am e .

MOCHRos.—Moch,

pigs rhos, a m eadow, a m oor .

Tradition says that St . Dyfrig wa s warn ed in this place

by a n angel to build a church in the n am e of the Trin ity ,

where he would see a white sow lyin g with her sucklings

hen ce the n am e .


MORFA .—The n am e sign ifies a m arsh , a sea - coast .

MYDYREILIN .—The n am e

,probably

,m ean s the ei lin

(a rm ) of the river M a dyr . Pen eli n is the Welsh for elbow .

The crooked course of the river here rem in ds the observer

very vivid ly of a m a n holdin g his a rm in a slin g . Mydyr

is a corrupt form ofM a dyr , the silen t water . Mydr oilyn

is the offic ial spelling .

NANTCWNLLE .— Na n l , brook ; Cwn lle is probably a

c orruption of Ca n llo, a n em in en t B ritish sain t of the sth

cen tury . The pa ri sh is in tersected by the brook ,a n d the

c hurch i s dedica ted to Cn n llo.

NANTEIRW .— N a nf

,brook

,a glen ei rw- ei rwy ,

a foam in g

c ataract . Som e thin k that ei rw is a corrupt form of a eron ,

sum m er fruits, so called on accoun t of the abun dan ce of

these fruits on the ba nks of the rivulet . Perhaps eirw

is a m utated form of garw ,c .f. Nan t Garw .

NEWCHURCH .— It wa s an cien tly called Lla nfiha n g el

y—Creu ddyn Ucha f. The presen t n am e wa s derived from the

fact that Col . Thos . J ohn s, Hafod Ucht ryd ,

built a n ew

church here in 1803.

PENDDOL .—P en ,

top dol , m ea dow ,sign ifying a

place at the top or hea d of a m eadow .

PENLLW YN .

—P en ,head ,

top ; Hwyn ,bush

,grove .

PENRHIW BAL .—P en ,

top ; rhiw,Slope b a l , prom in

Ien c e. B a l is a gen eral term a pplied t o those m oun tain s

that term in ate in a peak .

PENRHYLOG .—P en ,

head top ; rhylog , accord in g t o

som e , is a con traction of yr - ha leg , salty place . We rather

think it to be rhyllog , the n am e in full sign ifyin g a high

place full of clefts .



tion wa s a n im pulse superior to every other con sidera tion .

Fortun ately,however , she had a dog , a n d in her pocket

a piece of bread . A glorious thought occurred of savin gherself a n d c ow by the sacrifice of her cur . She took

the piece of brea d from her pocket a nd threw i t on the

o ther side . Her dog started over the bridge to seize it .

Satan looked peevishly a skan ce,galled at the thought

of bein g outwitted by a n old wom an ,hun g his ta il a n d

walked off.”

PONTERW YD.- P on t , bridge Em yd ,

a pole,a han drai l .

PONTRHYDFENDIGAID .—P on t

, bridge,

rhyd ,ford

,

b endig a z'

d , blessed . Meyrick ca lls it P en treRhydfen dig a id .

The n am e , eviden tly , is a relic of m on astic tim es . The

blessed celebrities of the m on astery at Strata Floridawere won t to cross a certa in ford in the river

,where they

in voked the blessin gs of the blessed virgin . We have n ohistorical proof that the m onks built the bridge that span st he ford . It appears that it wa s built in the days of

Edward Richard , the foun der of Ystrad Meurig school .The bridge caused a great dispute between the pa risheso f Gwnws a n d Caron ,

which is depicted in two hu m orous

poem s com posed by Edward Richards .

PONTRHYDYGROES.—P 0%t , bridge ; rhyd ,

ford ; y ,

t he ; g r oes, cross .

RHIW ARTHEN .—Rhiw , slope , declivity Ar then

,a c

cordin g t o som e , is the n am e of a kin g or lord ofCered igion , who died in 804, but we rather thin k it is acli pped form of g a r then ,

a ca m p or battle .

RHUDDLAN .—A com poun d of rhu dd , red ; a n d g lam ,

a . bank , a sacred en closure , church .

CARDIGANSHIRE 95

RHYDMANTEG .—Rhyd ,

ford ; m a n ,place

,spot ; leg ,

RHYD—PENNANT .—P er ma n t m ean s the en d of the

brook .

SARNAU .—This n am e is the plural form of su m

,

paved road,causeway , so called from the rem ain s of

several paved roads across a b og in the district .

STRATA FLORIDA .—Str a ta

, paved road . The Rom an

str a ta becam e the Saxon. street . Florida ,aboun din g

with flowers . Som e m ain tain that the abbey wa s dedi

c a t ed to Fflu r , the daughter of Mygn a ch Gorr , but the sup

position is un supported by historical fact . An eye

witn ess wrote a few years ago , an en t the fam ous place

even n ow the adj acen t peat lan d is covered with heath

flowers . As we were travelli ng over it , reaching Tregaronabout sun set , we gazed on the scen e

,a nd the whole

exten sive plain blushed a s i t bathed in a sea of purple .

”

This is the Westm in ster Abbey of Mediaeval Wales . The

Abbey wa s built c i r c a 1184, a n d founded by Rhys ab

G ruffydd . The rem ain s of a n um ber of Welsh prin ces

a re supposed to lie here .

SW YDDFFYNON.—Swydd here m ean s j urisdiction .

In an cien t tim es the la w court of the comm ot of

Mefen ydd wa s held here , perhaps n ear a celebrated

well , call ed Ffyn non oer , cold well.

TALSARN .—Ta l , end sa m , road from a bra n ch of

a Rom an road which term in ated here .

TRAE’

I‘

H SAITH .- Tr a eth

,san ds , seashore S a i th

is er ron erou sly referred by som e to Sei thynyn , fam ous in

W elsh m ythology . Saith here is from L . san ctus , a nd

m ean s the sacred shore .


TREFILAN .—The church wa s dedicated t o Elem

the m other of Con stan tin e the Great ; therefore , Ila n

is a m uta tion of Elen . Eglwys Ilan , Glam organ ,bears

her n am e .

TREFLYN .

—A com poun d of lref, a place , a town ;a n d llyn ,

a lake . The place takes its n am e from a

beautiful lake called Llyrl y m a es,the lake of the field

,

which ,according t o tradition

,covers the origin al site of

Treg a ron .

TREGARON .—The church wa s dedicated t o B ishop

Ca ron ,a n d the place is n am ed in hon our of him .

TREMAEN .

—Tre, place ; m a eri , ston e ; its literal

sign ification bein g “ the town of the ston e ,”

so called

from the n oted ston e , Llech yr a st , a n d the adj a cen t

c istfa ens n ear the vi llage .

TROEDYRAUR .

—Troed , foot , base , lower part . Troed

yb ryn ,the lowest part of the hill . P iedm on t has the

sam e sign ification , from It, pi e di m on te

,foot of the

m oun tain ,so called from its situation . Yr

,the ; a u r

probably wrongly—spelt for a i r,bright

,clea r . I f we

adopt the term in ation a i r, the n am e m ean s the base

m en t of a hill , from which a clear view m a y be had of

the sur roun din g district . Som e derive the n am e fromthe tradition that a u r gold wa s d iscovered at the foot ofthe hill . It appears that the an cien t n am e of the churchwa s Tr edeyr n , the king

’

s town,from the supposition that

Owain ab Hywel Dd a , the king of Ceredigion,som e tim e

took up his abode in. the vicin ity . Llys Owa i n ,Owen ’

s

court , the ruin s of which are still discer n ible,about a

quarter of a m ile from the church ,in clin es us to th in k that

Tr edeyrn is the correct n am e of this place .


CARMAR ‘THENSH IRE .

CARMARTHEN is a n An glicised form of Caerfyrddin .

The Welsh Chron icle derives the n am e from Myrd in , the

pseudo—prophet a n d bard,a n d m an y are the tradition s

t hat boldly but absurdly support the derivation . H istory

r ej ects the popular etym ology by statin g that the town

wa s called Ma r idu nu m by the Rom an s , durin g a n d after

the Rom an subjugation,lon g ere the prophet w a s born.

The K a eroyrddi n of the Briton s is the Ma r id u n u m ,

the city by the sea of Ptolem y , a n d the Ma r id u n u m ,

the walled city of An ton ius . Som e thin k that the Latinn am e is a tran slation of the Welsh on e

,a n d derive the

latter thus : Ca er , fortress , wa ll ; fyr , a m utation of

m or—m yr , the sea ; di n—ddin , a hill,sign ifyin g a fortified

h ill upon or n ear the sea . Others m ain tain that Ca ermyrdi n , the ruin ous city is the true derivation . so

'

m ewrite thus—Ca er - fyrd - dyn ,

the cita del of t en. thousan d .

We a r e in clin ed t o thin k that Ma r idu n u m is the correctetym ology , a n d that t he Welsh c a er w a s prefixed t o it ,a nd hen ce tran sm uted to its presen t form—C a erfyrddi n .

ABERARAD .

—Ab er,estuary ; a r a d ,

the n am e of the

river on which the village is situated,so called

,perhaps

,

from its resem blan ce to a n a r a dr ,plough . Ar a d is the

popular pronun ciation of a r a a r .

ABERBRAN .—This place takes its n am e from the river

B r a n .

ABERCOUYN .

-Cowv ri or Cywyn ,the r iver - n am e

,m ean s

a rising or swellin g up ; the popular word cwn u ,risin g

,

com es from the verb cywym i,to rise

,m oun t up . Cog

n ate with Latin sc a n do,I m oun t .

CARMARTHENSHIRE . 99

ABERDUAR.—Ab erdya r is the right wording ,

prob ably from its situation on the river Dya r , which m ea n sa n oise , a soun d ,

a din .

Di l - a r m a y sign ify water run n in g over black soil .

ABERGORLECH .—Gor lech

,the river - n am e , probably ,

is a m utation of Ga rw—lech, g a rw,

rough ; lechZZZeck ,

ston e, or from c or , sm all , a n d llwch, water , lake .

ABERGW ILI . —Gwi li , the river—n am e , is a derivative

of Gwyllt , wild a n d lli,a flux

,sign ifyin g wild water . Som e

derive it from gwy,wa ter

,a n d lli , a flux . This village

r etain s the hon our of bein g the residen ce of the B ishop of

St . David 's .

ABOVE—SAW DDW Y .—The village derives its n am e

from the river Sa wddwy , on which it is situate . S a wd

im plies depth,a sin kin g gwy is water but m ore probably

my is here a n adj ectival term in ation ,a n d the m ean ing

wa ter is fan ciful .

AMMANFORD .—The an cien t n a m e of the place wa s

Cross Inn ,from a public house of that n am e , which

is situated at the jun ction of four roads . Som e thin k that

Amm an ,the river - n am e , is a com poun d of a m l , m any ,

a n d a n or a in ,water

,sign ifying a river ofm any tributaries

or sources . Others thin k the root is b a n , height . Perhaps

it is”

derived from Am on , Am a is. The word for river in

Gaelic , is a b ha i nn ,a n d a mha in is a n an cien t form of

a /on ,a river .

BANCYFELIN .—Ban k , a ny steep acclivity , as one

rising from a river,a lake

, or the sea ; y , the ; felin

m elin , m ill .

BRECHFA .

-A hilly place . B reck is fem . of b ryc li ,

m ottled , a doublet of brith c . i . Cefn b r i th .

100 PLACE‘

Na MEs IN WALES .

BRYNAMMAN .—It wa s som etim e called t er Fa wr ,

the big ditch . In 1838,a house in the place wa s called

B ryn a mm a n , a nd in 1864,when the railway cam e in to the

place,the station wa s called Bryn am m an ,

hen ce the n am e

of the village . For Am an see Amm an ford .

BRYN GWYNE .

—B ryn ,hill Gwi nn a a , in ten sified form

of gwyn ,white

,blessed . Gwyn du d ,

a happy lan d , or per

haps for gwin a u— reddish colour of bracken .

BRYNHAFOD.—H a fod , m ean s a summ er - house ,

which wa s gen erally built on a hill .

BRYNYBEIRDD.—This place derives its n a m e from a n

an cien t farm house in the vicin ity called Cwr t - b ryn-

y- b ei rdd

from the supposition that it wa s on ce the residen ce of the

bards .

BURRY PORT .

—The place adj oin s the an cien t village

of P em b re or Pen—b r a . Pen , head ,t op, b re, m oun tain ,

high place .

Som e thin k Burry is a com poun d of b a r , wild , frothy

a n d gwy ,water . B u rym , barm is derived from the sa m e

root . The river Berem is not far from the place . An other

a ttem pt is b re,hill ; por th,

port . Bu r i y is probably from

burgh , a hill , com pare Burythorpe in Yorkshire .

The seaport is situated at the en tran ce of the river

Burry .

BW LCHGW YNT .—Bwlch, a n open in g , a pass ; g a ya l ,

win d ; sign ify ing a pass where the win d occas i on ally

asserts its power very vehem en tly .

CALEDFW LCH .—C a led ,

hard , Severe bwlch,a n open

in g , a p 15 5 . Tradition ha s it that bloody wars were foughtin the vicin ity , a n d 1hat the distress a n d cal u n ity wa s so

g reat at a certain spot , that it wa s hen c efor th'

c a lled C a led


I OZ PLACE - NAMES IN WALES .

CILCARW .—Ci l , a place of retreat c a rw, stag . In tim e

of yore stags resorted to this sequestered vicin ity as a place

of refuge .

CILCWM.

—The n am e sign ifies a sequestered vale the

upper reaches of the valley,or the ridge overlookin g

the valley .

CILMAENLLW YD .—C i l , a pla ce of retrea t ; m a en

,

stone llwyd ,grey

,blessed ; so called from the relics of

druidi ca 'l ston es in the place .

CLOYGYN .

—The right wording,probably

,is c logwyn ,

a precipice .

CROSS HANDs.—From a public house so called in the

place .

CRUGYBAR .—Cr u g ,

heap b a r,affliction ,

fury,wrath .

The place derives its n a m es from the supposition that the

Roman s buried their fallen soldiers in the vicin ity,where

they suffered heavily at the han ds of the wrathful a n dform idable Briton s , led by the imm orta l Bu ddu g .

CWMAMAN .—Cwm ,

n arrow vale Am a n vide Am m an

CW Mc or Hr .

—The river—n am e Cothi m ean s to ej ect

or ev a cuate ; ysgothi , t o babble . The Greek K a tha r iso

has a sim ilar m ean in g . Dola n cotki is the seat of the

John ses, a well - kn own fa m ily in the coun ty ofCa rm arthen

a n d close by wa s the residen ce of the celebrated bard,.

Llywelyn (Lewis) Glyn Cothi , who flourished in the 1sth

cen tury .

CWMCUCH .—A village situate on the ban ks of the

river Cn ch. Cn ch m ea n s what is con tracted or drawn

together . s t chio,to frown .


CWMDUAD .

—Dn a d im plies blackn ess . The river

Dna d flows throug h the va le .

CW M GW ENDRAETH .

—Cwm , vale Gwendr a etk,the

n am e of the river that run s through the vale . Gwen , white ;tr a eth,

a tract , a beach .

CW MHW PLIN.—Hw7§lin is a n etym ological puzzle .

The n am e is probably from Cwm,vale

,a nd hwplin ,

represen tin g the English word—goblin .

CW MSARNDDU .—Cwm , va le sa rn

,paved road ddu ,

bla ck ,from a farm so n am ed .

CYNW IL CAIO . Gyn , prior , first ; wi l - gwyl , (vigilia )watches C a i o, Ca in s, the n am e of a Rom an person age .

The Rev . Eli eser William s , in the Cam brian Register ,”

thi n ks that the place wa s taken possession of by Caius’

advan ced guards .

DAFEN .—From the river Da fen ,

which flows through

the place . The n am e m a y be a corrupt form of ta f- a in ,

the spreadin g water . Ta /wys, the Tham es , has the

sam e sign ification .

DRAFACH .—Tre/, a hom estead , town ; fa ch- b a ch,

little .

DREFELIN.—Som e thin k the n am e is - a com poun d of

tref , a hom estead , a n d m eli n , a m ill . In spite of the fa ct

that there is a m ill in the village som e are in clin ed to thin k

tha t the n am e is a tran sposition of fileindref, the villein s’

village,or a place un der villein soccage tenure . In the

old Welsh Laws we find ta eogdref a n d filein dr ef.

DYFFRYN CEIDRYCH .—Dyfiryn ,

a valley c ei - c a in,

clear,fair

,beautiful ; drych,

aspect,sight ; the n am e

sign ifies a valley of beautiful sc en eries . Som e think the

valley wa s n am ed after Ceind rych ,a daughter of Brycha n .


FELINDRE .—A m ill residence .

FELINCWM.—A com poun d of m elin ,

m ill ; a nd

c u m ,vale.

FELINWEN.—This village takes its n am e from a n old

m ill called Felinwen ,the white m ill , which is still in the

place .

FERRY S IDE .—A pretty village n ear the m outh of the

river Towy,where passen g ers ferry over in bo a ts t o the

opposite village , Llan stephan .

FFAIRFACH .—A very popular fair wa s won t t o be

held here on Novem ber 2 2 n d ,hen ce i t s n am e , wh ich

sign ifies the little fair,t o distinguish it from the fairs held at

Llan dilo

GARWAY .—It m a y be a cor ruption of g a rw

—wy,a

river m aking its wa y through rough pl a ces .

GELL i CEIDRYM.

—The n am e sign ifies a brush or grove

on m oun tain top with a chasm below .

GOYTREY .—Coed

,wood ; tre, a hom estead , a pla ce ,

sign ifying either a dwellin g in a wood,or a house built of

wood .

GWYNFE .—Gwyn ,

white , blessed , holy ; te- fa i , a n

in flection of m a i , a plain . Gwyn/a is the Welsh for Para

d ise .

HENGOED .—W en , old ,

a ged ; a n d coed , wood , so

called from the abun dan ce of an cien t a n d large forests of

wood that on ce adorn ed the d istrict .

HENLLAN AMGOED .

—The old church surroun ded by

woods .

Homes —The village takes its n am e from Horeb,

the Baptist chapel in the place .


1 06 PLACE - NAMES IN WALES .

craggy,rocky . Perhaps the right wording is Llogyn ,

a .

dim inutive of Llog , a com pact , a hire . Llog 0 di r , twen ty

yards of lan d . We fin d the n am e Logg in in Brecon shire ..

LLAN .—This ham let takes its n am e fr om the parochial

church bein g situate wi thin its lim its . n ear the right ban k

of the Gwen dr a eth Fechan river.

LLANARTHNEv .—Ar thney is probably a corruption of

g a r then ,a cam p . Som e thin k Ar thn ey is a corrupt form of

Ar then, the nam e of the fourth son ofBrych a n Brychein iog

'

There are several obj ects of an tiquarian in terest in this.

district , such as the ruin s of Dryslwyn castle , a n d Gron g a r

hill , which has been imm ortalised by the fam ous poet ,Dyer . Grong a r is a com poun d of g ron , fem . of c rwn , round , .

circular , a nd c a er , a fortress .

LLANBOIDY . Som e thin k the n am e is a corru ption

of Lla n—b od - Dewi , the church in which (St .) David dwelt .

The church is on ly three m iles n orth of Ty Gwyn Abbey ,

n ear which place St . David Spen t t en years . Others sa yit is Lla n - m endwy , a church ,

dedicated to a herm it . We

are in clin ed to thin k that b oidy is a corruption of b eu dy,

a n ox house . The church m ight have been built in c on

j un ction w ith the ox—house or perhaps,the oxen had to .

perform the sam e duties there as their kindred at Brevi .

LLANDEFEISENr .—Ty/ei S a n t , a n ephew of St . Teilo ,

lived in a n early period of the 6th cen tury, a nd to him the

church wa s dedicated .

LLANDEILO .—The church wa s dedicated to St . Teilo

,

a descen dan t of Cu n edd a W ledig a nd one of the most popular sain ts in the an cien t B ritish church . He wa s St .Teli a u s

, the patron sain t of Llan daff . He departed thislife at Lla n dei loFa wr , a nd wa s in terred at Lla n d f‘ff in 566


LLANDOVERY .—An An g licised fo rm ofLla nym ddyfr i ,

which m ean s a church between waters , or Lla n a m ddyfr i :a m , in i ts sen se of beyon d ,

a n d therefore the church

beyon d the river . The Myv yr i a n calls it

Lla nymddywy . The town is situate on the river

Towy ,a t the con fluen ce of the rivers Gwy ther ig a n d Bran

,

the l a tter jon in g the Towy a little distan ce below the

town . This town is fam ous as the birth - place a nd resi

den ce of Vicar Pritchard.

,author of Ca nwyll y Cym ry .

LLANDYBIE . Tv b i e wa s a daug hter of Brycha n ,a n d

a sain t of the 5th cen tury . She wa s m urdered at a pla ce

where a church wa s af te rwards built a nd con secrated t o

her m em ory .

LLANDYFAELOG .—The church wa s dedicated to M a elog

on e of Ca twg'

s disciples . The proper n am e is Lla nm a elog .

LLANDYFAEN .

—Som e derive the n am e from St . Dyfa n

who cam e here from Rom e abou t 186,to preach the Gospel

to t he Kym ry . It is believed he wa sm artyred at Merthyr

Dyfa m We r i ther thin k the place t a kes its n am e from

Di -fn a l z,one of the son s of Brycha n .

LLANDYSILIO .—The church w a s dedica ted t o St .

Tyssi lio .

LLANDDARoo .—The church w a s dedic a ted t o St .

Twr og .

LLANDOWROR .—A corruption of Lla ndyfrgwyr , the

church of the water - m en ,so called on accoun t of the

seven son s ofMa in a u r Ma thr u , who were called Dy/rgwyr ,water—m en ,

because they were foun d in the water , esc a ped

from the water a nd were m ain tain ed by fishes of the

wa ter . They devoted them selves to religious life hen ce

the above church wa s dedicated to them .


LLANEDI.—The church wa s dedicated t o Edyth a

Saxon sa in t . There were fiv e Saxon sain ts bearin g the

n am e .

LLANEGWAD .—The church wa s dedicated to n a d ,

a sain t of the 7th cen tury . He wa sson ofCyn ddeli g , son of

Cenydd , son of Gildas .

LLANELLI .—The church wa s dedicated t o Ellyw, a

descen dan t of Brych a n , a n d a sain t of the fifth cen tury .

Lla n elliw is the proper n am e . On a m a p published in 1788

by a Mr . Wm . Owen ,it is spelt Lla n elliw .

LLANFAIR—AR - Y—BRYN .—St . Mary’s church on the hill

I t wa s a Site of a Rom an station .

LLANFIHANGEL ABERBYTHYCH .—St . Michael

’s church

a t the influx of the river Bythi ch. The river - n am e m ean s

the con stan tly flowin g water .

LLANFIHANGEL—AR - ARTH .

—Ar - Ar th,

or a r -

y-

g a r th,

m e a n s on the hi ll . The church wa s dedicated to St .Michael . a n d built on a hill above the Teiv i .

LLANFIHANGEL RHosv c onN .—St . Michael’s church

on the berry - m oor - lan d . I t appears that the place

produces hurtle a n d b i llb er ri es.

LLANFRYNACH .— The church wa s dedicated t o St .

B r vn a ch, whose history , according to som e is m arked

by som ewhat rem arka ble in ciden ts .

LLANFYNYDD .—The n am e sign ifies a church on the

m oun tain .

LLANGADOG .—The church wa s ded icated t o St . Ca doc

,

a m a rtyr who flourished in the 5th cen tury , a n d died inB r i tt a ny, in 490 .


I I O PLACE - NAMES IN WALES

LLANLLW Ni .—Llwn i is a corruption of llom

'

, t o

gladden . Lla n io Lla whi r (lon g han d) wa s a descen dan t ofEm yr Llyda w , a nd is supposed t o have foun ded the

churches of Llandin am a nd Lla n llwn i .

LLANNEW YDD.—The old pa rish church wa s pulled

d own , a nd the foun dation ston e of Lla n n ewydd , the n ew

church , wa s laid , July sth , 1870 .

LLANON .—The church wa s dedicated t o Nonn , the

piou s m other of St . David , the patron. sain t of Wa les .

LLANPUMSAINT .—P u -m sa in t z fiv e sain ts . The

c hurch wa s dedica ted to five brothers, Cei tho , Gwyn ,

Gwyn r o , Gwynoro ,a n d Celyn in , who were born a t the

sam e tim e a nd devoted them selves t o religi ous life .

LLANSADWRN .—The church wa s dedicated to

S a dwrn , the brother of Ill t u d .

LLANSADYRNYN .—The church wa s dedicated t o

S a dyrnyn , the Bishop of St . David ’s in the ea rly pa rto f the oth cen tury .

LLANSAW YL .—The church wa s dedicated to Sa wyl ,

a sa in t of the 8th cen tury .

LLANSTEPHAN .—The church wa s founded by Ystyfia n ,

a sain t a nd ha rd of the 6th cen tury . Som e derive then am e from the supposition that the church wa s dedic a t ed to Stephen , the first m artyr .

LLANWRDA .—Opin ion s differ a s t o whom the church

wa s dedica ted . On e suggests St . Ca wrda f,a son of

Ca r a dog Frei chfr a s ; an other , gwr—da ,the holy m a n . Som e

thin k gwr - da is a c orru pt form of gwr - da f, th em a n of the

Taf , refering to St . Teilo who lived on the ba n ks of the

river Taf for m an y years , a n d beli eved to have perform ed

m an y m iracles .

CARMARTHENSHLRE . I I I

LLANW YNIO .—The church is supposed t o have been

d edicated to Gwyn io, a W elsh sain t .

LLANYBRI . —B ri , is , a ccordin g to one wri ter , a corruption of b eyr , the Norse for farm stead . Som e think the

n am e is derived from one Awbrey , who resided there . We

rather thin k that b ri is a m utation of b re, up high .

LLANYBYDDER.—Som e thin k the right wordin g is

Lla nyb ydda i r , the church of the Am buscade . The n am e

m a y be a corruption of Lla n b edr , from the church beingd edicated t o St . Peter .

LLANYCRW Ys.—The n am e sign ifies the Rood church .

LLWYNHENDY .—Llwyn , bush hendy , old house .

There wa s a bush n ea r a n old hom estead called Hen dy ,

con cern in g which a local dispute arose , a nd in order t o

d istin guish it from other bushes it wa s called Llwyn - hendy.

MACHYNYS.—An islet a t the estuary of the Loughor

river . Som e thin k the n am e is a m utation of b a ch—ynys,the little island ,

but in view of the fact tha t a myn a chdy ,

a m onastery wa s established here in 513 by St . Piro , we are

i n clin ed t o thin k the n am e m ight be a n abbreviation of

myn a ch-

ynys, the m on k’s islan d . Or , perha ps , i t is a

c om poun d of m a ch, a bail , a surety a nd ynys, a n islan d .

Som e thin k it wa s som etim e held as a surety for debt .

MANORFABON.—Som e thin k the origin al form is

Ma n—a r - a fon ,a spot or a residen ce on or n ear the ri ver.

W e rather thin k the n a m e is a compoun d of m a en or , m an or,a n d M a b on ,

proper n am e . Ma b on is som etim es u sed t o

den ote a young hero .

Ma ri nes—Some think it is m awr - rhos, the great

m oorlan d or comm on . The nam e sign ifies a wild ,m oun

I IZ PLACE—NAMES IN WALES .

t a inou s region ,whi ch wa s un doubtedly suggested by the

physica l aspect of the district .

MEINCIAU .—A corruption

,probably of m in -

y- c a e

,

edge of the field . Som e thin k it is the plural of m a in s,

a ben ch , im plying elevated pieces of lan d .

MOELFRE .—Moel , bare ; a n d b re, hill .

MYDRIM .—A com poun d of m ei - m a i , a plain or open

field dru m , a ridge , a back ,a hill .

A Rom an road r a n through the pla ce from Ca r

m a r then to St . David’s .

MYDDFAI .—Mya—m ed , m eadow fa i—m a i,a plain

,

or open field . The pla ce is n oted for its celebrated phy

si c i a ns in the 12 th cen tury . Meddygon.Myddfa i the physi c i a ns ofMyddfa i is a proverbia l phra se . The first b a tch

of these were Rhiwa llon ,a n d his sons

, Ca dwg a n , Gruffydd ,

a n d Bin ion .

MYNACHDY .—A m on astery . It is su pposed tha t

a cell t o som e an cien t abbey wa s situated here som etim e

hen ce the n am e .

NANTGAREDIG .- Na n t , brook Ca redig ,

a m an ’s nam e

—Na n t , brook r a i n ,clear

,fair .

NANTYMW YN.—Mwyn , m in e , ore . Lead m in es

a boun d in this district .

NEWCASTLE - EMLYN .—Opin ion 5 differ as t o the

o rigin of this n am e . It is a tran slation of the WelshC a stell- n ewydd - Em lyn . The presen t ca stle wa s built

on the site of the old on e by Sir Rhys a p Thom as , inthe reign of Hen ry VII I .

,hen ce the appel lation

Newc a stle. Em lyn is va riously der ived . Som e d erivei t from Em i li a n u s, the n am e of a Rom an n oblem an tha t



n ear Pen boyr is called Llwyn Pyr . The n am e is also

foun d i n the parish of Lla n llwn i .

Pyr succeeded Sa wyl B en Uchel on the thron e of

Britain .

PENCADER.—Som e thin k it wa s origin ally c a lled

P en c a dlys pen ,hea d c a d ,

battle,battlefield lys, court .

Near the church there is a ca irn ca lled The Castle , a n d

from that the comm on in feren ce is tha t som e battles were

fought in the vicin ity . Others thin k the n am e sign ifies

the chief chair , possibly of the bards—Dru idic order .There is a n imm en se tum ulus here . C a der a lso m ea n s

a stronghold . Ma n y fortified hills a nd m oun

tain s still retain the n am e as Cader Idris , Ca der Dinm a el .

C a dern i d is the Welsh for stren gth or fortitude .

PENDINE .—Som e thin k the right wordin g is P en—da n t ,

the beautiful summ it . It m a y be a corrupt form of P end i n , the t op of the fortified hill .

PENRHIW GOCH .—Pe’n , t op ; rhiw,

slope ; gOChZCOCh,

red , su n—parched . The attri bute c och form s a pa rt of m a n y

n am es in the district , as Ga r reg—goch,red ston e ; n n n on

g och,ruddy well

, &c .

PENRHOS .—The t op of a m ea dow or plain .

PENYGROEs.—Pen , hea d , en d ; y , the ; g roes, cross .

PONTAMAN .—Pon l , bridge ; a m a n

,the n am e of the

r iver that flows through the place (vide Amm an ford) .The village ta kes its n a m e from a m an sion so called

,

which is situa te on the river Am an .

PONTARGOTHL—Pon t, bridge a r

, on ,across Gothi

c othi , the n am e of the river (vide Cwm c othi ) .

PONTBRENARAETH .—P on t b ren , a wooden bridge ;

a r a eth, the n am e of the ri ver.

CARMARTHENSIIIRE I I 5

PON1HENRY .—Pon t , bridge ; Hen ry , probably the

n am e of the builder of the bridge .

PONTNEWYDD .—P on t , bri dge ; n ewydd, n ew .

PONTTW ELI .—The latter portion of the n a m e is

v ariously wr itten ,v iz . , Twelly ,

Tyweli , Tywely ,Taf - gurli ,

a nd Taf—wely . The n am e seem s t o be a con traction of the

latter form ,which is the n am e of the river that run s

un der the bridge.

PONTYATES .—The villa ge wa s ori gin ally called Trewi a i l , the place of rods . Opin ion s differ a s t o Pon tyates .

P on t , m ean s a bridge , which ,accordi n g to som e , wa s built

b y a Mr . Yates ; hen ce the n am e.In olden tim es there wa s a toll - gate n ear the b r idge,

a n d som e thin k the n am e is derived from that .

PONTYBEREM .—P 0n l , bridge ; Berem , river - nam e .

The gen eral opin ion is that a wooden bridge crossed the

B erem river before the Gwen dr a eth bridge wa s built ;hen ce the n am e .

Berem com es from b erw, a boilin g , a n ebullition .

S ion Lam Roger,about 190 years ago , called the place

P on tyb erw'

.

PORTHYRHYD .—P or th

, (porta) , a gate ; y ,the ;

rhyd ,a ford .

PUMP HEOL . -a p,fiv e heol , road so called from

the j un ction of five roads in the place .

RHANDIRMW YN.—Rha ndi r , a portion of lan d , a

"district ; mwyn ,a m in e

,ore . There are an cien t lead

m in es in the district called Na n tymwyn ,which are n oted

for pottery ore .

RHYDARGAEAU .~—The right wordin g seem s to be

Rhyela rg a er a n ,the ford n ear the fortified walls .


ST . CLEARs.—The Norm an s

,im m ediately after the

con quest,built a castle a n d a church here , the latter

of which wa s dedicated t o one of their own clan n am ed

St . Clai r. Hen ce the n am e of the place . In the Myv yrian she is called Sain Cler a n d St . Clares . She died a

m artyr in Norm an dy ,Novem ber 4th ,

894.

TALOG .~—The n am e sign ifies high - fron ted , bold - faced .

Ta lwg m ean s a high house with ston e roof , in con tra- di s

tin ction t o the low cot wi th thatched roof .

TALYLLYCHAU , on TALLEY .

— Ta l , fron t or end ; y,

the ; Llycha u , plural of llwch,lake or pool . There are

two large pools n ear the church . Ta lley is a n a b b re

v ia t ion of the Welsh n am e .

TERRA - COED .— It is , prob a b ly ,

a corruption of Ti r

y- coed , which im plies woody la n d .

TIR ESGOB .— Ti r

,lan d esgob , bishop .

TIR Row n .—Ti r , lan d Rosier

, Roger . Rogersla nd .

TRECLAs.—Cla s m ean s a green coverin g or surface.

Cla s Merddin , the green Space of sm ooth hills , the oldn am e of the Isle of Brita in — Tr ioedd .

TRELECH .—Som e thin k the n am e sign ifies the c on

c ea led dwellin g . We rather thin k the n am e sign ifies“

the town of ston es .

” Not far from the village there

is a n imm en se c a r nedd called Cr u g yDew'

u ,or Cr u g Edeyrn ,

The place derives its n am e , probably ,from this a n d other

relics of Druidism in the district . Som e an tiquarian s

believe that Edeyrn wa s buried here . Nathan Dyfed,a nd

an other gen tlem an open ed a c istfa en here in 1830 , a nd

foun d therein calcin ed bon es a n d charcoal .

TRERHOS.— Tre, place , town rhos, m eadow. The

village is situated on a m arshy plain .


CARNARVONSH IRE .

An An glicized form of Ca er—yn- Ad on , the fortified

town opposite t o Mon a . After the subjugation of

Wales un der Edward I . the n am e of the t oxm w a s applied

to the n ewly - form ed coun ty .

LLEYN .—A region ,

accordin g t o som e , that derived

its n am e from Lleyn ,the son of Baran . He con quered

this portion of the territory of the Kin g of Gwyn edd ,

a n d called it the coun try of Lleyn (Iolo MSS. ,

The late celebrated an tiquarian , Mr . Owen William s ,of Waen fawr

,der ives it from Zleu yn ,

which is syn ony

m ous , with lleu a r , llezt a d , goleu a d, gole'zm i , sign ifyin g light ,splen dour . Lleu a r ha u l, the light of the su n . He foun ds

his reason s upon the fact that Lleyn is a n even coun try ,en j oyin g the light of the su n from m orn in g till dusk ;hen ce it w a s called Lley

f

n ,the lan d of the li ght . Dr .

Owen Pughe tran slated Lleyn thus— lleyn , a strip , a

t on gue of lan d , which correspon ds with the physic a l

aspect of this part of the Prin cipality . It is cogn ate

with Irish Lein in Lein ster,from a n Irish word m ean in g

a lan ce head , so called from the outlin e of the land .

EIFIONYDD .

—Eifi07z m ean s the lan d of rivers . A/on ,

a river,ez

’

fion ,a n old plural form of Mom, as m ei b z

’

on

becom es the plural of m a b,a son . Ap, a San skr it root

sign ifyin g water, is seen in the n am es of the Pun j ab,

the lan d of the five r ivers ; Do—a b , a dist rict betweenthe two rivers Ga n ges a n d Jumn a . We fin d it a l so inthe river - n a m es of the L a b a n d s —u b - u e, or Dan ube .

ABER , OR ABERGW YNGREGYN .

—From the quan tity

of cockles foun d there . The ri ver Gwyn g regyn , whi te

CARNARVONSHIRE . 119

shells, discharges itself in t o the sea about half- a—m ile

below the village .

ABERDARON .—The villa ge is situate at the m outh

of the river Daron . Althou gh a n in sign ifican t place , it

is fam ous for bein g the birth—place of Richard Robert

J on es , a li a s Di c Aberdaron , the celebrated lin guist .

He wa s born in 1778, a n d died at St .Asaph in 1843 . It is

said that he was fam iliarly con versan t with thirteen

lan gu ages . The n am e Da ron wa s an cien tly applied t o

the Deity, sign ifyin g Thun der er .” Da ron im plies n oisywater.

ABERCEGID.—Near Lla n degai . Ceg id is the Welsh for

hem lock .

ABERERCH .—The river Er ch flows in to the sea a

little below the Village hen ce the n am e . Er ch m ean s

dark , frightful .

ABERSOCH .—The Village lies at the m outh of the

river Soch . Soch m ean s a sin k , a drain , a ditch , so

c a l led from the slow course an d m uddy hue of the r iver .

AFON W EN—This n am e wa s taken from the river,which has its source n ear Myn a chdy gwyn , the white

m on astery. Wen is the fem in in e form of gwyn , white,a n d in place - n am es sign ifies fair or beautiful .

BANGOR—B a n ,high , superior g a r

- cor , a circle , a

stal l , a choir . Cor is n ow used in m an y parts of the

Pri n cipality to den ote a pew or seat . The term cor has

a l so been ren dered college .

”B a ngor m ea n s the chief

en closure or circle , an d when applied to a ny particular

establishm en t , i t sign ifies , a“

high choir, or chief c ol

lege . The comm on churches were called cor a n , but the

chief or superior churches b a n gor a a , because they were

IZO PLACE - NAMES IN WALES .

the chief theolog ical sem in aries of the per iod , the cen tres

from which the Christian religion exten ded over the coun try .

It is supposed that this B a ngor w a s established as early

as the year 525 by Dein iol ab Du n a wd , which shows that a

Un iversity College is n ot a r ew boon t o this city .

BEDDGELERr .—Various derivation s are assign ed t o

t his popular n am e . It is said that a herm i t erected a

booth in the place , a n d ,in the cour se of tim e , a church

w a s built on the sam e site , a nd w a s called Emik Gi lfa ch

Ga r th,which wa s corrupted in to Emik Ci la r th, a nd then

Belhcelert . Som e trace it t o the n am e of Celer , the

patron sain t of Llan geler . Tradition says the n am e

is derived from the followin g circum stan ce —At arem ote period

, when wolves were n um erous , a n d c onse

quen tly form idable in Wales , Llewelyn the Great c am e

t o reside here for the hun tin g season ,with his prin ces

a n d children ; but while the fam ily were absen t on e

day,a wolf en tered the house , a n d attem pted t o kill a n

in fan t that wa s en j oyin g his sleep in the cradle . The

prin ce ’s faithful greyhoun d n am ed Geler t , in whose

care the child doubtless w a s en trusted , seized the rapa

c iou s an im a l , a n d , after a severe struggle , killed it .

In the struggle the cradle wa s overturn ed , a n d lay upon

the wolf a n d child . On the pr in ce ’s return , m issin g the

in fan t , a nd observin g the dog’s m outh stain ed with blood ,

he rashly j um ped t o the con clusion that Geler t had killed

the child, a n d , in a paroxysm of rage , drew his sword , a n d

bur ied it in the heart of the faithful an im al but how great

wa s his aston ishm en t , when ,on replacin g the cradle

,he

foun d the wolf dead a n d the child alive . He,however ,

caused the faithful Geler t to be hon ourably in terred , a n d ,as a m on um en t t o his m em ory , erected a church on this



BODFUAN.—Bod , a dwellin g ; B ri a n , a sain t of the

seven th cen tury , a n d a descen dan t of Llywa r ch Hen . .

He foun ded a church in this place .

BODFERIN .—This w a s the dwellin g—place of Mer in ,

a descen dan t of Sei then in , a n d a sain t of the sixth c en

tury .

BORTH - Y - GEST , or m ore correctly, Por th-

y—gest

por th, harbour, por t y, the , ; g est- cest , a deep g len

between two m oun ta i n s havin g but on e open ing . This

isolated village is situated n ear Moel - y-

g est .

BOTTWNOG .—A corrupt ion of Bodwynog , the dwel

lin g - place of Gwynog .

BRYNCROEs.—B ryn ,

a hill ; c roes, a cross .

BRYNKIR .—Som e thin k the place wa s n am ed in

hon our of a fam ily bearin g the n am e , who wer e desc en

dan ts of Owain Gwyn edd . Others thin k the n am e is a

con traction of Bryn c a e hi r , sign ifying a lon g field at the

foot of the hill . It is , perhaps , a com pound of b ryn ,

a hill , a n d c a rm, a stag .

CAB LLW YN GRYDD .

— Probably a corruption of c a e

llwyn y g a er rndd . Ca e, a field llwyn , a bush y, the

g a er rndd, red wa ll . The village is situated n ear a n old

for tress,which is n ow in ruin s , a n d supposed to have

been built of red ston es hen ce the n am e .

CAER RHUN .—Rha n , the son of Ma elgwyn Gwyn edd ,

a n d a prin ce of the six th cen tury , who took u p his abode

in the Rom an Conov i a m ; hen ce the n am e .

CAPEL CURIG .— C a pel , chapel ; Cn r ig , the n am e of

the son of Ilid or Ju lit t a , who flou r ished in the seven th

cen tury . The church wa s d edicated to Curig a nd his .

m other.

CARNARVONSHIRE . 123.

CARN Gw en —Ca m , a heap . On the summ it of a

hill close by, called Moel Ca rn Ciwch, there is a large

heap of loose ston es , supposed to have been raised toCiwch , a Bri tish sa in t of a n early period .

CLW TYBONT.—Clwt , a portion clwt 0 d i r , a piece

of lan d y, the b a n i - p a n t , bridge sign ifying a piece of

lan d n ear a bridge .

CLYNOG .—A corruption of Celynog , a place over

r u n with hollywood . It is situated in a sm all grove.

n ear the Shore , on a plain n ear the base of the hill .

COLWYN .—Som e derive the n am e from Colwyn , the

n am e of the chief shepherd of Bran ab Llyr Lledi a i th .

Others thin k it is a com poun d of c a n ,hollow , en closed ;

a n d llwyn , a grove , a bush , from the deep brooks a nd

en circlin g groves in the distri ct .

CONWAY.—The town of Conway wa s built on the

n orth side of the r iver by Ma elgwyn Gwyn edd , in 581,

a nd w a s called Caer Gyflin , whi ch sign ifies the border

fortress . Conwy is the presen t Welsh n am e , tak en from .

the n am e of the river, which sign ifies the chief water .

Som e philolog ists derive the n am e from c a in , fair, fine,beautiful ; a nd wy, water . Conwy a n d Ca inwy are

equa l ly applicable to this beautiful river. From gra y

or wy , water , m ost of the Welsh rivers derive their

n am es . For in stan ce , Llu gwy, clear water ; Elmy,

glidin g water ; a n d the above , Conwy, chief water , or

Ca i nwy , fair or“

fine water. The site of Conway Castle

wa s an cien tly called Ca n n och, from c a nn ,white , fair ,

clear, a nd oi ch, water .

CRICCIETH .—Penn an t Spells it Cri cka eth, The

Myv yr i a n Cra c i a i th, a n d others Cra g—c a eth. Som e


thin k it is a com poun d of c r u g , a heap , a hillock , a n d

d eth, sorrow,pain sign ifyin g a frightful or form idable

p rom on tory . Others say it is Cr a g—c a eth, the n arrow hill .

Perhaps it is a com pou n d of c r a ig a eth, sign ifyin g the awful

rock .

CROESOR.—A n arrow com b in Blaen au Na mm or .

Tradition says that Elen Lu eddog w a s on her j ourn ey

hom ewards when , on hearing the sad n ews of her son’

s

death,she sorrowfully exclaim ed , Croesa wr i m i

a n hour of adversity t o m e ,”a n d the place wa s called

Croesa wr or Croesor from that sorrowful circum stan ce .

CRYNANT .—Cry , a corruption of c r a i , a word im

plyin g a n arrow place ; c r a i’

r n odwydd, the eye of the

n eedle ; n a n t , a brook . The old in habitan ts spell it

Cra in a n t , a nd a bridge that span s Nan t -

y- Bettws is called

P on t - y- Gr a in a n t , because un der the br idge the brook is

very n arrow.

CWMEIGIAU .

—Cwm,valley ei g i a n , the plural form

of a ig , which sign ifies what br ings forth , anythin g that

is prolific . Mon th (mynydd , m oun tain ) Elgie , in Scotlan d , im plies a hill covered wi th luxur ian t grass . Eig ion

is from Latin ocea rm s. the ocean, a n d u ig is a m odern

back form ation from it . There are several lakes in thev alley, a n d the n atural in feren ce is that it wa s so calledfrom its bifurca ted aspect .

CWMYGLO .— Cwm , valley g lo, a corruption probably

of golen , golen n i , light ; sign ifyin g a va l ley rem arkable

for en j oying the sunn y beam s .

CYMYDMAEN.— Cymyd

- Cwnm 'd, a vicin ity ; nm en , a

ston e . On the san ds , Opposite Bardsey Islan d , there

is a ston e called M a en Melyn Lleyn ,from which the

vicin ity took its n am e .


126 PLACE - NAMES IN WALE S .

FOUR CROSSES . Near the village there are two

roads in tersecting each other hen ce the n am e .

GARNDOLBENMAEN .

— Ga r n ,a heap , a cairn ; dol ,

m oun tain m eadow ; pen ,top

,head ; m a en , ston e . In

the vicin ity there is a large m oun t , on which m ight

have been a watch - tower . About the begin n in g of the 19th

cen tury som e cairns a n d urn s were discovered here .

GARSW YLLr .— Probably a corruption of c orswyllt ,

which sign ifies a wild b og .

GLAN ADDA .—A corruption

,probably

,of Clyn

E iddw ; c lyn ,a place covered with br akes ei dam, ivy ,

GLANW YDDEN .-The village takes its n am e from

a farm of the n am e in the vicin ity . The n am e,probably

,

is a com poun d of g la n , brin k , side , shore , ban k ; a n d

gwydden ,a stan ding tree or gwydd

- din ,woody hill .

GROESLON .

—Groes- c roes, cr oss lon ,a n arrow road

sign ifyin g the cross road . Lon is from the English word

l a n e.

GW IBERNANT .

—This n am e is variously spelt,n am ely

,

Ewyb r Na n t , a fleet , swift br ook Gwyb er N a n t , a brook

of sweet water a n d Gwi b er Na n t, the viper

’s brook . The

l ast is the proper n am e .

GWYD IR .

—P r in1-a fa c ie on e m a y take it t o be a c ompoun d of g ra y, water , a nd i i r , lan d . Som e derive it from

gwydi r , glass , upon the supposition that the m an sion of

Gwydi r wa s the first house in Wales t o have glass win

d ows . Sir J ohn Wyn n m en tion s a date of 1512 on

a window at Dolwyddelen , which is long before the

buildin g of Gwydir . Cyn ddelw Brydydd Mawr , who

flourished about the year 12 50 , m used the followin g

l in eTrwy ffenest r i Gwyd ir yd ym gwela n t


t hat is , They see m e through the glass win dows . The

n am e probably is a corruption of gwa ed , blood , a n d ti r ,

la n d , sign ifyin g the bloody lan d . B loody battles were

fought here between Llywa r ch Hen a nd his foes about

the year 610 , a n d also between Gruffydd ab Cyn a n a n d

Tr a eha ea rn ab Ca r a dog , a n d others .

GYFFIN .—An in flection of cyfi

Pn , a con fin e , a lim it ,

a border . The Village is situated on the rivulet Gyfi‘in ,

a bout three - quar ters of a m ile from Conway , which wa s

an cien tly called Ca er Gyflin .

H1RAEL .—H i r , lon g a el , brow a el b ryn ,

the brow

of a hill . The n am e is quite descriptive of the situation

of the village .

HEBRON .

—The v illage took its n am e from the

Congregation al Chapel that wa s built in the place .

LLANAELHAIARN .—The church is dedicated t o

Aelha i a rn , a brother of Llwchh a ia rn , a n d a sain t of the

s ixth c en t u rv .

LLANDRILLo .—The church is ded icated to St . Trillo .

LLANDDYNIOL .—The church is dedicated t oDei n iolen ,

a descen dan t of Du n awd , the foun der of Ban gor Isc oed .

LLANLLECHID .

—The church is dedicated t o Llechi d,

daughter of Ithel Hael , a nd a s a in t of the sixth c en

t ury .

LLANEUGAN, or LLANEINON.—The church is dedi

c a t ed t o B in i on , a royal sain t of the sixth cen tury . The

followin g in scription wa s in the belfry of the church

som e tim e ago En ea nns Rex W a lli a Fa b r i c a v i t .”

LLANDEGW YNIN .—The fair church of Gwyn in , a

sa in t of the seven th cen tury , to whose m em ory it was

d edicated .


LLANGWNADLE .—The church is ded icated t o Gwyn odl ,

son of Sei thenyn , a nd a celebrated sain t of the sixth

c en t u r v .

LLANRHYCHWYN .—Accordin g to the Myv yr i a n ,

the church wa s dedicated t o Rhychwyn , son of Ithel

Hael .

LLANDWROG .—The chur ch is dedicated t o Twrog ,

son of Ithel Hael .

LLANFOR .—The church is dedicated t o Mor a b

Ceneu a b Coel , a sain t of the fifth cen tury .

LLANIESTYN .— The chur ch is dedicated t o Iestyn a b

Ger a i n t , the foun der of it . He flourished about the en d

of the Sixth cen tury .

LLANDUDWEN .— The church wa s dedicated to

Trzdwen , a Welsh sain t .

LLANDUDNO .—The church is dedicated t o Ta da o,

son of Sei thenyn , a n d a sa in t of the sixth cen tury . A

cur ious rocking ston e , called Cryd Tu dno, Tu dn o’

s

cradle , is seen on the Great Orm e ’s Head .

LLANBERIS .—The chu r ch w a s dedicated t o P er is, a

sa i n t of t l e sixth cen tury , a n d a cardin al m ission edfrom Rom e , took up his abode a n d died here .

LLANARMON .—The church is dedicated t o Ga rm on ,

or Germ an n s , a sain t a n d bishop of the fifth cen tury .

LLANGYSTENYN.—The church wa s probably dedi

c a t ed to Cystenyn Cern en , an d n ot t o Con stan tin e the

Great , as som e believe .

LLANFAELRYs.—The church wa s dedicated t o

M a elfrys, a descen dan t of Em yr Llyd aw, a nd a sain t

of the sixth cen tury.



St . Mary, an d the adj ective fecha n , sm all , little , wa s

added probably t o distinguish it from other a nd larger

churches dedicated t o the sam e sain t .

Le HEAEN.—Lli th im plies at traction m a en , ston e .

There is a ston e in the vicin ity that partakes of the

n ature of a loadston e , from which , probably , the place

d erives its nam e .

MB IN I HIRION.—Mei n i , plural of m a en , ston e ;

hi r ion , plural of hi r , long . Druidic m onum en ts , such

as c r om lechs a n d other large ston es , are still visible in

this vicin ity . The place took its n am e from the long

ston es that wer e seen above the Bwlch, which , accord

in g to tradition , wer e con veyed there by a gian t .

MOEL TRYFAN .—Moel , bare , bald ; i ry/

“a n , high

place , uplan d .

MYNYTHO .—A corrupted form of mynyddoedd,

m oun tain s . The n am e is quite descri ptive of the

place , which is situated on a rugged em in en ce .

NAZAREr H.—This village takes its n am e from

Nazareth , the Congregation al Chapel .

NANNAU .—Plural form of n an t

,a brook .

NANTFFRANCON.-Na n t , a brook fir a n con , a beaver

t he n am e sign ifies the beaver’s hollow.

NANr LLE .—A com poun d of n a n t , a brook , a n d llef,

a cry, a voice , so called from the tradition al belief thatsom e sorrowful cries were heard n ear the brook at som erem ote period .

NEFYN .—The church w a s probably dedicated to

Nefyn , daughter of Bryc ha n Brychein iog, a nd a sain t

of the fifth cen tury hen ce the n am e of the place.

CARNARVONSHIRE I 31

PoRTMADoc .—In 1813,

‘Mr . Maddock, Tan -

yr-All t

,

m ade a n emban km en t to save the site of the presen t

town from the in cursion s of the sea ; a n d in 182 1, he

obta i n ed a n Ac t of Parliam en t for open in g a port in the

p lace , so he is n atural ly called the foun der of the town ,

a n d hi s n am e wa s deservedly bestowed upon it .

PoNr NEW YnD.—P on t , bridge ; newydd, n ew ; so

"called from a certain bridge, that wa s built over the

r iver Gwyrfa i .

PwLLHELr.—Pwll, pool heli , salt water the sea

port is Situated on the edge of Cardigan B a y . The

Myv yri a n derives heli from H eli , the son of Gla nog .

PORrD1NORwrc .—Din , a hill fort ; TheRev . Isaac

Taylor derives it thus P or t Dyn Norwig , the Port of

t he Norway m en ,

” foun din g his reason s upon the pro

b a b ili ty that the Norm an s frequen tly visited that haven .

His derivat ion in our opin ion , is rather far - fetched

a n d m isleadin g . Din orwig proba bly m ean s fort of the

O rdovices .”

PENYGROEs.—So called after a n in sign ifican t cot

t age of the n am e , which stood n ear a crossway .

PENMAENMAW R.— P en , head ; m a en , ston e , rock ;

m a wr , great . The prefix pen is frequen tly found in the

n am es of m oun tain s , such as Ben Nevis , Appenn in es,Penn ign a n t La P enn e, Pen a rd , &c . Penm a enm a wr is a

hu ge m oun tain , 1545 feet perpen dicular from its ba se ,bein g the term in at in g poin t of the Sr .0wdon i a n rar g e

o f m oun tain s . The beauti ful wa t er ir g—place , which

shelters at its base,takes its n am e from it . Som e thin k

.t he ri ght wordin g is Penmonm awr . The ad j acen t jpromon

tory is n ow frequen tly called


PENMACHNo.—Ma chn o ,

a m utation of M a chn a wf ;m a ch- m a ch, ready , quick , swift ; n awf, swim . Moch

dysg n awf m a b hwy a d the young of the duck

soon learn t o swim . M a chn o is the n am e of the river

n ear which the villa ge is situated . Som e are of opin ion

that the n am e sign ifies the head of Ma chn o, a descen d

a n t of on e of the Irish prin ces that visited these shores

about the fourth cen tury . The comm on opin ion of the

inhabitan ts is that m a chn o is a corruption of myn a chlog ,

m on astery, foun din g their reason upon the supposition

that a m on astery stood here in tim e of yore .

PENr rR.—The n am e m ean s headlan d . Cen t ir e has .

the sam e sign ification . Pen in Gaelic is c en . The

place is also called Ll a n g edol , from the dedication of

its church to Cedol , a Welsh sain t .

PENRHYN .—Rhyn m ean s a prom on tory . Rhe, ru n

r ain , a nd rhyn , are derivatives of the San scr it r i . Rhedeg ,

run n ing rein deer, the runn in g deer rhe, swift . P en r

hya , a poin t of lan d that run s in to the sea . Rhin e , a rapidriver . The Rhyns are n um erous in our islan d . Rindow

Poin t n ear Wigton Pen rhyn in Cornwall Rhyn d inPerth the Rin s of Galloway , &c .

PEN ISA’

R Wa u n —The n am e sign ifies a placeSituated at the lower en d of the m eadow .

PENLLECH .—This n am e sign ifies the head of the

rock , from the situation of the place at the extrem ity

of som e rocks on the coast of St . George ’s Cha n n el

PORT PENRHYN .—The late Lord Pen rhyn m ade

t his a shippin g - place for the slates that were con veyedfr om his quarries in the Vale of Nan t Ffr a n c on hen cethe n am e .


134 PLACE NAMES IN WALES

RHOSTRYFAN .

— Rhos,”

a m oor ; tr y/fa n , high pla ce

The village is situated on a high elevated place .

SARN .

—The n am e gen er ally m ean s a road . Six

roads m eet at a cer tain poin t in the village ; hen ce

the n am e .

TREFOR .-A com pound of tref, place , town ,

a n d

fa wr,large

,great .

TY'

NLON . a house ; y n , in ; y ,the ; ion

Nor thw a li a n word for a n arrow road . The n am e Sig

n ifies a house in or n ear the road , a n d the village pro

bably derived it from a farm—house of the n am e .

TALSARN .— Ta l , end sa r n , road the n am e sign ifies

the en d of the Rom a n r oad . Sa m y Cyfia wrz, the high

wa y of the righteous . SGT } ? Helen occurs fr equen tly in

Welsh history . Helen w a s a Welsh prin cess , the d a u gh

ter of Eu dd a f, that is , Octavius , a Cam br ian pr in ce ,a n d the wife ofMa c sen W led ig , or Maxim us , the em peror .

S a r n Helen is a n old Rom an road , so c a lled b v the em perorin hon our of his wife .

TYDW AELIOG .—Som e are of opin ion tha t the church

wa s orig in ally ded icated t o Ty drc'a l , a Welsh sain t .

TREMADOG .

—The derivation of Por t rn a doc is alm ost

equally applicable t o this n am e . The on ly differ en ce

lies in the prefix . Tre m ean s a n abode, a town .

TALYCAFN .

— Ta l , fron t , en d y , the c a /n ,a tray or

t rough sign ifying the head or en d of the trou gh . Then am e faithfully represen ts this isolated a n d en circledspot of the parish .


TREFR1w.— Tref, a place , a town rhiw, a Slope , a

brow of a hill . This pretty little village is situ ated on

a sm all em in en ce , com m an ding a n exten sive View of

the beautifu l Vale of Llan rwst .

TY’

NDONEN.—The correct wording probably is

Tyddyn yr On nen , the ash ten em en t . This is one of the

m an y place n am es in Wales where tyddyn is reduced to tyn .

WAENFAWR ..

— W a en or W a u n , a m eadow, a c om

m on ; fa wr - m awr , great ; the great m eadow . The

site of the presen t stragglin g village w a s on ce a large

m eadow,coverin g on e square m ile , where the n eigh

b ou r in g farm ers were won t t o turn their cattle in the

summ er t o graze , a n d quen ch their thirst in the river

Gwyrfa i .

YNYS ENLLr.—From Ynys Fen lli , i .e., Ben lli Gawr ,

or Ben lli the Gian t .

The English call ed it Bardsey Islan d , the isle of

the bards . It is said that the bards resorted there,preferring solitude to the in trusion of foreign in vaders .

DENB IGHSHIRE .

An glicized form of Di n b ych, which is vari ously d e

rived . A variety of very forceful derivat ion s have been

suggested , such as Di rn b a ch, which m ea r s “

n o hook ,”

in allusion t o the tim e when fishing hooks were obtain

able in the place . Is it n ot Di n b a ch Din,a hill b a ch,

little or sm all . The last derivation is am ply supported

by the geographical position of the place , bein g a

sm all hill in com parison wit h the loftier em in en ces that

tower above it . The coun ty derives its n a m e from the

town .

ABERGELE .— This pleasan t m arket town is so called

from its situation n ear the m outh of the river Gele. The

river , according t o som e , derives its n am e from g ele,

leech . A con siderable n u m ber of leeches were seen at

t he estuary in olden tim es .

ACTYN .

— A corrupt form of a c—i zt n - oa kt OW‘

BANGOR ISCOED .

— The word B a n g or here m ean s the

superior or prin cipal c hurch or college . Iscoed , un der

the wood . This place is fam ous for bein g the site of the

m ost an cien t m on ast ery or rather sem in ary in Britain .

It w a s foun ded accordin g t o the old writers b y Lucius , the

son of Coel , a n d first Christia n kin g ofBrit ain ,prior t o the

year 180 . Pelagius wa s here about the year 400 . The

in stitution som etim e con tain ed m on ks . It w a s alsothe site of the supposed Bon in rn or B or i i n n

,a Rom a n

station .

BERSHAM . Bers is supposed t o be a n En gli sh person a ln am e . It occurs in the Cheshire Doom sday Book . The

n am e , probably , sign ifies Bers’

ha m , settlem en t , or m a n or .



CLOG CAENOG .— Clog , a detached rock ; c a enog ,

having a cover en closed . Ca en en ,a coverin g . There

are som e excellen t quarr ies of ston e in this m oun tain

ous district , a n d som e parts of it aboun d with heaths .

CERYG—Y—DRUDION .

—A corruption of Ceryg—y

Dewr ion , the ston es of the cham pion s or war riors , so

called from a large heap of ston es that stood a cen turyor two a g o , n ear the church in m em ory of som e celeb r a t ed warriors . Som e thin k dr ndion is a corruption

of dr u v a’i on ,or derwyddon ,

druids ; hen ce the in t erpre

t a t ion would be ston es of the Druids .

”

DERWEN .—The n am e m ean s a n oak , so ca lled ,

probably , from the abundan ce of oaks in the distri c t .

DOLW EN .—Dol , a m eadow ; wen , fem in in e form of

gwyn , white .

EGLWYS BACH .

— Eglwys, church ; B a ch, the n am e

of the son of Corwel , who took refuge in North Wales

in the seven th cen tury,devoted him self t o religious

life , a n d founded a church on the ban ks of the Conwy ;hen ce the n am e of the place .

ESGA IR EBRILL .—Esg a i r , a sh a n k ,

a long ridge,that

which stretches ou t ; Eb r i ll,April .

EFENECHTYD .—A corruption of y fynei chdv d , the

m on k ’s land rn yn a ch, m onk dyd , or d a d , lan d .

ESCLUSHAM.

—~Esg lyw,protection

,defen ce , a n d [m m

a place,but m uch m ore probably from Eg lwysz Ec c lesi a ,

a church . The place is in close proxim it y t o Offa’s

Dyke .

FRON .

—An inflection of b ron , a poin ted or breast

shaped hill .

DENB IGHSHIRE . 139

FFRWD.—The n am e m ean s a stream ,

a torren t .

Ffrwd yr a fon ,

” the stream of the river.

GLYNCEIRIOG .~ Glyn , a n arrow vale ; Cei r iog , the

n am e of the river that flows through the valley .

GARTHEN .—Fr0m g a erddi n ,

for tified hill , so called

from a n Old Br itish cam p in the place . In this place

Owain Gyfeiliog van quished the Saxon s in 1161.

GRESFORD . cor ruption of Groesfiordd, so called

from its close pr oxim ity t o a n old cross .

GWERSYLLT .—The n am e sign ifies a cam p or en cam p

m en t.

GWYTHERIN .—From Sa n -t Gwyther in ,

t o whom the

church wa s dedicated . He flourished about the end

of the sixth c en t u rv . Gwyth, vein er in , gold .

GEFAILRHYD.

— Gefa i l , sm ithy rhyd, ford .

HENLLAN .—Hen ,

old ; lla n ,church . A n am e of

frequen t occur ren ce in Wales . The Old church , dedi

c a t ed to St . Sa dwrn , wa s dem olished , a n d re buil t in

1806.

Hor n—The Norse for wood , or hold of Wild an im als .We find B erg

- ha lt in Essex, which m ean s the fortress

in the wood . According t o Lewis’s Topographical Di c

tion ary,

” the an cien t n am e was Castell Lleon , the castle

of the legion s ,"a n d the presen t n am e wa s probably der ived

from a fam ily of the n am e of Holt , who are said to have.

held the castle in r em ote tim es .

LLANRHAIADR - YN-Moc HNANr .—Rha i a dr , waterfall ;

yn , the ; rn ochn a n i , quick, swift - brook . Accordin g t o

this in terpretation ,the n am e sign ifies a church built

n ear the swi ft water . Others say that m a ch m ean s


swin e , a nd that the word n a n t is applied t o the whole

valley , inclusive of the brook that flows through it ,on the tradition al belief that the place w a s som e tim e

aboun ding with wild hogs . The latter is the m ore

plausible a nd acceptable . Dr . Wm . Mor g a n ,the first tran s

l ator of the Bible in to Welsh,wa s vicar of the place .

LLANELrAN.—From Eli a n Geim i a d , a sain t of the

sixth cen tury , t o whom the church w a s dedicated . Elian’

sW ell is n ear the villa ge .

LLANEGW ESTL .—Fr om n estl , t o whom the old

c hurch wa s dedicated . Ein ion Waun alludes t o him

i n the followin g couplet

Owr a wn a ir fel. Gw a i r fa b Gwest l

Gwyr wa wr yn lla w r Ll a n egwest l .

Les—Like Gwest yl’

s son , he l ies in g loom profo u nd

In V a lle Cr u c i s Abbe y'

s ho ly g rou n d .

LLANELrDAN.—The church is dedic ated t o St .

E li da n .

LLANGOLLEN .—From Collen , a sain t of the seven th

cen tury . A Welsh legen d recoun ts his m artial deedswhen he wa s in the Rom an arm y , a n d shows how he

becam e Abbot of Glaston bury , a n d spen t the latterend of his life in that delightful vale which st i ll bears

his n am e .

LLANFAIR DYFFRYN CLWYD .— Lla n fa i r , St . Mary

’sc hurch ; dyflryn , vale ; Clwyd , t he n am e of the pict u resqu e a nd fertile vale in which the church is situa

ted . Clwyd is probably a m utation of llwyd, ven er

able , adorable . a lwyd ,” the adorable God .

LLANRHAIADR DYFFRYN CLWYD .—Rha i a dr m ean s

c ataract , waterfall . Rha i a dr a , t o Spout out .“

n nn on

Ddyfrog ,”Dyv rog

’

s well , a short distan ce from the



—of Ca dwr , the prin ce of Cernyw (Cornwall) hen ce the

n am e Lla ng ernyw.

LLANRWST . The old church wa s built in 1170 , a n d

dedicated t o Crwsl , a descen dan t of Urien Rheg ed , a n d

a sain t of the seven th cen tury . Lord Herbert burn ed

t he church in 1468, a n d the presen t on e wa s built in

1470 . Penn an t says the church wa s dedicated t o St.

Rhyst id , or Rest i t u t u s, Archbishop of Lon don ,in 361.

LLANGADWALADR .

— The church is dedicated t o

Ca dwa la dr , the Blessed , who succeeded his father,Ca dwa lla wn ,

to the thron e of Britain in 634. He w as

the last of the Welsh prin ces who assum ed the title of

Kin g of Britain .

LLANGEDWYN .

— F1'0m Cedwyn , a descen dan t of~Gwrthefyr , the kin g , a n d a sain t of the sixth cen tury .

It is supposed he wa s buried in the church .

LLANSANT S i on — The church,probably

,is dedicated

t o St . George , hen ce the n am e . Kinm el Park is close by,

Where , accordin g t o tradition , Oliver Cromwell wa s c on

c ea led when Carter , his gen eral lived there . A very big

spur wa s seen in St . George ’s church,called Oliver

Cromwell ’s spur .

LLANSANTFFRAID GLYNDYFRDW Y .—The church w a s

dedicated t o St . Ffr a id . Glyn , glen ,a n arrow

,deep valley ;

Dyfrdwy, Dee . The Dee valley exten ds about seven m ilesin length , a n d lies in the par ishes of Llan gollen , Lla n dysi

l io , Corwen , a n d Llan san tffraid . In this parish w a s the

prison where Owen Glyn dwr confin ed his captives, a n d the

place wa s called Ca r cha rdy Owen Glyn dwr , Owen Glyn dwr’

s

prrson .

DENBIGHSHIRE . 143

LLANDEGLA .—The church wa s probably ded icated

'

t o Teg la , who, according t o tradition , wa s converted to

Christi a n ity by the Apostle Paul, a n d suffered m artyr.

"dom un der Nero at Icon ium . The celebrated Tegla’s

Well is about 2 00 yards from th e Church .

LLANDDULAIs.—From Da la is—da , black ; g la is, a

brook— the river on which the church is situated .

Here the un fortun ate Richard the Second wa s b e

frayed in to the han ds of his form idable rival to the

thron e . The c a n t rev is called Is-Dn la is.

LLANFERRES . —The church wa s probably dedi

c a t ed ,about the latter en d of the fourth cen tury, to

Berres, a disciple of St . Martin , the Hungarian . Dr .

John Davies , the em in en t an tiquarian , a nd the author

of the Welsh—Latin Diction ary , wa s a n ative of this

parish .

LLANGWM .—The n am e sign ifies a church in the

“vale or dingle .

LLANDDOGED.—The church wa s dedicated to B a ged

a descen dan t of Cu n edda , a n d a sain t of the sixth cen tury .

Bon edd y Sain t calls him Doged the Kin g .

LLANEFYDD .—Nefydd, a descen dan t of Brycha n ,

a n d a sain t of the fifth cen tury , founded the church.

LLANSANNAN .~—Sen a u , or Sen a n u s, wa s a sain t a nd

a n Ir ish bishop of the sixth cen tury , a nd it is in

ferred that he lived in Wa l es from the fact that this

church wa s dedicated to him .

LLANEArR- TALHAIARN .—The church is d edicated t o

St . Mary . Ta lha i a rn wa s a celebrated bard a n d sain t

of th e sixth cen tu ry . H e wa s also a chapla in t o Em rys


W led ig ; but after the latter wa s killed , he becam e a

herm it , a n d foun ded the church which bears hi s Nam e .

LLANARMON—YN- IAL .

—The church wa s dedicated t o

St . Garm on ,bishop of Auxerre . I a l , the n am e of the

c a n t rev ,m ean s a n Open space or region . Ti r i a l , open

lan d . Yale, Derbyshire , is derived from the sam e root .

I a l is the differen tia , added t o distinguish the place

from the other Llan arm on The ‘Topographical

Diction ary of Wales says that within a n iche in the

outer wall of the church is the figure of a bishop , six

feet four in ches in height , which is sai d t o be that of

St . Germ a n u s, B ishop of Auxerre , who ,with St . Lupus

,

ga i n ed over the P icts an d Saxon s at Ma esg a rm on ,n ear

Mold , in the year 42 0 , the celebrated victory called b yhistor ian s Victoria Allelu i a t ic a .

LLANARMON DYFFRYN CEIRIOG .

— The village is

situated on the river Cei r i og hen ce the differen tia .

The parish is supposed t o have been the burial - place

of St . Germ a n u s.

LLYSFAEN .

— The n am e sign ifies the ston e cour t or

palace .

LODGE — The village is situate on the Lodge Estate .

In 1844 there w a s on ly on e house in the place,which is

n ow so den sely populated .

MARCHW IAIL .

—M a r ch, perhaps , is the sam e as m a r c

,

a m ark , a n d wi a i l is the plural of gwia len , a r od . View

in g the geographical position of this place , bein g inclose proxim ity t o Wat

’

s Dyke , we are of Opin ion that

the lin e of dem arcation w a s m ade of rods or poles ;hen ce the origin of the n am e .

MINERA .

— The n am e of this place wa s Mwyn -

y


146 PLACE—NAMES rN WALES .

PeNr RE CELYN (CUHELYN) . -The village of Cu helyn .

PENr REEOELAs.—P en tre, village ; moel , a pile , a

con ic al hill ; la s-

g la s, blue . Man y Of our m oun tain s

a nd hills bear the n am e m oel , such as Moel Sia b od ,Y Foel (Cwm avon ) , Moelyfam a u , Moelwyn ,

Y Foel

Goch , a n d the Foel La s. Som e thin k the correct word in g

is Pen tre - foel—aes,the vill a ge of the B a l d Shield .

PONTLLOGELL .—P 0n l‘, bridge ; llogell , pocket , so

called , probably , from the pedestri an s b eir g obliged t o

put their han ds in to their pockets t o pay a cert a in fee

before crossin g the br idge .

PONKEY .—A corruption of Pon cyn ,

a sm all hillock,

or it m a y be a con traction of the plural pon c i a n .

PANTYGROEs.—P a n t , sm all d ir g le ; y , the ; c roes

g roes, cross . It is said that the form of a cross which wa son ce visible on a certain spot in the n eighbourhood ,wa s des t royed by Crom well

’

s soldiers,but from which

c ircum stan ce the place wa s called P a n tyg roes.

RHYDONEN.

—Rhyd , ford ; onen, the ash tree . One

writer thin ks it is a corru ption of Rhyd Hen , the old

ford ; but this is rather far—fetched . Hewers of woodin olden tim es m ight have conveyed the ash trees over

the ford , n ear which a bridge n ow stands .

RHOSHOBYN .—Rhos, m eadow hob yn ,

pig Yr Hob

w a s in ancien t tim es the popular word for swir e . Hob

v der i da n do, i .e.

— The boar of the wood safely lodged

under roof . Havir g captur ed the boar in the woods a ndbrought him safely t o the house

, the popu lar Welsh son gHob y deri d a n do wa s sun g with rapture a n d joy .

RHOSLLANERCHRUGOG .—Rhos, m eadow ; Ila n er ch,

g‘

lade ; c r ngog , aboun din g with tum ps.

DENB IGHSHIRE . 147

RHOSYMEDRE .—A com poun d of Rhos a nd yn , the , a

c orruption of rnhen -

pen ,a n d dre- tre, a dwelling place,

sign ifyin g a m eadow at the en d of the town . Som e say,

that medre is a m utation of mya rea , m easures or circles .The form er der ivation is supported by the geographical

position of the village .

ROSSET.—A corruption of rhosydd, the plural of rhos.

RUABON . An An glicized form of Rhiw P a b on .

Rhiw, slope , ascend ing path ; M a b on , the n am e of a

W elsh sain t who lived here , a n d foun ded a church about

the tim e of Llewelyn ab Iorwer th . Som e thin k the

place took its n am e from i ts physical aspect,bein g

situate on a rhiw, a slope , n ear a stream let called Aionhen ce Rhiwa fon . The form er is the m ore popular view.

RUTHIN .—This n am e is variously der ived . Som e

say that a wom an n am ed Ruth on ce kept a large innn ear the (then ) village , a n d

,when the place began t o

d evelop in to a town , the people began t o call it Ru thInn . Red is the prevailin g colour of the soil in the

district . The prin cipal par ts of the town are situated

on red san ds or ashes hen ce the n am e wa s taken from

the ruddy hue of the soil . Rha th—rha da , ruddy, crim son ,red ;

i n a n abbreviation of di n sign ifyin g a ru ddy town . The

t own wa s burn t by Owen Glyn dwr, Septem ber 2 0th, 1400 .

RHUFONIOG .— This place wa s given to Rhnfa wn ,

son of Cu nedd a W ledig , for the g a lla r t ry shown by

h im in drivin g the Picts from Nor th Wales hen ce the

THREAPWOOD . Som e thin k threa p, is derived

from Throp, the m eetin g of cross roads . Pen n an t

d erives it from Threapi a n ,a n An glo - Saxon word signi fy

in g to persist in a fact or argum en t , be it right or wron g .


TREFNANT .—A compoun d of tref, place , a town ,

a n d n a n t , brook.

TREEOR.—Tref, town ; for - fa wr , great ; in con tra

distin ction t o tre/a n ,a sm all ham let or city .

TRE ’R YNYS .—Ynys Cyrys, t o whom is gen er ally

dedicated the hon our of havin g been the first t o collect

the Welsh proverbs . The collection is called Ma d

waith hen Gyrys o Ial , the good work of old Cyrys of Ial , .

W IG FAWR , or W ICW ER.— W ig

-

gwig , a wood or

for est M a i r , St . Mary , sign ifying Mary’s wood . There

is also a well in the place dedicated to St . Mary .

WREXHAM .—Som eon e , m ore Wittily than correctly ,

said that Gwrecsa ni m ean s Gwr a i g Sa m , Sam’s w ife .

Su c h Shor t - l iv ed w it s d o W i t her a s t hey g row .

The m ost an cien t form s of the n am e are W r ighesha m

a n d W r ig htesham . Old form , W r ight es han i , i .e . ,

Wright ’s ham . Churchyard , the Elizabethan bard,

described it as trim W r icksa m town , a pearl in Den

b ig hshire.

” The n am e , we thin k , is a com poun d of

r ex, kin g , a n d ha m ,

sign ifyin g the kin g’s ham let . A few

Latin words were in troduced in to the Speech of the

Cym ry in the m iddle a ges . In the elegy of Meilyr on

Gruffydd ab Cyn a n (twelfth cen tury) we fin d the

epi thet r ex radau , king of gifts, or graces .

W YNSTAY .—It wa s on ce called W a t—sta y from its

Situation on the fam ou s dyke . The presen t n am e wa sgiven t o it by Sir J ohn Wyn n .

YSBYTTY IEAN.—This villa ge , situated on the ban ks

of the Conwy , took its n am e from a n ysb ytty, hospital ,that wa s foun ded here in 1189, by Ifan ab Rhys . Ti r '

Ifa n is an other place in the parish .


I SO PLACE - NAMES IN W ALES .

BETTESFIELD .

— The gen eral opin ion is that the

field belon ged t o a wom an called Betty . A field below

the Baily hill,called Ca e Owa in , Owe i

’

s field , is sup

posed t o be the place where Owen. a n d his m en en cam ped

when they storm ed the Baily castle . There are several

fields in this distr ict either su ffixed or prefixed by proper

n am es . The right word in g would be Bet tysfield .

BAGILLT .— This n a m e is a perversion of B u gei llt ,

which is a com poun d of b u ,a c ow , a n ox, a n d g ei llt , the

plural form of g u ilt , a cliff , a n ascen t .

BROUGHTON . In Doom sday Survey a nd other

old records,the n am e is spelt as B roc tu n e, a n d that in

m odern En g lish is B rook—town . The Broughton fam ily

took their n am e from this place in the reign of Hen ryVIII.

BRYNTEG .

— Fr0m a n old farm —house so c a lled . The

n am e sign ifies fair - hill . ’

BW LCHGW YN . The n am e sign ifies white gap or

pass . ’ The ear liest m en tion of the n am e is in a docum en t

dated 1649, wherein Bwlchgwyn is described as a Com m on .

It takes its n am e , pl ob a b ly , from the white lim eston e cliffs

which lin ed the old r oad from Wr exham to Ruthin .

CAERGWRLE .

— Ca 67 , fortress ; gwr—c zw

,boun dary ;

le- lle, a place , sign ifyin g the border for t i ess. An old

castle b ea i in g the n am e is situate about a m ile from the

village called Hope . I t is supposed t o have been a n ou t

post t o Deva . On the supposition that it wa s on ce aRom an station , som e thin k the full wordin g is Ca er -

g a rw

lleng , the cam p of the great legion Ca wr - llengwa s the n am e given by the Briton s t o the twen tiethlegion .

FLINTSHIRE . 151

CILOW EN.— Ci l , a hidden place . This n am e wa s

given in hon our of Owen. Gwyn edd, who cam ped there

in order to avoid the in trig ues of Hen ry I I .

CAERW Ys.

— Ca er , a fortress , a city , from Latinc a strensis ; mys

-

gwys, summ on s . Som e thin k that the

Rom an s had a station here, where they held their

j udicial courts . The bards,in tim e of yore , frequen tly

held their session s here . An eisteddfod wa s held here

by royal comm ission on the zu d of July, in the 1sth

year of Hen ry VIII. The last royal summ on s for

holding these n ation al festivals wa s issued in the n in th

year of the reign of Elizabeth .

CAERFALLW CH .—A corru ption probably of Ca er

,

stron ghold Afa lla ch, proper n am e . In the pedig ree of

Sir Owain Tudor we fin d the n am e of Afa llech a p

Afflech ,a p Beli Mawr .” This A/a llech is supposed t o

be a n ephew of the ren own ed Ca swa ll a wn . On a n

adj acen t hill c a l led Moel—y—gaer there a re som e rem a i n s

of a British stronghold , which is supposed to have been

un der the com m an d of Afa llech dur ing the Rom an in cur

srons.

CEFN .— The n am e sign ifies a r idge , which is qu ite

descriptive of the place , bein g situated on a high em i

n en c e on the left ban k of the river Alun .

COEDMYNYDD.—A com poun d of c oed , wood ; a n d

mynydd , m oun tain .

COEDPOETH .-The n am e sign ifies Burn t wood .

In Norden ’s Survey of A.D., 162 0 , it is described as a

Comm on .

” It wa s at on e tim e the resort of charcoal

burn ers , but it is doubtful whether that sufficien tly ex

plain s the n am e . The probability is t hat the Comm on


w a s som etim e covered wit h trees which were bur nt down .

Poeth- ofirwm m ean s burn t—offer ing .

COED TALON .

— Coed , wood , trees ta lon ,plural form

of ml,towering

,high

,tall .

COLESHILL .— Literally ,

hi ll of coal . The Welsh

n am e is Cwnsyllt , which m ears the an vil of a sm i th ,a n d the other En glish n a m e , En g lefield ,

m ean s the

field of the En glish , which w a s given t o it , perhaps ,because the Ear l of Chester, a n d his followers were

en cam pin g there when Owain Gwyn edd m arched t o

m eet him a n d im pede his prog re ss throu gh his t erritory .

CILCAIN .

—Ci l , a place of retr eat c amz fa ir , beau

tiful . B a rg a i n w a s the n am e of St . Asaph ’s n iece .

Pen dir g the religiou s persecution that r a g c d at the

tim e , Eu rg a in r epaired t o a sequestered spot in this

vicin ity , built a cell there , a n d beca m e a relig iou s dev o

tee . Shor tly afterwards , she built a church n ear the

cell,which w a s ded icated to her m em ory .

COEDLLAI .

— Coed , wood ; lla z’

, less . It is gen eral lyc alled in En g lish Leeswood

,t a kir g lla i t o m ean less ;

but the proper English n am e is Lesswood . Owing t o

the abun dan ce of wood in the district , Edward , befor e

his con quest of Wales , wa s oblig ed t o cut a passage

throu gh them hen ce ther e were less tr ees than befor e .

DOLFFIN .

—A c om pound of dol , a dale , a m eadow ;

a n d fin,boun dary , lim it .

DYSER’

I‘

H .

— Dysei’th or disen‘h from latin deserms,

a . deser t . The villa ge probably takes its n a m e from

the an cien t castle which occupied the su m m it of the

rock . In tim e of yore,it wa s kn own by the n am es

of Din c olyn , Castell - y - Ffa idon , a n d Ca stell Ceri , a n d



m ere, cognate with the Latin m a re, sea , lake , or pool . The

village is situated n ear a lake, which lies between i ts

ban ks in the form of a m an ’s han d . The celebrated bard

Dafydd ab Edm u n t wa s born in this par ish .

HAWARDEN .—A corruption of Ha ordz

’

ne, which is

really a Welsh n am e ha w,fixed a r , upon. den - din ,

hill ; sign ifyin g a castle built on a hill . In Doom s

day i t is H a rodi rz. The B rut calls it Penka rddlech.

P a n a rd or P en a r th H a la wg is the Welsh n a m e , which

m ean s the headlan d above the lake . G a r th, hill , is

forcibly expressed in the word llu a r th, a n en tren chm en t

on the hill . H a la wg com es from ha l , salt m arsh , referr

in g to the Saltn ey a n d other m arshes , which were for

m erly covered by the sea . The m odern Welsh n a m e is

P em za r La g . P a n a rd, high en closure . Leg , lake . This

place is world - ren own ed for having been. the residen ce

of the late Right Hon . W . E . Gladstone , M.P .

HALK IN .—A corruption of the Welsh n am e H elygen ,

which m ean s a willow,a w illow tree . At the tim e of

the Norm an Conquest , the district wa s called Alchene,a con traction , probably , of Helygen . The village lies.

at the base of a m oun tain called Helygen .

HOLYWELL .—A free tran slation of Treflyrm on , so

called from St . Win ifred ’s Well, of legen dary r en own .

The origin al m ean in g of holy is healin g . The water of

this well wa s believed to be efficacious in the

cure of all corporeal infirm i t ies. It discharges 2 1 ton s

of water in a m inute . It is covered by a beautifulGothic building , supposed t o have been erected byMargaret , Coun tess ofRichm on d , m other of Hen ry VI .

HOPE —The old n am e w a s Caergwrle , previously

FLINTSHIRE . 155

explain ed . Edward I . took possession of Castle EstynJun e 1282 , a nd bestowed it upon Queen Elean or whenon her j ourn ey to Ca m a r v on ,

where she gave birth t oEdward I I . , the first En glishm an t hat wa s titled Prin ce

of Wales , from which circu m sta n ce the place wa s called

Queen’

s Hope , a n d som etim es East Hope to distinguish

it from North Hope .

LICSWM.—A com poun d of llu g , from Greek , lyckos,

a n d Latin lu x, a light , a gleam ; a n d cwm , a din gle , a

vale , sign ifyin g a lum in ous vale .

LLANASA .—Asa is a n abbreviation of Asa ph, a

popular sain t of the sixth cen tury , who succeeded St .

Cyndeyrn in the see of Llan elwy in 560 . The church ,a n d hen ce the villa ge , were n a m ed in hon our of him .

P a n ta saph took its n a m e from him .

LLANGYNFARCH .

—Cynfa r ch, a prin ce of the North

Briton s , a n d a sain t of the sixth cen tury , foun ded the

church , which wa s afterwards destroyed by the Saxon s

in the battle of B a n gor Orchard , 607.

LLANCILCEN.— Cz

'

l,a hi dden place ; Gen - Ga in , a n

abbreviation of Burgain ,n iece to St . Asaph . She

wa s the foun der of the Church . Vide Ci lc a in .

LANERc rr - Y - MOR.— Lla n er ch, a glade y , the m or ,

sea . This town ,as its n am e sign ifies, is situate n ear

the sea .

LLOc .— The word m ean s a m oun d , a d am , a fold .

Lloc rka g y Lli/ez'

r i a n t , a d a m again st the flood . Llochz’

,

to protect . Lla chas, a cover t , a refuge . Lock - gates

are employed on rivers a n d can als for penn ing back


the water a n d form ing locks . The word here probably

im plies a sheepfold .

LLONG .—Llong , a ship . The village derives its

n am e from a sm all inn which had the figure of a ship

i n full sail on i ts sign - board .

MELIDEN .—This place is supposed to derive its

n am e from the dedication of the church t o St . Meliden

o r Melid .

MANCOT .—A com poun d of m a n , a place , a spot ;

a nd c oed , wood .

MOSTYN.-A corruption

,probably , of m a es—ddz

’

n ,

which sign ifies the fortress field . Thom as a p Richard

a p Hywel a p Ithel c han,at the suggestion of Rowlan d

Lee, B ishop of Lichfield , w a s the first t o adopt the placen am e , as a person al n am e .

MOLD .

— Gwyddg ru g is the Welsh n am e,which

mean s the con spicuous m oun t or hill ,”

so called

from the great heap (n ow kn own by the n am e B ryn

Bei li , Bailey hill , from the word b a lli u m ,castle—yard) ,

which is n ear the pr in cipal road . The prevalen t opin ion

is , that this heap wa s on ce a tower of defen ce , which stood

so con spicuously in the Vale of Alun , that it w a s calledY Wyddg r u g . The Norm an s partially tran slated it Mon t

H a m, or Mou lhm tlz‘, the high m oun t , a nd som e think it

m a y be a corruption ofm oel iad , bald pate . Then am e is

obviously on e of the few m em or ials left us of the N orm a n

Conquest .

MAESGARMON .—Nam ed in hon our of St . Gan n on ,

who , with Bishop Lupus , led the Briton s again st , a nd

obtain ed a glorious victory over the Pagan Saxon s

a n d Picts . This took place in Easter week , 440 , a nd



PENTRE HOBYN .— P en tre, a village ; hob yn , a pig .

H a n erhob , a fli t ch or'

side of a hog . This place in an cien t

t im es w a s fam ous for its abun dan ce of wild boars . Vide

Rhos- hob yn ,Den bigh .

PENYGELLr .

—P en , head , en d ; i f, the g elli , grove .

PENYMYNYDD.

— The n am e sign ifies a place situated

o n a m oun tain .

P0NTBLE1DDYN.

—P on t , a bridge b lez’

ddyn , a wolf’s

PRESTATYN .

— A corruption of P rysgoed- dd in . In

an cien t tim es there wa s a castle here called P rysgoed

ddz’

n , eviden tly built by the Kym ry , a few ruin s of

which still rem ain . P rys, a covert ; coed , wood ; d i n ,

fortress ; the n am e sign ifies a place of resort . Som e

say i t is a corruption of P r v s Tyda in , Tyd a i n’

s place of

resort . P rys form a part of m any n am es,Prysa ddfed ,

Pryseddfod ,Pryst a lyn , &c .

RHUDDLAN .- This n am e is variously derived . Som e

derive it from Robert de Rothel a n,a m ilitary chief

,

who visited the place . Others derive it from rhu a’

d ,

red ; a n d gla n , ban k , from the town bein g situated on

the red ban ks of the river Clwyd . The castle wa s an cien t ly

called Ca stell Coch yn Ngwernfor , i .e. , the red castle

on the great plain . The m ost n atural explan ation is

Rhyd—y—lla n , the ford by the church . The n am e is written

even n ow by the oldest inhabitan ts Rhydla n . There

a re three fords in the district ; Rhyd-

y- dda u —ddzevfr , the

ford of the two waters , which is fordable t o this day ;For—ryd , the ford by the sea ; a n d Rhyd

—y

- lla n , theford b y the church . To the n orth of this ford

, on a n

em in en ce,there is a church dating back m any c en

FLINTSHIRE . 159

t u r ies a n d the ford is spann ed by a bridge whi ch dates

back to 1595 . Ere the buildin g of this bridge,the

c hurch -

g oers , un doubtedly, were won t to cross the

r iver by m ean s of this ford , hen ce it wa s called Rhyd-

y

l la n . It is spelt by som e Rhyddla n , perhaps from i ts

havin g been m ade a free borough by Edward I.,whose

son wa s proclaim ed her e the Prin ce of Wales,the first

English Pr in ce of Wales , 1283. In 1288, Edward I .held a parliam en t or a coun cil here t o divide his n ew c on

quests in to coun ties a n d to g ive laws t o the Welsh . Mor/a

Rhu ddla n is the celebrated m arsh wher e that m em orable

battle was fought in 795 between the Saxon s under Offa a nd

a n d the Welsh un der the vali an t Ca r a dog , when the last fell

in the con flict . Ma n y n am es in the vi cin ity poin t t o the

sa d catastrophe , such as B ryn y sa etha u , hill of arrows

B ryn y lla ddfa ,hill of slaughter P a n t y gwa e, the vale of

woe Ca e yr orsedd , field of the thron e or tribun al .

RHYL .-This beautiful water in g - place is situated

at the extrem ity of Saltn ey m ar sh , which is called in

Welsh Morfa yr H a l , or Yr Ha leg . We find the n am es

Pen a r leg n ear Chester, a n d P l a s-

yr- ha l n ear Ruthin

, a nd

a n old m an sion in the vi cin ity is called Ty’

n y—Rhyl ,

which m ean s a house in the s alt m arsh . An other

suggesti on is that the form Yr hel from hela , the hun t

in g g rou r d of Rhuddlan Castle , gave rise t o the n am e .

SALTNEY .—An abbreviation of Sa lt en ey , which is a

t ran slat ion of the Welsh ha lenog , aboun din g with salt .

The site of the presen t villa ge wa s n othing better than

a m arsh un til t he year 1778.

SEALAND .—Soon after the in corporation of The

River Dee Com pan y ,”in 1740 , six hu r dr c d acres of


the waste m arsh lan d of this district were purchased

from the lord a n d freeholders of the m an or of Hawarden ,

through which a n ew cha n n el w a s cut for the Dee, a nd

soon afterwards som e thou san ds of acres of the san ds

were redeem ed , which are n ow covered with good crops

of corn , &c . hen ce the n am e Sealand .

TRALLON .—A com poun d of tr a - llwng , beyon d the

m arsh , adj oin in g the m arsh , a sin kin g place , a quagm ire .

TRELAN .—A com poun d of tr ef, a place , a n d lla n , a

church . The parish church is in Trela n .

TREMEIRCHION .- Tref, place ; m ei r chion ,

a plural

form of m a r ch a word den otin g a lin e of dem arcation,

m ade of rods or poles . Com pare Ma r chwi a il , Den bigh

shire .

TREUDDYN .—The n am e is variously spelt . Treztddyn

Tryddyn , a n d Treddwz. The latter is the m ost acceptableTr e, a dwellin g dyn , a m a n .

TALAR .—The n am e m ean s a headlan d in a field

Ta l , head or end a r , lan d , ploughed lan d .

TRE ’R ABBOT .—The abbot ’s habitation .

W EPRE .—A corrupt ion of Gwyb re, its a n cien t n am e .

Gwy , water b re—b ryn , a hill . The place is situated on

the river Dee .

YSCE IFIOG .—A corruption of Ysc a wog , aboun d in g

with ysg a w, the elder wood . The correct n am e of the

par ish is Lla n fa i r Ysc eifiog , so called,i t is supposed

,

from its abundan ce of elder wood .



ABERCW MBOY .

— Som e sa y that BOY is a corrupted

form of bwc i , bugbear , hobgoblin ,from a tradition that

a hobgoblin on ce haun ted the place . c i wa s in course

o f tim e reduced t o 60 ,a n d ultim ately y wa s added . We

rather thin k the right wording is ABER - CW MBW AAU .

Bwa is the Welsh for b ow .

The place is also called CAP COCH ,red cap . There

wa s a public house here as early as 1650 ,a n d tradition

has it that the eccen tric lan dlord who wa s also a cock

figh t er , wa s won t to wear a red cap on a cock—fight in g day ,

hen ce the n am e .

ABERCYNON .

—~CYNON m ean s t he chief brook or

water .

ABERDAR .

—Som e think that the river Dar takes its

n am e from the abun dan ce of oa k trees (coed da r n en derw)that grew upon its banks . Others derive it from DU - AR

a u ,black ; a r

,arable groun d . The right wording pro

bably is DYAR ,which sign ifies soun d

,n oise

,or d in

,

so called perhaps from i t s n oisy waterfalls in the upper

part of the valley . In ABERDYAR we have the n am e in

i ts pristin e form .

ABERDULA IS .

— From its situation at the j u n ct ion of

the rivers Nedd a n d Du la is Da,black

,a n d d a is a brook ,

r iver . A little distan ce from the v illage the ruin of on e of

the m ost an c ien t t inworks in the coun ty still rem ain s .

It is called YNYSYGERW YN . Ynys an c ien tly sign ified a

quasi—islan d in the m arshes . Bon edd y S a i n t says that

Gerwyn ,son of Brycha n ,

wa s killed in YNYSGERW YN .

ABERDDAW EN.

~ DDAW EN sign ifies the Silen t riv er .

ABERFAN .

-B a n, high a lb a n

,the upper part . The

t r ook FAN discharges itself here in to the river Taff . The

GLAMORGANSHIRE . 163

v illage is also called YNYS OWEN, Owen

’s islan d,from a

farm of that n am e .

ABERGWYNFI .— From a farm so called which issituated at the m ou th of the brook GW YNFY . Gwynfa i ,blessed plain .

ABERNANT .

— The full n am e is ABERNANT—Y - W ENALLTI

n a n t, brook y ,

the wen,fem in in e of gwyn ,

white a llt :

g a lll , a woody Slope or em in en ce . Na n t originally m ean t

a very n arrow deep ravin e or valley,but it n ow refers

in South Welsh on ly t o the stream that flows through it .

ABERTRIDWR .

— Tr i—dwr,three waters

,so called from

t he Situation of the place at the jun ction of three brooks .

S ion Cen t , the fam ous bard a n d classical divin e wa s

born here about the year 1350 .

—I IN . corrupt ion ,probably

,of ABERTHIN ,

which sign ifies a place of sacrifices . It is supposed that

Druidical sacrifices were offered here .

ALLTWEN . Alll,a cliff g a lll o goed ,

a woody slope or

em in en ce wen ,fem in in e of gwy n ,

white .

BAGLAN .

— An abbreviat ion of Llan faglan . The

church wa s dedicated t o Baglan ,a Welsh sain t of the 6th

c en tury , a n d son of Ding a d ,the son of Nudd Hael .

BARGOD.

- The full n am e is PONT—ABER—BARGOD,

Sign ifying the bridge n ear where the river Ba rg od flows

in to the river Rhym n ey . Originally the river—n am e m ean s

a boun dary or m arch . BARGODION m ean s the m arches of

Wales . Com p . the Latin rn a rgo,

‘m argin .

’

BARRY . Thc islan d belonged t o the fam ily of

G ir a ldu s de Barry ,who were lords of the islan d , a n d gave

their n am e t o it . A person of that n am e wa s on e of the


in quisitors in the survey of the Lordship of G lam organ

in 1262 .

BEDLINOG .—Som e think it is a corruption either of

BEDD LLW YNOG,fox’s grave

,or BOD- LLW YNOG , fox

’

s

house . There is a farm adj oin ing called BLAENLLW YNOG .

We rather thin k the right wordin g is Bedw,birch trees

a n d llwynog having a gr ove . The old house,from which

the village is n am ed ,is alm ost surroun ded by birch

trees .

The village is also called CWMFELIN ,from a n old

m ill in the place .

BERTHLW YD.

— From a farm so n am ed . Ber th:

perfli , bush llwyd , ven erable , blessed the n am e Sign ify

in g the sacred bush . W e are told that the Baptists werewon t t o preach the Gospel a n d adm in ister the Lord’

s

Supper in this house as early as 1610 .

B ISHOPSTON.

— The W elsh n am e is LLANDEILO FERW ALLT . The church is dedicated t o B ishop Teilo . BER

WALLT is a com poun d of b erzc', the water - cress, a n d g a lll ,

a wooded dec l iv ity . In the Liber La n d a v en sis it isspelt La n b eru g a ll .

BLa c n rri LL .—This is a sem i—tran slation of the W elsh

n am e MELIN IFAN DDU . Mel i n, m ill ; Ifa n ,

Evan ,the

own er of the m ill , who lived in a farm called DoL IFANDDU hen ce the n am e

BLACK P ILL —P ILL is a corruption of the W elsh pl] ,a creek , a sm all islet of the sea . The ham let probablytook its nam e from the blacken ed stum ps of a subm erged

forest which are t o be seen all along the Shore .

BLAENGWRACH .

— The place lies n ear the source

(blaen ) of the rivulet GW RACH ,cwr

,extrem ity , a n d a c /z

,



m ost popular form is LLANSAWEL , from the c hurch being

dedica ted t o Sa wy l Ben u chel . In an c ien t MS S. the

place is called Berton Ferry , a n d Br i t t on e Ferry . Som e

say that Morg a n ab Ca r a dog ab Iestyn erected a

wooden tower on the river - side t o st op the Norm ans

from crossing the Ferry on their wa y from Ab erogwr t o

Cydweli .

BRITHDIR.

—This word m ean s lan d or soil of m edium

quality . Briton is derived b y som e from b r i l/i , spotted ,

or parti - coloured.

BROUGHTON .

-From a n old form of brook . The root

is Ba rrow. a sepu lchral m oun d form ed of earth or ston es .

Several tum uli or barrows were foun d on each Side of

the road from Llan twit Maj or t o Ewen ny , hen ce the n am e .

BRYNCETHIN .—Som e say i t is so c alled a fter a m a n

nam ed Gethin,but we offer the following derivation ,

b ryn , a hill celln'

n . dark ,terrible .

BRYNCOCH . From a farm so called . B ryn , a hill ;cock, red , is frequen tly applied t o a su n - parched field or

hill .

BRYNNA .-A villa ge perched on the hills n ear

Pen coed,hen ce B rwm a —b r v n ia u ,

hills .

BRYNSADLER.

—\n old thatched house on the Site

of the presen t Calvin istic Methodist chapel wa s calledTY’R SADLER , the sadler

'

s house . In the deeds of theabove chapel TY

’

R SADLER is the description given of the

Site whereon the edifice is built . Tradition has it that a

saddler occupied the house about 2 00 years a g o . The

saddler’

s house,in course of tim e , developed in to BRYN

SADLER,the sadler

’

s hill .


BRYNTROEDGAM. Som e think the right wording isBRYNTROEDYGARN

, but we rather take it w ith its troed

g a rn , crooked foot , the word sign ifying a place at the

crooked foot of a h ill , which is in full corresponden cew ith the physical aspect of the place .

BUTETOW N .

~ The village takes its nam e in honour

of the father of the late Marquis of Bute .

CABALFA.

—~Som e spell it Ca e- b a l/a ,ferry or ford

fields . There are several fords a n d ferries over the river

both in upper a n d lower Ca b a lfa . Som e think it is a c or

rupt form of cen—b a wlfa , a scooped ou t trun k of a tree,

the old Kim m r ic nam e for a can oe . I t is probably a c or

rupt form of CEUBALFA ,wh ich sign ifies a ferrying - place .

The village w ith all its lan ds a nd comm on age wa s given

by Gwyddg en ,son of Brochwa el , to B ishop Ou doc eu s,

in exchange for the heaven ly kingdom . (Liber La n

d a v en sis, p .

CADLE .— Ccld ,

battle,a field of battle c lip AR m es,

a pitched battle le- lle,place Sign ifying a place ofbattle .

Ca d is derived from the San scrit K a d, tohurt or kill .

CADOXTON .

—The church wa s dedicated to Ca twg ,

San t,a p Gwyn lliw a p G lywys a p Teg id a p Cadell Deyrn

llwg ,hen ce the Welsh n am e LLANGATTWG . The Sain t wa s

called Ca twg the wise ,from his superior wisdom in a ll

coun cils .

CAERAU .-CAER is a n en chorial nam e for a wall or

m oun d for defen ce , such as the wall of a city or castle . The

root is c a n,t o shut up ,

t o fen ce , t o en close with a hedge .

Ca e is a field en closed with hedges . CAERAU is the

plural of c a er . This place derives its n am e from a n old

Rom an fortress or en ca m pm en t , called TIBIA AMNE .

”

168 PLACE—NAMES rN WALES .

CAERPHIL1. —Opin ion s differ as t o the origin of the

postfix PHILI or FFILI. The origin al n am e of the place wa s

Senghenydd (Sain t Cenydd ) who foun ded a sem inary here .

W hen the sain t m oved t o Gower he left the sem in ary

un der the care of his son Ffili,who built a c a er , fortress

or defen sive wall roun d i t,hen ce it wa s called CAER

FFILI, according t o som e , but we rather think the right

wording is Caer Philip . The castle wa s in the possession

of Philip de Br a ose,in the 12 th cen tury . Ha ving

en larged it,his nam e w a s probably con ferred upon it .

CARDIFF.~ Ma ny form s of the n am e have been fou n d .

The first wa s probably CAIRTI . In 1126 it wa s spelt

Kardi,but later on the form w a s Ka erd iv ,

when it beg an

to be m odified in two direction s , on e towards Ka erdeethe ,

a n d the other towards Ka erdeef. The form er is the Welsh

m odification ,a n d the latter the English m odifica tion ,

hen ce CAERDYDD a n d Cardiff . In a gran t by King

John in 1205 it is spelt Ka erd if. In MSS. that range

from the thirteen th t o the sixteen th cen turies the form

is Kaer Dyf. Iolo Morganwg gives Caer Dyf a n d the

m a b i nog ion Kaer diff . The DD in CAERDYDD m a y be

accoun ted for by the com m on colloquial change of F t o

DD,as g ODDer b yn for gyFer b yn . The correct wording,

probably,is Ca erda f, a fortress on the Taff .

CAERSALEM NEW YDD .— A straggling village between

Swan sea a n d Lla ng yfela ch . It wa s kn own by the nam e

TIRDEUNAW un til the Baptists erected a splendid chapel

in the place a nd called i t CAERSALEM NEWYDD,which is

by in terpretation ,New J erusalem .

CASLLW CHW R. The fu ll nam e is CAe LL LLWCHWR,

the castle of Loughor . The castle wa s built on a hillock

above the estuary of the river Llwchwr , hen ce the nam e .



a place t o retreat t o,a creek

,a n ook . In early tim es

churches were built in sequestered places , but in Scotlan da n d Irelan d ki l

,sign ifying a church ,

is n ot the sam e word .

Mynydd , m oun tain the n am e sign ifies a m oun tain recess.

CILYPEBYLL .— Ci l , a sequestered place y ,

the

peb yll , ten ts the nam e sign ifies the retreat of the ten ts .

It wa s custom ary in olden tim es t o repair to tem porary

abodes in sequestered a n d quiet plac es in the sum m er .

The an cien t seat of the Herberts wa s situate in a sequest ered glen in this parish

,where they retired in the summ er ,

in order t o indulge in the rural en joym en t of the district .

C1LFFRIW .—Ci l , a place of retreat fir iw,

m ien,coun

t en a n c e,visage . The n am e is applied t o hill tops

a n d em in en ces .

CIMLA.—A corruption probably of c eim le

,a portion

of lan d n ot own ed by anybody ,but used occasion ally by

everybody .

CLW YDYFAGW YR.—Clt t 'wl , a hurdle , a wattled gate

y , the fa gwyr z m a gwy r ,a structure

,a wall

, a n en closure .MAGW YR is frequen tly u sed t o sign ify the rem ain s of a

dem olished or decayed building,fortress

, &c . In thed istrict of Gwen t it m ean s a house , a dwelling .

CLYDAGH .—A few villages a n d rivers in the coun ty

bear the n am e . Som e derive the n a m e from c l u do,t o

carry . Others trace it to the Gaelic c lz'

llz,strong . W e have

the CLYDE in Scotlan d ,the GLYDE in Irelan d , a nd the

CLWYD in Wales . We offer the following derivationc lyd , Sheltering ,

warm , com fortable . Lle c lyd ,a cosy

,

com fortable place . Ad z,a river ; the nam e Sig n ifying

a river flowing through a sheltering place .

GLAMORGANSHIRE . I 7I

COEDFFRANC.—The n am e sign ifies the Norm an

’

s.

wood . The parish takes its n am e from a farm so nam ed .

CLYNE .-A corrupt form of c l im ,

a m eadow or field,or it m a y be a corruption of c lyn ,

a place covered withbrakes .

COGAN .—A corruption ofGzog a n ,

the nam e of a Welsh

person age , according t o som e . We rather think the

place takes its nam e from Cog a n , one of the leading

Norm an settlers, who held lan ds at Hun tspill . Sir

Milo de Cogan wa s one of the con querors a n d settlers

in the South of Irelan d , a n d the sam e fam ily probably

gave their n am e to this place .

CORLANAU .—A sm all village between Aberavon a n d

Cwm avon . The nam e is the plural form of corla n ,

a sheepfold . The place is conven ien tly situated for folding

the flock .

CORNELLY .—A m an or n ear Cenffig ,

which gave or

received its n am e t o or from som e early Norm an settlers.

Thom as de Corn eli gave t en acres of arable lan d in his fee

of Corn elly t o Neath before the 9 John . (Arch . Cam b .

X IV .

CORNTW N.—Corn town ,

a down or hilly tract of lan d

where corn wa S'

g rown .

CORSE INION.— Cors, a hog ; Bi n ion , the nam e of a

descen dan t ofHowel the Good . He led a n arm y twice t o

Gower , a n d probably en cam ped here before he reached

his destin ation . Port Eyn on also preserves his n am e .

E i n ion m ean s our leader ."

COYCHURCH .—The prefix is a con traction of coed ,

wood,.

the n am e sign ifying the church in the wood . Pen coed


a nd Coet ty are n ot far distan t . The Welsh n am e is LLAN

GRALLO . Lla n,church Cr a llo

,the n am e of the founder

a nd patron sain t of the church , a n d a n ephew to Illtyd .

MYNYDD Y GAER,the fortress on the m oun tain , is in this

parish ,where the rem ain s of a n old Rom an cam p are sup

posed t o be seen .

COETTY .— Coed ,

wood Iy ,house sign ifying a wood

house , or a house in the wood ,Bod

,wa s the residen ce of a

superior , but ( V is of a later date , Sig nifying a n ordin ary

house , a cottage . The two d ’

S as in COED - DY,are gen er

ally harden ed ih pronun ciation in to 1. Diot ly com es from

diori (17

V

CRAIGCEFNPARC — Cr a ig ,a high rock

,or crag cefn ,

ridge,back pa re ,

a field,a n en closure . Cr a ig takes the

form of carraig,c arrick

,carrig

,crick

, &c . P a re is equi

valen t t o m e,a piece of lan d en closed w ith hedges , a nd is

used in that sen se in the south—west coun ties . Com pare

the English park which has a m ore exten sive m ean ing .

CROSSVANE .

—CR0ESFAEN is the correct wording ,which sign ifies the c ross ston e . In the tim e ofHowel the

Good , ston e crosses were used chiefly to m ark lan d pro

perty, a nd som etim es they were set up to caution pedes

t r ia n s n ot t o cross the fields. Those with the nam es of

British sain ts i nscribed upon them were placed on the road

side to comm em orate the blessed fact that the glad t idings

h a d been preached there .

CRW YS.—A corrupt form of CROES , a cross . When a

corpse is lying in its Shroud,i t is said t o be da n a i g rwys,

’

‘un der the cross,

’ from the Popish custom of putting a

cross on the bosom of the dead . We find the word in

BW LCHYCRW YS,PANTYCRW YS ,

&c .



CW MG IEDD.

— GIEDD is the nam e of the rivulet that

run s through the vale . Som e have derived it from Gwy

ei dden ,n oisy water , in con tradistin ction from its n eighbour

LLYFNELL , the sm ooth or silen t water . Gn '

v—ydd

l iterally m ean s waterer or aquat ic . Gzov a ch , gwyl a n ,

gwyclcl , la r v a e] , are all aquatic birds .

Cw .\IGW RACH .

— Czom,a narrow vale gwr a ch ,

a fairy

o r w itch .

CW MLLYNFELL — LLYFNELL is the right wording ,

which m ean s the sm ooth or silen t river .

CW M OGW Y .

—The valley ofthe n y river . 0g , a pt

t o m ove , a n d g rey , water .

CW MRHYDYCE IRw .

- Rhyd ford ; y ,the ; Cei rw,

stags .

CW MTW RCH .— The river Twr ch ru shes furiously

through the place a n d em pties itself in to the river Ta wy .

Tyr ckn ,t o turn up ,

t o burrow . The m ole is called in Welsh

lwr c /i da c’a r , from its bu rrow ing n ature .

CW MYGORS .

— CZC'171, com be y ,

the g ors—c ors,

a hog ,

a fen .

CYMMER .

— The word m ean s the jun ction of two rivers

or brooks bearing the sam e n am e,such as CYMMER CEEN

COED,where the Ta f fa wr a n d the Ta f fechan j oin a n d

CYMMER GLYN RIIONDDA,where the Rhondda fa ch

em pties itself in to Rhon dda Fa wr ; a n d CYMMER GLYN

CORRW G ,where the Cor rwg fach loses itself in Cor rwg

DERI .— DERI m ean s oaks , a n d is cogn ate w ith Derrya n d K ildare . The village takes i t s n am e from a farm so

called,which is situate in a plac e aboun ding w ith oa ks .


T he place is also called DARRAN,from Da r ren ysgwydd

gwyn ,which overlooks the valley in a very m aj estic

m an n er . Da r ren— rocky hill .

DINAS .

— The place wa s originally called DINAS Y GLo,

t he coal city , on accoun t of its being so abun dan tly

blessed w ith the black diam ond . The word is derived

from di n,a fortified hill , a cam p . Com pare the Irish

d z’

i n ,the An glo - Saxon lZlH

,the Rom an di n i n rn , a n d the

En glish town .

DINAS Powrs.

— The m ost popular opin ion is that

DENIS is the correct wordin g here . When Iestyn ab

G wrg a n t m arried Den is , the daughter of Bleddyn ab Cyn

fyn ,Prin ce of Powys , he built a m agn ificen t m an sion for

her about 1043 , a n d called it Den is Powys , in hon our of

his w ife .

differ widely as to the derivation

o f this n am e . Som e derive i t from da, black a n d c la is, a

little tren ch or rivulet . Others sa y it is a corruption

of DW YLAIS ,from the conflu en ce of the two brooks in

the place . We offer the follow ing : d a , black ; g la s,

blue,Sign ifying the livid water . River—nam es are

frequen tly derived from the respective hue of their

waters . DULAIS is of frequen t occurren c e in Welsh

topog ra phy . We have five Dulas,at least , in Wales ;

three in Scotlan d a nd on e in Dorset . It has differen t

form s : Douglas in the Isle of Ma n , in Scotlan d ,in

Irelan d,a n d in Lan cashire Doulas in Radn or Dowles

in Salop Dawlish in Devon a n d Dowlais in Glam organ

DYFFRYN . water a n d hyn t , a wa y , a course

the word sign ifying a vale through which a river takes it s

c ou rse . DYFFRYN’

I‘

wa s an cien tly used to den ote a river .


The village is situate n ear DYFFRYN GOLUCH , the valleyof worship or adoration . Golychwyd m ean s worship or

adoration . Ara ser i fwyd , a c a mser i olychwyd,”

“ There is tim e for m eat a n d tim e for worship .

” I t is.

supposed that the an cien t Druids m et together in this

vale t o celebrate the m ysterious rites of their religion .

EEAIL FACH .— Ge/a i l , a sm ithy ; ja ck,

b a ch,sm all ,

little so called from a srn i thy in the place .

EGLWYS BREwrs.—Eg lwys, church . The an cien t

lla n has been superseded by the ecclesiastical term

eg lwys in m any places in the Pr in cipality . B rewis is difficult t o explain . The roots , perhaps , are b re, hill ; a n d

mys, rest , sign ifying the hill or place of rest ; Or it m a y b e

a corrupt form of B reos, from William De Brac os, who

wa s con secrated B ishop of Llan daff in 1265 .

EGLWYS ILAN .—In Iolo MSS. , p . 637, we are told that

Elian foun ded the church . Others think it w a s dedicatedto Elen Deg (the Fair) the sculptor ofMorgan the Cour

t eou s. The derivation is supported by the fact thatCWM ELEN DEG , the fair Elen

’

s vale,is in this p a r ish .

ELY .

—The W elsh n am e is Trc la i , the river Lla i,

which ,according t o so m e , m ean s a du n—coloured water

,

run s through the place . We rather think the correct

wording is Elmy c l , active , swift a n d ze'y—gwy ,

water

the n am e sign ifying the active or rushing river .

EWENNY .—v n - wy. the frothy water, is the n am e

of the river that flows through the place . Som e thinkthe correct wording is y—zc’en—wy ,

the white water.



GARNANT .

— The roots are g a rw,rough ; a n d n a n t ,

a glen . The old n am e of the place wa s Cross Keys .

GELLIDEG .

— Gelli,grove ; deg ,

: teg ,fair .

GELLIGAER .~ - The n am e sign ifies a m ilitary station

in afiwoody place , a n d derived from Ca er Ca stell , the

rem ain s of which are still to be seen,It wa s built by

Ior wer th ab Owen in 1140 or 1240 . In this parish we fin d

traces of a n old Rom an road ,n am ed Strata Julia , from

Ma ret im a Julius Fon t in u s or Fron t inu s,which took its

c ourse from Caerleon to Brecon .

GELLIONEN.

— Gelli , grove om en,ash tree sign ify

in g the ash grove .

GELLY .

— Gell’i m ean s a wood ,a grove

,a copse . Cell

origin ally m ean t a grove , a n d the Irish coi ll has a n iden

t ical m ean in g . The aborigin es of Scotlan d were called

Gwm'

ll da v i n ,the people of the wood .

”

G ILESTON .

— LLANFABON - Y—FRO is the W elsh n am e,

from the dedication of the church t o St . Mabon , a n d its

situation in the vale of Glam organ . The English n am e

wa s“

bestowed upon the place by the Giles fam ily ,whose

pedigr ee seem s n ot t o have been preserved .

GILFACH GOCH .

—Gi lfa ch,a place of retreat ; c oc /z,

red . The place appears t o have taken its n am e from a

.l eap of red Cin ders , which still rem ain s as a m om en to of

the ironworks that stood there in tim e of yore . Ruin s of

) id furn aces are still t o be seen in the vicin ity .

GLAIS .

~ Gla ism ean s a tren ch through which a stream

ofh

w a t er flows . It is som etim es used to den ote the stream

itself,a n d n ot the tren ch through which it run s .

GLANYBAD . Cldn , bank , side , brin k y ,the b dd

,

GLAMORGANSHIRE . I79

GLYNCORRWG .— l n , a vale narrower but deeper

than a dyfiryn , through which a river flows . Com pare

the Gaelic g lea n n , a n d the Anglo - Saxon g len ,both sign ify

in g a sm all n arrow valley . Two rivulets called Corrwgem b race each other in the glen . Cor rwg is variouslyd erived. Som e have derived it from GORW G AB EIR

CHo others from c a r rog , a n obsolete form for brook.

An other explan ation is cow,a Celtic n am e for sheep

.corlew, sheep - yard a n d wg ,

im plying a place or locality.

It is said that a certain farm er here wa s won t to keep asm any as two or three thousan d sheep at the tim e .

GLYNNEDD.—Glyn ,

glen ; medd,river- n am e . (See

Neath) .

GOWER.—The root is —

_ gwyro , to deviate , to

swerve,suggested probably by the deviation of the

pen in sula from the m ain land , a n d its irregular character.

GOW ER‘

I‘

ON.—The old n am e wa s GOWER ROAD ,

from

its physical conn ection with Gower,but at a vestry m eet

in g of the ratepayers of the parish of Loughor , held October

1sth ,1885 ,

it wa s un an im ously passed That the n am e

of this village be changed from Gower Road t o Gowerton .

"

The n ecessary arrangem en ts were m ade for the new

n am e to be adopted January I st . 1886.

GOYTRE .— Coed

,wood ; a n d Ire, a dwellin g place ,

sign ifyin g either a dwellin g in a wood , or a house built

of wood .

GROESW EN.— Croes, cross wen z gwy n ,

white liter

a lly the wordm ean s white cross ,’but figuratively blessed

c ross . In olden tim es, white wa s a n em blem of purity ,

a n d ,therefore

,a source of blessedn ess .


GROVE’

s END — A village n ear Gorsein on . It takes

its n am e from a farm so c alled .

GW AELODYGARTH .

—Gwa elod ,bottom

,base ; y , the ;

g a r tk origin ally m ean t a n en tren chm en t on a hill , but in

course of tim e it cam e t o sign ify a ridge,a hill , a risin g

em in en ce,a prom on tory . Com pare the Norse g a r th, the

Persian g i rd ,the Anglo - Saxon y a rd , a n d the Welsh

g a rdd . The m oun tain that towers above the place is called

MYN-YDD—Y - GARTH , a n d the village restin g quietly at its

base is called GW AELOD- Y - GARTH .

GW ARYCAEAU .

— Gi a'de,the n ape of the n eck y ,

the

c a erm,

fields . These fields belong to a farm called Ty

draw,above which a few houses were bu ilt a n d called

Gwa ryc a ea u . The plac e has n ow developed in to a strag

gling Village .

GYFE ILLi ox.

— Som e th ink the n am e is a m utilated

form of GAFAELON . Ga fa el m ean s the share which each

brother held in their father'

s lan d , however num erous the

brothers were . Ga /a el cen edl the hold or tenure of a

fam ily . In a n old docum en t the n am e is Ys GOF

HOELIOX ,the n a ilor

’

s island .

HAFOD .

—~H a f- b od . sum m er residen ce . Hen dr cf wa s

a very c om m on appellation in olden tim es for residen ce

in the v a lley , a n d H_AFOD or HAFOTTY w a s used t o sign ify

a residen ce in the hills . The [Ill /0d con sisted of a long

low room ,with a hole at on e en d to em it the sm oke

from the fire wh ich wa s m ade ben eath . Its stools were

ston es , a n d beds were m ade of ha y ranged alon g the

sides .

HENDRE .

— Hen , old ; tref , hom estead . Hi 'a’rzf

Oc tober) , w a s the harvest se ason— the t im e to gather



LALEsr ox.

—TRELALES is the Welsh n am e,which

m ean s the town of Lales . De Grenville wen t on a pil

grim age in 1111 t o the Holv Lan d, a n d brought back

w ith him a n architect n am ed Lalys . He bu ilt NeathAbbey

, Marg am Abbey, a nd several castles a n d m a n

sion s in Wales .

LAND0RE .—GLANDWR is the correct wording ;

g la n , bank ; dwy,water . The old farm stead

,which

gave the n am e to the place,wa s situate on the banks

of the T a wy .

LANGLAND .

-The right wording is LONGLAND,so

called from the prom on tory that form s on e of the horn s of

the bay .

LAVERNOCK .

— This is probably a Norm an corruptionof LLANW ERNOG , or LLYW ERNOG ,

which sign ifies a chu rchon a m eadow .

LECKWITH .

—This n am e is an other in stan ce of the sad

havoc the Norm an s played with Welsh n am es when theysettled in Glam organ in the eleven th cen tury . It is a c orruption of LLECHW EDD , the steep or shelving of a hill .

LEWISTOWN .- So called in hon our of W . Lewis

, Esq,

Bon t n ewydd House , because the village is situate on hisestate .

LLANBEDR—AR—FYNYDD . Llan bedr - ar - fynydd ha s

been tran slated Peterston e - super -Mon tem . At the Norm a n Conquest Fi t zha m on divided the coun try betweenhis followers

,when Sir Peter le Soore w a s rewarded w ith

the lordship of Peterstown,which he called after his own

Christian n am e .

LLANBEDR - Y - FRO .

— The church wa s called LLANE INYDD un til the Norm an Con quest in 1091. It wa s bu ilt


by Rhys ab Einydd ,Prin ce ofGlam organ

,hen ce the n am e .

After the Con quest the parish fell in to the hands of SirPeter le Soore , hen ce the n ew n am e Lla n b edr

,Peter’s

Chu rch ,which is situate on the river Ely in the beauti

ful vale of Glam organ .

LLANBLETHIAN .— H istory tells us that BLEIDDIAN

(Lupus) a con tem porary of Garm on ,foun ded the first

church here in the sixth c en tury . The root is b la i dd,a

tran slation from lu pu s,a wolf .

LLANCARFAN .—W e are in form ed that in this place

the first m on astery wa s built in Britain by Germ a n u s,

from which circum stan ce Iolo Morganwg thin ks thatLLANCARFAN sign ifies the church of Germ a nu s

, CARFAN

bein g a corruption of the sain t ’s n am e . Others are of

opin ion that the m onastery wa s founded by Ca t twg

Ddoeth ,a n d that the n am e w a s Latin ized in to Ca r b a m

'

Va llis.

LLANDAF. Lla n,church ; da /z Ta f, the n am e of the

river on which the an cien t edifice wa s built , according to

the Welsh Chron icles ,’

in 173 by Lleu rwg (Lucius) . Thissee is reckon ed t o be the m ost an cien t in Britain . Dyfcm

is said to have been its first bishop,173—180 .

LLANDEILo - TALYBONT .— The church wa s founded by

TE ILO,B ishop of Llan daff , in the sixth cen tury . TALY

BONT literally m ean s the en d of the bridge . When

applied to places l a l m ean s en d but when applied t o per

son s i t sign ifies ‘ fron t ,’

Ta l—cen,fron t of the head ;

Ta li esin ,radian t fron t or lum in ous head .

LLANDOCHW Y .

—The church is dedicated to DOCHW Y ,

a n Arm orican sain t , as som e assert , who foun ded a

sem in ary here in the secon d cen tu ry .


LLANDYFODW G .

— The church w a s foun ded by a n d

dedicated to TYFODW G,a sain t of the sixth cen tury .

Several cairn s are t o be seen on the m oun tain s of thisparish .

LLANDDEW I ,—The Church is dedicated t o Dewi ,David , the patron sain t ofWales , who it is said ,

w a s the

rector before he wa s con secrated a bishop .

LLANEDEYRN .

— The church,according to the Welsh

Records wa s fou n ded by EDEYRN AB GW RTHEYRN ,

together with a sem in ary for 300 sain ts .

LLANFABON .

—The patron sain t is MABON ,Teilo’s

brother , who is sa id to have built the church in the sixth

cen tury . Mabon is derived from m a fion ,in old Welsh

m a p,n ow 71106

,a b oy ,

a youth ,a son .

LLANFADOG .

—~ The church is dedicated t o MADOG ,

son of Gildas , y Coed aur , a n d a sain t of Cenydd’

s College .

LLANFAES . The origin al n am e of the church w a s

LLAN FFAGAN FACH for the reason that it wa s bu ilt by

Ffa g a n . LLANFAES gen erally m ean s a church built on a

spot where a m em orable battle wa s fought .

LLANFEDW Y .

— In Iolo MSS. it is recorded that

Meu dwy ,the sain t

,bu ilt Llan FEDW Y

,which Church wa s

burn ed durin g Iestyn’

s wa r,a n d it w a s n ever ren ovated

afterwards .

LLANFRYNACH .

— The church , accordin g t o Bonedd y

Sain t,w a s founded by BRYNACH W YDDEL of the city of

Ffa r a on ,in the fifth cen tury .

LLANGENYDD.

—CENYDD foun ded a sem in ary here inthe sixth cen tury ,

havin g comm itted that of Ca erphili t o

the cu stody of his son Ffili .


186 PLACE - NAMES i x WALES .

LLANILLTYD FAWR .— On e of the nurseries of early

Christian ity . It wa s origin ally called COR EUCAIN .

Cor m ean s a circle,a stall

,a n d som etim es it is ren dered

‘college .

’ The comm on churches were called cor a u,a nd

the chief or superior churches b a ngora zl . This an cien t

in stitution is said to have been founded here by Eu rg a in ,

daughter of Ca r a dog ab B ran ,in the first cen tury of the

Christian era,hen ceCor Eu rg a in . This in stitution appears

t o have flourished for about fifty years,when it wa s

destroyed by Irish pirates,a n d Patrick

,the Head Teacher

a nd Superior of the sem in arywa s taken prison er to Irelan d .

About the year 450 it wa s t e- built by Gan n on ,who ,

together w ith Dyfr ig ,B ishop .of Llan daff , dedicated

ILLTYD, Ga rm on

'

s n ephew , to be the head teacher thereof ,in con sequen ce of which it wa s called Cor Illtyd ,

BangorIlltyd ,

a n d Lla n illtyd .

LLANISAN.—The church is dedicated to ISAN

,a

disciple of Illtyd .

LLANRHIDIAN .

—Fr0m RHIDIAN,a studen t in

Cenydd’

s sem in ary in Gower , a n d the foun der of the

church . The ruin s of W eob ly Castle are still overlookin gLlan rhidian m arsh .

LLANSAMLET.—The church , according to Bon edd y

Sa in t,wa s foun ded by SAMLED

,who flourished in the

seven th cen tury .

LLANTRISANT.—An cien tly called LLANGAW RDAF

,in

hon our of Ca wr daf , who foun ded a sem in ary here ,which is supposed to have taken fire

, a nd levelled to the

gr ound . After the destruction of the sem in ary,Ein ion

ab Collwyn , as som e assert , built a church here , wh ich wa s.

dedicated to three sain ts , v iz . , Illtyd , Tyfodwg , a nd

Gwyn n o ,hen ce the presen t n am e .


LLANTRYDDYD.—The church wa s origin ally built b y

TREIDDYD, of Illtyd

'

s sem in ary .

LLANW YNO .—Fr0m the dedication of the church to

Gwv xo . son of Caw,called Eu ryn y Coed aur , a nd a sain t

in the colleges of Illtyd a n d Ca t twg .

LLWYDCOED .—Llwyd ,

grey coed,wood . The forest

of LLWYDCOED,in the sixteen th cen tury ,

wa s con sidered

to be on e of the fin est in the Prin cipality.

LLW YNBRW YDRAU .— Llwyn ,

bush,grove b rwydm u ,

battles . The n am e has referen ce to som e battles fought

here in olden tim es .

LLWYNPIA.—Llwyn ,

bush,grove pi a ,

m agpie .

LLYSFAEN .—Llys, court , hall of judicature ; m a en ,

ston e . It appears there wa s a large hall built of stone

in the place, where the la w court m a y have been held

in tim e of yore .

LLYSWORNEY.—A gross m utilation of LLYS- BRO

NUDD .

— Iolo Morganwg tells us that Nudd Hael , son ofSenyll , a royal sain t , of Illtyd

’

s sem inary ,built the place

B rom ean s a cultivated region,a vale a nd Na dd , the royal

sain t , is supposed to have held a court (llys) here .

MAERDY .

—Ma er is syn onym ouswith the English lan d.

agen t , steward, a nd bailiff . There wa s a n officer called

Maer in every comm ot,who regu lated the villein s a nd

their con cern s . He wa s the kin g's lan d agen t but the

word even tually cam e to sign ify a ny land steward

MAER—DY m ean s a da iry~hou se.

MAEe G .—Ma es, a field ; teg , fair so called after

a farm stead .


MANSELFIELD.

— So called in hon our of the Man sel

fam ily . W illiam Man sel , Esq,Pen rice Castle , wa s the

own er of the estate in the reign ofHen ry VI.

\IARCROSS . think the place derives its n am e

from a large cross that is supposed to have been raised

here in m em ory of St . Ma rk but we rather thin k the n am e

is a n An gl i c an i sm of the W elsh .l l er—g roes, the cross on the

sea - shore . The pla ce is situate on the Bristol Chan n el

coast . A larg e crom lech ,called y r li en eg lwys,

” the old

church is still visible,aroun d which the an cien t Christia n s

are supposed t o have assem bled for worship ,ere a ny sacred

edifice w a s built here .

MARGAM .

—Som e m ain tain that the abbey wa s

foun ded by Morgan the Courteous,which wa s kn own

for som e cen turies by the n am e ofMorgan,a n d ultim ately

it assum ed the n am e of MARGAM . Bu t there is a pre

pon deran ce of opin ion n ow that this an cien t place derives

its nam e from Morgan , the son of Caradoc,the son of

Iestyn ab Gwrg a n t .

MAW DLAM .

— The n am e is a corruption ofMAGDALEN .

In the Charter ofThom as le Despen ser,which wa s gran ted

in 1397,m en tion is m ade of St . Ma ry Magdalen ’s chapel .

MELIN CRYTHAN.

— So called from a m ill Situated on

the brook Cry tha n . Cr vz‘ha n

, a little c rooth ; or it m a y

com e from c r v dd u,to stretch or exten d roun d : erylhu

im plies swelling .

MELIN GRIFFITH — ill eli n, m ill , which wa s kept by

a Mr . Griffith to grin d corn for the farm ers of the district,

hen ce the n am e .

MERTHYR DYFAN.

— MERTHYR, m artyr DYFAN

,

t he first B ishop of Llan daff , a n d the son of Alwn Afierw



MORRISTON .

- Sir John Morris,Cla sm on t , built a large

c opper works here in 1876 ,aroun d which a large village

g rew very rapidly ,a n d took its n am e from its great ben e

factor . The English ha m a n d ten,the Norse b y , the

Dan ish thorpe, the Germ an dorf, a n d the Welsh tref, m a y

be con sidered as equivalen ts .

MORGANSTOW N.

— The place wa s som etim e called

PENTREPOETH ,the warm village . The presen t n am e w a s

c on ferred upon it in hon our of Morgan Thom as, Twzv b er

l lc m, on whose lan d the village is built .

MOUNTAIN Asa — The an c ien t n am e w a s ABER

PENNAR,from a farm so n am ed

,a n d the n ew n am e w a s

con ferred upon it b y John Bruce Pryce,Esq,

the then

own er of the estate . In a very short tim e after Mr . Pryce

cam e t o reside here , a m a n n am ed Dafydd Shon Rhy s

wen t to him on e day a n d asked if he would lease a certain

piece of lan d for buildin g a public house a n d a private

house . Havin g m easured the lan d ,Mr . Pryce wa s asked

t o n am e the public house . Observin g a cerdim ’

n (m oun

t ain ash ) close by ,he turn ed t o Mrs. Prv ce a n d said

,

We shall call this place MOUNTA IN ASH .

MUMBLES — The n am e w a s given origin ally t o design ate the detached rocks at the en d of the headlan d

,but in

course of tim e it wa s exten ded to the old village ofOyster

m outh . Col . Fran cis derives the n am e from m a mm a ls,

which word gives a very fair description of the two

r oun ded breast - like rocks in the place .

NANTGARw .

—Ga rw, rough ,rugged ; na n l origin ally

sign ified a ravin e , a dingle .

GLAMORGANSHIRE . I QI

NANTYMOEL .

— Nr ml , brook ; y ,the ; m oel , bald ,

ac on ical hill the n am e sign ifying a brook rushin g froma high hill .

NEAr H .

— The Welsh n am e is CAe LL NEDD,the

castle on the Nedd . This is the an cien t Nidi u m of the

Itin eraries,

’

a nd probably it wa s a n im portan t station

on the great Rom an road , called fu llerMa r i llm a .

’

Nedd ,

of which Nfai lm e is a Latin ised form,m ean s turn ing

,whirl

in g ; the river wa s so called,perhaps

,from its various

m ean derings . Or it m a y m ean a dingle or glen ,im plyin g

a place of rest,a n abode . An - n edd

,a dwelling nylh,

is

t he bird’s place of rest .

NEAr H ABBEY .

— Leland called this the fairest in all

Wales . ’ The lordship of Neath wa s given by Fi t zha m on

t o his youn ger brother Richard de Grenville . Bein g of a

religious disposition,de Grenville wen t on a pilgrim age

t o the Holy Land in 1111 , a nd brought back w ith him

a n em in en t architect of the n am e of Lalys , whom he

en gaged t o erect a n abbey about a mile from the townof Neath . It wa s com pleted in eighteen years , i .e. , in

1129,when i t wa s con secrated to the Holy Trin ity in the

presen ce of de Grenville a n d Con stan ce his wife . It

is stated that the first Abbot of Neath wa s Richard ,

who died in 1145 , a n d the last is said to have been a

Welshm an of the n am e of J ohn Lleision . LewisMorganwg ,chief bard of the Prin cipality ,

wa s dom estic bard t o

Neath Abbey in 1510 . Also in 152 0 when Lleision wa s

d edicated to his sacred office , a great Eisteddfod wa s

held in the Abbey ,when Lewis Morganwg took the laurels

for the best Awdl to the Abbot a n d the Abbey . In the

Ann a les de M a rg a m it is stated that Morgan ab Owen


burn t the Abbey ,destroying also 400 sheep , killing four

of the servan ts a n d a m onk, a nd severely woun din g

a n other. At the dissolution the estate wa s gran ted t o Sir

Richard William s , a li a s Crom well , by Hen ry VI I I .

NELSON —This village wa s on ce called FFOS Y

GERDINEN ,the m oun tain ash bog

,but when the collieries

of Lla n c a ia ch were open ed,a num ber of houses were

built in the place , am ong which wa s a public house n am ed

Lord Nelson ,

’

a nd in course of tim e the gallan t adm iral’s

n am e m inus Lord wa sc on ferred upon the village .

NEWTON NOTTAGE .— In a n old deed it wa s said that

William , Earl of Gloucester , gave to R ichard de Ka rdif,for his service , theNew- town in Margam with all its a ppu r

t en a n c es.

Nottage Court wa s a gran g e belonging t o MargamAbbey .

Nottage is probably a corruption of Nu la ge. The

pla c e wa s on ce n oted for nuts .

OVERTON .

—OVER , when a suffix , m ean s a hill site ;when a prefix it indicates the higher of two places .

Oxwi c n .—The prefix seem s to be of kin dred origin

a nd m ean in g with the San s , u x, u ks. to water ; Welshwysg ,

a curren t . We have Usk , Esk , Exe , Ock ,elsewhere

a nd we find OXWICH in the pen in sula of Gower.

W i ck com es from the Norse wi c,a bay

,a creek

.

The Vikings were attracted t o this coast, a n d in deed they

derived their very n am e (Vik- ings) from the W ig s or

creeks in which they an chored.

OYSTERMOUTH .—In the Welsh Bruts

,the place is

c alled YSTUMLLWYNARTH . Ysmm, form ,

shape ; llwyn ,



PANTYRID.~ —The right wording is PANT - Y - RHYD ,

t he hollow n ear the ford . Rhyd origin ally m ean t a ford ,but it is n ow frequen tly used to design ate a sm all stream .

PANTYW AUN.— W a lm ,

m eadow. The place is situated

in a bowl - shaped hollow on a m oun tain m eadow.

PANWAUNFAW R.— P a nwa 'l tn ,

a wet m eadow , peat

m oss ; fawr—m a wr,great , large .

PENARTH .

—P €n in geographical n am es m ean s the

highest part or the extrem e en d,as of a m oun tain or a

field. Penrhyn , headlan d . In the H ighlan ds of Sc otlan d

we find it in m any place—n am es,as Benm ore (Penm awr ) ,

g reat m oun tain ,&c . The Gaelic c en or c enu has the

sam e sign ification as pen a n d b en . In European place

n am es it poin ts ou t the earlier settlem en ts of the Celtic

r ace,as Penn in e

,Appen in es

,&c .

GARTH here sign ifies a prom on tory or m oun tain .

The n am e m ean s a headlan d , which is quite descriptive

of the place . This lofty place wa s in an cien t tim es

c hosen as van tage - groun d for kin dlin g the beacon fire

to warn the coun ty of in vasion .

PENCLAW DD.—PEN—CAE - CLAWDD is the right wordin g

,

a n am e giv en to a n old cam p on the Ga er m oun tain . n ear

a n old Rom an road . A dyke (clawdd) in olden tim e wa scon sidered as a Sign of defen ce a n d safety . PEN- CLAWDD

g en erally m ean s the head or end of the em ban km en t .

PENCOED .—Pen , head coed ,

wood the n am e sign ifies a place situate at the t op of the wood .

PENDERRY .—Pen , head or top ; derry—derz

’

, oa k grove .

PENDEULW YN.—It

'

m ea n s‘ the top of two groves . ’

The n am e wa s suggested probably by the physical aspect

of the place, a nd is now spelt PENDOYLAN .

’


PENGARNDDU .

—P en , t op , sum m it g a rn— c a rn

,

heap of ston es ddu, black . The village derives its n am e

from a black heap of ston es that wa s on ce in the place .

PENLLIN.— PEN- LLYN

,the head of the lake .

PENMAEN .— The n am e sign ifies the head of the rock

-or ston e ,’

from the situation of the place at the head of a

ridge of rocks,com m an ding m agn ificen t views of the

O xwich B a y .

PENMARc .—The n am e is supposed t o m ean the head

o f St . Mark .

’ 9150 c

PENNARD .

—Som e say PEN—GARTH,the lofty hill ;

o thers give PENHARDD,the fin e or beautiful head . The

right wordin g probably is PENARDD, a proj ection of a hill .

PENPRYSG .

—P rysg , bru shwood , or that which

e xten ds . The n am e sign ifies a place aboun din g with

brushwood . Prysg m oun tain is hard by .

PENRHIW CEIBR.

— The right wordin g is PEN- RH1w

CAE - BYR,Sign ifyin g the top of the slope of the little field.

PENRHIW FER.

— The n am e sign ifies the top of the:Sh ort slope .

PENRICE .— A corruption of PEN RHYS , the head of

Rhys . Rhys,the son ofCa r a dog ab Iestyn ,

wa sbeheaded

.h ere . .by the Norm an s in 1099.

PENTRE .— PEN- TREE

,from a farm so called. The

n am e wa s origin ally applied t o a few scattered dwellings,form in g a town en d or otherwise , a n d fin ally it wa s applied

t o a village in con tradistin ction to a town of the m odern

type.


PENTREBACH .

—The n am e sign ifies a sm all village .

It lies about a m ile below the town of Merthyr Tydv il ,

a n d so called in order to distin guish it from the latter which

w a s colloqu ially called by the old inhabitan ts , Y PENTREF,

the village .

PENTYRCH .

— The affix has been variously der ived .

The tradition al origin of the n am e run s thus : In olden

tim es a parish wake w a s frequen tly held in the n eigh

b ou rhood during which som e very question able pastim es

were indulged in . Previous to the festival a piece ofwood

wa s fixed in the groun d . Every youn g wom an that

purposed be in g presen t in the wake w a s expected t o m ake

a tor ch (torque or wreath ) , bearin g her n am e,a n d the

colour She in tended wearin g on that day plaited therein .

It wa s a foregon e con clusion that on e of the youn g wom en

would produce a better torque than all her rivals,roun d

which the people gathered a n d un an im ously exclaim edIl

'

el,dym a b en v ty r ch,

’ ‘

W ell,this is the head of the

torques . ’

The right wording is PENTIR—YR- YCH,the headlan d of

the ox. A com be hard b y is called CW M—Y—FUW CH ,the

cow’

s vale , the extrem e en d of which bears strikin g resem

blan ce t o the form of a n ox’

s head . Som e sa y it is PEN~

TW RCH, boar

’

s head , from the resem blan ce of the b ronv ,

of the Garth m oun tain to a boar ’s head .

PENYDAREN .

-Da ren sign ifies a rocky hill . The oldcottage that origin ally bore the n am e wa s situated on

a risin g em in en ce .

PENW AUN.

—The head or en d of the m eadow,so called

from its situation at the extrem e en d of Gwrg a n t’

sm eadow



the long town in the m eadow . Its presen t n am e wa s

derived thus Som e tim e after the ston e bridge wa s built

across the river Dawen ,a cow r a n un der it , a n d the place

being so n arrow her horn s stuck in the arch . She could

n either m ove onwards or backwards , a n d ultim ately the

own er had n o altern ative b u t t o kill her on the spot . The

town ’s coat of arm s ever sin ce is the figu re of a c ow stan d

in g on a bridge , hen ce PONTYFON , Cowbridge .

PONTLOTTYN .

— The bridge that crosses the Rhym n eyriver in the place wa s n am ed

,according t o som e , in hon our

of a m a n called Lot , colloquially Lottyn . Others thin k the

right wording is PONTYPLOTTYN ,which m ean s a bridge

erected on a dry spot between two stream s of the river .

It is spel t Pon t Lyda rt ,’

on a n old m a p , which m ean s a

wide bridge . Som e say that in olden tim es the bridge

wa s claim ed by the inhabitan ts of Gwen t a n d Morganwg ,as on e en d stood in each coun ty

,a n d here they m et t o play

gam es of chan ce - lotteries . In these gam es a n um p irewa s chosen ,

who wa s called Lot tyn .

’

He stood on

the bridge t o give his decision,hen ce Pon t lot tyn ,

the

u m pire ’s bridge .

We think the n am e is a corruption of PANTYPLOT

TYN,which wa s the n a m e of a farm in that place lon g

before a n y bridge wa s built there . P a n t,hollow y ,

the

plottyn , from the Anglo—Saxon plot , a spot of ground

PONTLLIW .

— LLlw, the n am e of the river that run s

un der the bridge . Som e think the root is lli , a flu x, a

stream but we rather think it is derived from lu g , which

isa Rom an ised form of llwch, a lake or hollow. Llwchwris close by .

P0NTRHYDY0YEF.—Pon t , bridge rhyd ,

ford y ,

the cyff, a stum p , a trunk .


PONTRHYDYFEN .—RHYDYFEN has g iven rise t o

m any con j ectures . Som e say it is RHYDYW AUN ,the

m eadow ford others call it RHYD EEAN , Evan’s ford

others thin k it is RHYDYFON,the cow ’s ford . We rather

thin k the n am e is a corrupt form of PONT - AR- RHYD - AFAN,

the bridge on the ford of Afan a n d is derived from the

sm all bridge that wa s built to cross the ford n ear Rhyslyn .

Or fen m a y be the Welsh m en , a cart or wagon , a n d the

n am e would m ean the bridge of the wagon ford .

PONTYCYMMER.

— P on t , bridge y ,the cymm er ,

the j u n ction of two rivers or brooks bearing the sam e n am e .

PONTYGW AITH .

—Gwa i th ,work or works . It is gen er

ally believed that a n ironworks stood here at som e rem ote

period . A sm eltin g furn ace wa s standing here as late a s

1850 ,but who built it is a m atter of con j ecture .

PONTYPRIDD .

— In the reign of Hen ry VIII . Leland

refers to this locality as Pon t Rhehesk ,which is a corru p

tion of PONT - YR- HESG,the bridge of the rushes . CRAIG - YR

HESG,the rock of the rushes

,is about half a m ile to the

n orth - east of the town . When Lelan d passed through

the place,the on ly bridge crossing the Taff river in the

locality wa s a footbridge over the rocks of the Taff

waterfall , hen ce the n am e PONT- YR- HESG . The place

afterwards took its n am e from PONT - YR—HEN- DY - PRIDD,

the bridge n ea r‘the old earthen house , which wa s erected

by William Edwards in 1755 .

PORT TALBOT .

— In a n Ac t of Parliam en t which

received Royal assen t July 4th ,1836 , it wa s en acted

that from a n d im m ediately after the passing of this

Ac t the said harbour Shall cease to be called the Aber

avon Harbour ,’ but Shall be called , kn own , a nd distin

g u ished by the n am e of PORT TALBOT .

”The fou n d a


tion ston e of the ha rbou r wa s laid b y on e of the Talbot

fam ily, Marg a m Park

,Septem ber

, 1837. The n a m e is

extended n ow t o the whole district .

PORTEYNON .

—The n am e is derived from Ei n ion , a

d escendan t of Howel Dd a . The,

wonderful ca ve calledTwll yr afr

,goat ’s hole

,is in this parish . In 182 2 - 2 3

rem a in s of elephan ts a n d m am m oths were discovered here .

PORTKERRY .

— The n am e is derived from CERI AB

CA ID,kin g of Essyllwg . An cien t history tells us that he

wa s a rem arkably w ise m a n,a n d a Ship - builder

,a n d that

he took up his abode here . FONT—DE—GERY ,Ceri

’

s well ,is not far distan t . Here the Norm an s lan ded when they

cam e t o Glam organ at the request of Ein ion ab Collwyn .

(Iolo MSS.,p .

PORT TENNANT .

— S0 called in hon our of H . T .

Ten n an t,Esq, Cadoxton Lodge

,who built it at his

own expen se in 1826.

PORTHCAWL .

— On e writer thinks the right wordin g is

PORTHCAW ELL por th,port c a well

,a weir

,so n am ed from

two fish ing weirs form erly placed here . W e rather thin k

that c a wl is a corrupt form of Ga u l . It is supposed that

the Gauls or Gaels left their m em orials here as well as in

G a lloway ,Ga lway

,Don eg a l , Portug a l .

PW LLCW M.

— Pwll,a pit

,a sm all pool c r am ,

a valley

so called from a n old coal pit that wa s open ed in the

plac e .

PYLE .

—From pi t , which m ean s a creek ,a sm all in let

of the sea filled b y the tide . It is supposed that the place

wa s som etim es inun dated by the sea,hen ce the nam e .

Q UAKERS YARD — The place derives its n am e from the

following in ciden t Lydia Fell,who lived in Cefn Forest



form of SYLFAN,a place to gaze

, which fully correspon ds

with the physical aspect of the place,the Solvemm oun tain

com m an din g a n exten sive view of the Vale of Neath .

REYNOLDSTON .— So called in hon our of Regin ald de

Breos, who wa s som etim e lord of the m an or , a n d is su p

posed to have been the foun der of the church .

Ra m os— In an cien t MSS.,it is spelt RHYGOES,

RHEGOES,a n d Y RYGOES . Som e thin k it is a corruption

of RHYDGROES , the ford of the cross . GRUG—RHOS , the

m eadow heath has been suggested. The physical aspect

of the place suggests an other derivation rha g ,what h a s

breaks or poin ts ; rhos,m eadow . The right wordin g ,

others thin k,is Grngos, heath ,

heather ; sign ifyin g a

heathy place— a true description of this rom an tic spot ,which is n oted for its sm all batches of heath . Thom as

Llewelyn , Rhigos , is a n am e that has not had the place

it deserves in Welsh history . It is supposed that hewa s born in a farm house called Clyn - Eithin og ,

Ei then

—a furse brake , in the earlier part of the sixteen th cen tury .

RHONDDA .— In an cien t docum en ts it is spelt

GLYN ROTHERE, GLYN RODNEU

, GLYN ROTHENEY,

a n d GLYN RHONDDA . Som e have derived the n am e fromthe Latin a nda . We rather thin k the n am e is a

con tracted form of YR HONDDU ; yr , the ; hoen,

com plexion , hue ; ddu , black . Many Welsh riversreceived their nam es from the peculiar hue of theirrespective waters .

RHossrLr.—The word m ean s a m oorlan d n ear the sea .

Rhos, m oor heli,brine . Regin ald de Sully had n othin g

t o do with this place.

Worm ’s Head is in this parish ,which is eviden tly


an other m em or ial of the Vikings . Worm is a Saxonized form of the Norse orm r

,a serpen t . This prom on tory

has been com pared to a huge sea serpen t raising i tshead a n d half of its len gth above the waves.

RHW S .—The n am e sign ifies a cultivated region .

RHYDR1.—A con traction

,say som e , of YR- YW - DRE

,

the hom e of yew trees, from the abundan ce of yew treesin the n eighbourhood . It m a y be a corruption of RH1wY- DERI , l iterally , the slope of the oaks , or it m a y be a nAnglicised form of RHODD - DRE

,the ham let of the red

soil .

RHYDYBOITHAN.—Rhyd ,

a ford ; y ,the . Boi tha n

m a y be a corruption of bwtkyn ,hut or cot .

RHYDYEELEN .—The true etym ology is RHYD - Y- FELTN

’

the ford or stream of the m ill . The word sign ifies a streamof water that turn s a m ill .

RHYDYFRo .—The n am e sign ifies ‘ the stream of the

va le .

’

SENGHENYDD .—(See Ca erphi li ) .

SIGGINGTON.

— This place lies n ear Cowbridge , a nd

seem s t o have belonged t o a fam ily n am ed Syg g in or

Sig g in ,who ,

however , left n o other record .

SKERRY .—From theNorse sc a r , a face of rock or cliff.

Skea ra ,to shear

,or cut asun der. The rocks of Sker Poin t

m n sheer down in to the sea . It is cognate with the

Gaelic a nd Erse sgei r , a cliff the Welsh esg a i r , a shank ,

a lon g ri dge a nd the Anglo - Saxon sei r a n , to divide . A

sc a r is the m ark where the flesh has been divided ; a .

sha re is a divided part a nd shi re is a division of lan d.


SKETTY .

— The n am e is probably a n abbreviated form

of I S KETTI . The village lies at the base of the hill where

Maen Ketti stan ds,hen ce the n am e is Ketti

,which Sig n i

fies a place below the ston e of the Arkite power .

SKEWEN .

— The right wording,say som e

,is Is- OAE

YW EN,a place below the field of the yew - tree

,but we rather

think it is a corruption of YSGAW EN,the Welsh for elder

wood , so called from the abun dan ce of that wood in the

n eighbourhood .

ST . ATHAN — Accordin g to the Welsh Chron icles the

church wa s b u ilt b y St . Tatham, son of An nwn Ddu, a n d

An n a , the daughter of Meurig ab Tewdr ig ,Kin g of

Essyllwg ,in the sixth cen tu ry . It is said that Tatham

foun ded a m on astic establ ishm en t here for 500 sain ts ,a n d that his m ortal rem ain s were in terred here .

ST . BRIDE — The church w a s dedicated to St . Ffra id ,

accordin g t o som e b u t Iolo Morganwg thin ks i t wa s dedic a t ed t o ST . BRIDE

,the daughter of p d a gws,

a n Irishsain t .

ST . DONNATT’

S . DONNATT is a n Anglican ism of the

Welsh Du n a wd , the n am e of the sain t t o whom the

church wa s dedicated . An other village,Welsh St .

Don n a t t’

s,wa s so called for the pu rpose of distinguishin g

it from ST . DONNATT’

S proper,which w a s occupied by a

p ortion of the Flem ish colony .

St FEAGAN — The parish church is dedicated to ST .

FEAGAN ,who is said to have com e to Britain w ith

Bytan a n d Medwy a n d Elfan in the year 180,at the

solicitation s of Lleu rwg ,t o preach the Gospel to the

p eople ;



drown ed at Swa n awick , _ a li a s Swa n a sey ,Swa n u s

sea) . Swann s’ fleet wa s destroyed in the Swan sea Ba y

by a storm in 877. I t is said that 12 0 ships were lost

a t the tim e , a nd that he him self perished.

T‘

ArBACH .— The n am e sign ifies sm all houses ,

’ so called

from the four sm all thatched houses that on ce stood at the

bottom of the road,which wa s afterwards called Water

Street .’

TALYGARN.—Ta l , fron t , en d ; y ,

the ; g a rn—c a rn ,

a heap,a cairn .

THREE CROSSEs.— So called from the jun ction of the

t hree roads in the ham let .

TIRPHIL .—Ti r

, lan d phi ] , a clipped form of Philip,the n am e of the then own er of the lan d on which the

v illage wa s built .

TON. The n am e sign ifies unploughed lan d , a grassy

plot of groun d. The village derives its n am e from afarm stead so called .

TONNA .—Plural of ton . (See Ton ).

TONDU .—Ton

,a grassy plot of groun d

,a green

sward. Ithel Ddu, gr an dson ofMorgan Hen

,kept a su m

m er - house here , called TON ITHEL BDU . He wa s calledIthel Ddu from his very black hair a n d beard. In courseo f tim e the appellation Ithel wa s om itted

, a nd the nam e

contracted t o TONDDU a n d TONDU . Ithel is written ino ld Welsh j a dha el , a n d on one of the Llan tw it stones it

it spelt j u t/i a helo. Pr ofessor Rhys thinks it is com posed-o f fa d , fight a n d ha el , gen erous , a gen erous m a n .

TONGW YNLAIs.

—Ton, gr een sward gwyn

- la s, whitea nd green . Som e call it TON—GW YRDD—LAS

,a green

,grassy

GLAMORGANSHIRE . 2 07

plot of ground. A m an sion n ear the village is calledGreen Meadow ,

’

which is a n approxim ate equivalen t tothe village n am e.

TONYREFAIL .—l -

'

r - efa i l , the sm ithy . The n am e infull m ean s a sm ithy built upon or n ear a green sward. A

very old sm ithy is in the place .

TREALAw.—Tref

,the prim itive Welsh for hom estead

,

a dwellin g house . Having built a house for him self the

lord of the m an or would proceed t o erect dwellings for his

people a n d his cattle , a n d then form ed what wa s called

t ref. The word,in course of tim e

,becam e t o be applied

to a n aggregate of hou ses . The Norse b y, the Dan ish

thorpe, the Germ an dorf, a n d the English ha m a n d ton

m a y be con sidered as its equivalen ts . This place wa s

c alled TREALAW in hon our of D. William s , Esq, father

of Judge William s , Miskin ,whose nom - de—plnm e wa s

Alaw Goch , a n d on whose lan d the village wa s built .

TREBANOG .— Tre/, hom estead , dwelling place b a nog ,

prom in en t , high ,con spicuous, lofty . B a n a n

, beacon s .

TREBOETH.—The n am e sign ifies the dry parched

ham let .

TREBANos.—B a nos b a n ,

a gen eral term for high

places or m oun tain s a s, a plural dim inutive , as in pla n ta s,c hildren .

TREFORGAN.—A sm all village n ear Cryn an t , so called

a fter John Morgan ,who built the first two houses in the

place in 1874.

TREFOREST. —SO called from CRAIG - Y - FEOREST, the

rock of the forest, near which the vil lage is situate

2 08 PLACE—NAMES i x WALES .

TREHARRIS .— SO n am ed in hon our of Mr . Harris ,

who open ed a very large colliery here in 1873 , a nd called

it Harris’ Navigation Colliery .

TREHERBERT .— The n am e wa s con ferred on the place

in 1851 by the Marquis of Bute , in hon our of Herbert , afavou rite n am e in the Bute fam ily .

TREORKY .—The right wordin g , perhaps , is TRE

GORCHW Y .—Gor chwv ,

river n am e , sign ifies en com passing

or'

ov erflowing water . The root m a y be or ch, a lim it , a

border.

TROEDYRHIW FUW CH .

— It is vu lgarly spelt by som e

TROED - RHYW - FUW CH ,the foot of som e cow

,in allusion t o

a local tradition about a c ow that had gon e astray . Som e

think it is a corruption of Troedrhiw- uchai , a farm so

n am ed ,in order t o distinguish it from Troedrhiw- isaf.

W e take it t o m ean a place situate at the bottom of the

cow ’s slope .

TROEDYm .—From a farm stead so c a lled . Troeu

’

is the Welsh for foot,base . The Irish i r a ig sign ifies the

sam e both of which , according t o som e , are of the sam e

origin as the Greek trecho,

‘I run .

’ The English trea d

m ean s t o set the foot . Rhiw is the Welsh for ascen t,

acclivity , slope . The Welsh TROEDYRHIW a nd the

Italian pie di m on te are alm ost syn onym ous .

TYLORSTOW N.

— The village derives i ts n am e from Mr .

Alfred Tylor , who open ed the first colliery here about

1872 .

TYTHEGSTON .

—LLANDUDW G is the Welsh n am e .The church is dedicated to TUDW G , a sain t of the sixth



Griffiths,B ryn Dafydd ,

purchased a piece of land which

belonged to the lord of the m an or , from which circum stan ce

the place wa s called WAUNARLWYDD ,the lord

’

s m an or .

W AUNTRODAU .— W a n n

, m eadow troda n is variously

derived . Som e derive it from troti a n,to trot , to g o on trot ;

t rodi,t o j ourn ey ; from the supposition that the place

wa s som etim e n oted for horse - racin g . Others thin k the

right wordin g is TROED—Y - DA,sign ifying the m eadow

where traces of cows’ feet were visible . An Old house ,c alled Castell Rhoda , Rhode

’s castle,on ce stood in the

place . This m a y be the an cien t TREODA ,which wa s burn t

by the Saxon s in 831 ,a n d the wa n n

,m eadow

,probably

belonged to the sam e m an sion .

WENVOE .

— The roots are gwyn , white blessed a n d

fa— m a n ,place . The nam e is a Norm an tran sm utation

of the original Gwyn fa . Gwyn wa s a sacred appellation

am on g the Celtic race . CYLCH Y GW YNFYD w a s the

Druidical Elysium . GWYNFA is the popular Welsh for

Paradise .

WICK .

— Som e think the n am e is indirectly derived

from the Norse ra te, a bay ; but wi c had a secon d

ary m ean in g of ha m let , villa ge . It wa s an cien tly

c alled Y W IG FAWR , the great wood,suggestin g

that the locality wa s som etim e thickly wooded, a n d the

presen t n am e is a n Anglicized form of the Welsh m inusfa wr , great , large .

YNYSBOETH .

—A village n ear Pen rhiwc ei b r . ynys,

a qu asi - island poelk, scorching , su n - parched .

YNYSAWDRE .—Ynys, island n a wdd

,r efu ge a nd

ire, hom estead.

GLAMORGANSHIRE . 2 11

YNYSHIR.— Ynys origin ally sign ified a quasi - island

i n the m arshes . It is equivalen t to i n ch in Scotlan d,

In ch Keith a n d in is or en n is in Ireland,Enn is Killen

,

In n iskia , &c . YNYS—HIR literally m ean s long islan d,so

n am ed after a farm stead in the place . It is n oteworthy

that a very large num ber of villages in the m in in g dist r ic t s take their n am es from farm - houses .

YNYSLW YD .

— From a n old cottage so called, on the

river Cyn on . Som e say it is Ys Y TYW OD LLW YD,a

quasi—island of grey san ds .

YNYSPENLLW CH .— Ynys, islan d ; pen ,

head,end ;

llwch,lake

,a n in let of water . The postfix corresponds

w ith the Scotch loch,the Irish lou gh, a n d the English

la ke. Tradition has it that the vale of Ta wy wa s on ce

s tudded w ith m any lakes or sheet of waters . Yslwch

m ean s a gutter,a n d slou gh is a m ire .

YNYSTAW E .— Ynys, islan d ; Ta me, the n am e of the

r iver . The an cien t farm stead ,which gave the n am e

to the place,wa s the residen ce of the celebrated bard ,

Hopkin a p Thom as a p Ein ion in 1380 . He served as a

m ili tary officer in the reign s of Edward II I . a n d Richard

I I .

YNYSYBW L .

— Som e thin k the affix is pwll , pit , hollow

the n am e,therefore

,sign ifyin g the islan d in the hollow .

The true ren derin g,probably

,is YNYs—Y—BEL

,which is

by free in terpretation ,the ball—m eadow . The place in

o lden tim es wa s a n oted ren dezvous for ball—players .

YSTALYFERA .—In som e old docum en ts the n am e is

Spelt ynys- ta l - fer a . In the adj oin ing places we find

ynysm eu dwy a n d ynyspen llwch. Som e think the right

wordin g is Ynys—ta l- fu r i a u ,the m eadow at the foot of the


high walls (of Allt g ru g a n d Ta r ren Gwyddon ) . Yst a l , a

stock or produce,a stall y ,

the fer a z b er a,a stack of

corn or ha y the n am e colloquially m ean ing the hay

stall . ’ The place is also called Y CYFIN ,which is a clipped

form of CYFYNG , im plying a n arrow ,deep gorge

,in which

anyon e on view ing the m oun tain s on either side m ight b e

in clin ed t o exclaim like the apostle of old ,I a m in a strait

betwixt two .

YSTRAD DYFODW G .

— Ystra d is a gen eral term for a

low or flat valley through which a river flows . It is derived

from the Latin str a ta , a paved wa y ,from sterno, str a tu m ,

t o spread ou t , t o strew a n d con sidered t o be one of the

words recogn ised as inherited directly from the Rom anin vaders . Com pare the Scotch str a th

, a n d the En glish

street . The parish church wa s dedicated t o TYEODW G .

ab Gwilfyw ,a sain t of the sixth cen tury .

YSTRAD MYNACH .

— ll[ y a a c lz is the Welsh for m on k .

Som e have been led b y the n am e t o thin k that som e

unkn own m onk m ust have lived here in tim e of yore .

The right wording isMAENARCH . In the Iolo MSS. we are

told that MAENARCH,Earl of Hereford bu ilt the par ish

church of Llan fabon .

YSTRAD OWEN — The parish derives its n am e fromPrin ce OWEN , the son ofMorgan Hen

,Kin g ofMorg a n nw o

,

who took up his abode here . In a field adj oin in g the

churchyard is a large tum ulus supposed t o indicate the Site

of his hou se , or as som e sa y , the grave of Owen a n d h is

w ife . Owen’

s rem ain s were buried here in 987.



ABERLLEEENr.— Som e think the n am e is a clipped

form of Ab er - llech—fein i , sign ifying a river m aking its wa yt hrough a n d over slate - ston es . Others th ink thatLlefen i is a m utation of Llyfnwy,

the sm ooth water. W e

have m any rivers bearing the n am e Llyfnwy . We are

inclin ed to think the correct wording is Ab er - llwyfen z.

In the works of Ifa n Tew in the Library of the BritishMuseum the n am e is given as Ab er - llwy/en i . Llwy/en im ean s elm—trees , which adorn the banks of the river.

ABERTRINANT .—Na n t prim arily sign ified a ravin e

,

a dingle,a comm ot .

ARDUDW Y .—Ar

,a height du d- tu d , a region ,

a dis

triet wy-

gwy ,water the n am e sign ify ing a watery dis

triet . Som e derive the n am e from a r , above da,black

a nd amy , or g ray , water hence a place above the blackwaters .

ARGOED .—A con traction of a r—y - coed

, a place situated

on or above a wood . Cam ps in tim e of yore were forti‘

fied on em ergencies, by fellin g trees to surroun d them ,

a nd on e so con structed wa s called Argoed .

ARTHOG .—The older inhabitan ts call it Ar thogof ;

Ar th,bear ogof, cave or lair . Tradition has it that bears

som etim e foun d a resting- place here . Som e thin k it is a

person al nam e . We fin d the form s Ar thawr a nd Ar tha wgin Bon edd y Sain t . We rather thin k the right word is

Ga r thog ,m oun tain ous , hilly . Garth , a proj ecting ridge .

BALA .— Som e think the word is Celtic , sign ifying a

village . Others derive it from b a lu , to shoot , or issue forth .

B a la coed , the buddin g or blossom of trees . B a la llyn ,the

outlet or efflux of a lake . It is cognate with Balloch in

MERIONETH . 2 15

Scotlan d. The town is situate at the efll u en c e of LlynTeg id , the lake of Teg id . The lake wa s so called from thefollowin g circum stan ces .

Teg id , the son ofBaran,wa s a wise kin g

,a n d a good

ha rd . He en acted excellen t regulation s for literature ;restored an cien t learn ing , which had n early becom e

lost a n d in stituted a coun cil of bards a n d Dru ids,as of

old . He con tin ued at wa r w ith his en em ies , but they

took him at last,through treachery

, a nd drown ed him in

the gr eat lake,called from that circum stan ce , Llyn Teg id

(Tegi d’s Lake ) in Gwyn edd . Iolo MSS. p .

CoRRrs.— W e find the form s Corys a nd Cor u s in the

Cam brian Register for 1795 . Som e thin k the place takes

its n am e from a sain t called Corus . It is also said that

Cu n edd a W ed ig had a son called Corus . Others thin k

that the river which gives the place its n am e , wa s called

Corus from its m aking roun d excavation s in the angles

of its banks .

BARMOUTH .—An Anglicized form of the Welsh

n am e , Ab erm a w,which sign ifies a place situated at the

m outh of the river Ma w . B a r is a m odification of Ab er .

a n d m ou th of Ma w, or M a wddwy . M a w m ean s broad ,

expan din g . M a wada ch,accordin g to Dr . Owen Pughe ,

m ean s ov erflOwin g water Oedd m a w c i rhyda u ,

” broad

were its fords . The Anglicized n am e wa s adopted in

1768 by the seafarin g fratern ity in order to have a n

English n am e in scribed upon the vessels .

BRYN Y CRUG .

— Bryn ,a hill y ,

the c ru g , a heap

sign ifying a heap on a hill .

CARROG .—From c a rog ,

which sign ifies a torren t or

brook .


CWM PRYSOR.— Cwm ,

valley ; P rysor seem s to be

derived from prysu ,to form a resort or covert . The

n am e is quite descriptive of this deep a nd solitary vale .

in which the ruin s of Castle Prysor are still visible .

CEINOG .—The root is c a i n

,clear

,bright

,fair . The

n am e wa s given t o the place,probably

, on accoun t of

the beautiful views it com m ands .

CORWEN .— Som e derive the n am e from Ca rmen a ,

the n am e of the m other of Bran a n d Beli , twin brothers .

Others derive it from Corv a en,which im plies a ston e

in a circle . Others thin k it is a m u tation of Ca er Owa i n .

H istory tells us that the place is fam ous for bein g the

rendezvous where the Welsh assem bled about the year

1163, un der their valian t leader , Owen Gwyn edd ,again st

Hen ry II . , a n d also for bein g the place of en cam pm en t of

Owain Glyndwr when he defen ded his coun try again st

Hen ry IV . We in clin e t o thin k the n am e retain s its pri

m i t iv e form hen ce it m ean s the white choir or church .

CWMORTHIN.—A corruption probably of Cwm—cer th

hi n . Cwm , valley ; cer th,awful

,dan gerous ; hi n ,

the

weather . The n am e is qu ite descriptive of the physical

aspect of this deep valley .

CYMERAU .—The root is cym er

,the jun cture or un ion of

two stream s . The place is Situated n ear the confluen ce of

the rivers Er ch a nd Heli .

CYNWYD .—The n am e

,which sign ifies prim ary evil

,

or m ischief , wa s probably derived from Cyn u'

yd a b

Cynwydion , on ce a very powerful prin ce in Edeym ion ,

but who Spen t the latter end of his life in herm itage .

DOLDREW IN.— Som e are of opin ion that the n am e

refers to the dru idical circles , rem ain s of which are



have been given of Dyfrdwy . Som e derive it from

da tr—dwy - a fon ,the water of two rivers others m ain tain

it is a m utation of dwfr - da,black water according to

others it is a corruption of Dwrdd—gwy , the roaring water.

The m ost popular derivation is dyfr—amy (f) , the

goddess’ water , or the water of the divin ity , from the

supposition that its waters were held in superstitious.

ven eration by the Kym ry .

GWYDDELWERN .—Gwyddel , a m a n of the woods ;

gwer n ,alder trees . Alder wood

, per chr n c e, abounded.

in the district,a n d the early inhabitan ts p robably were

obliged to build their hut - hom es in the woods . Or

perhaps , it m ean s the alders of the Irish ,in dicatin g the

place where a ban d of Irishm en were defeated. Dr . 0 .

Pughe tran slates the word thus A m oor or m eadow

overgrown with bushes,

which sign ification tallies .

well with the bushy aspect of the place . We also find

Y Wern Ddu,black m oor , a n d Ty

’

nywer n ,the house on

the m oor,in the district . The term gwyddel origin ally

'

m ean t a brake,a bu sh

, a nd the n am e probably m ean s a

m eadow full of bram bles.

HARLECH .

— In an cien t tim es the castle wa s kn ownb y the n am es of Twr B ronwen , Bronwen

’s Tower,from

B ronwen, the White - n ecked , or rather B r a nwen li t , the

blessed crow , Sister to Bran a p Llyr , kin g of Britain ;a n d Ca er Collwyn ,

from Collwyn a p Tango , head of on e of

the fifteen tribes of North Wales , a nd lord of Eifionydd , .

Ardu dwy , a n d part of Lleyn .

When Edward I . built the presen t castle it wa sden om inated

,according t o som e , H a rddlech

,the fair or ;

MERIONETH . 2 19

fine rock or ston e . The coun ty is exceedingly rich inc rom lechs a nd fine ston e m onum en ts . A traveller , in

clim bing a n adj acen t hill,m a y observe several m ein i

’

kir i a n , a nd circles form ed of large com m on pebble - ston es

LLANDANWG .—From Ta nwg , son of Ithel Hael , a nd

a sain t of the sixth cen tury . Ta nwg m ean s lowland.

LLANDECWYN .—From Tecwyn ,

son of Ithel Hael , .

a nd a sain t of the sixth cen tury . Two lakes in the

parish ,Tecwyn Ucha a n d Tecwyn Isa

,bear his n am e .

Som e derive teewyn thus— teg ,far ; gwyn ,

white , lovely .

Llyn Tecwyn is n ear the village,whose waters are of

crystallin e clearn ess .

LLANDRIN IO .- Tr in io,

a descen dan t ofEm yr Llydaw ,.

is supposed to have been the founder of the church .

Tr in i a probably com es from tr i n ,which m ean s a battle or

com bat trin io,to m eddle

,to m a n age .

LLANDDWYWE .

— From Dwywa u , a descendan t of

Em yr Llydaw,a nd a sain t of the sixth cen tury.

LLANFIHANGEL—Y—TRAETHAU .— The Parish Church

is dedicated to St . Michael , a n d is situated n ear the

two beaches, called Y Tr a eth B a ch a nd Tra eth Ma wr .

LLANFIHANGEL v PENNANT .—The chu rch is dedicated

to St . Michael , hen ce Lla nfiha n g el . P en n a n t , the extrem e

end of the din gle .

LLWYNGWRIL .

— Llwyn ,bush gwr i l , the nam e of the

river that run s through the place . Som e thin k the right

wording is Llwyn Cyr i l , from a tradition that a sain t called

Cyril walked over the sea from Bardsey Island to this

2 2 0 PLACE - NAMES IN WALES .

place,where he took up his residen ce . Probably the

place takes its nam e from a n un kn own person called

Gwr i l or Gwryl .

LLANFOR.— Som e thin k the church is dedicated to

Mor Meir ion . The right wording , perhaps , is Lla nfa wr ,t he great church .

LLANGAR .— The right word probably is Lla ng a er ,

which m ean s the fortress church . The church is built

n ear a n an cien t fortress called Ca erwern ; hen ce the

n am e .

LLANGOWER .—Gower is a corruption of Gwawr , the

m other of Llywa r ch Hen , a n d a sain t , to whom the

c hurch is dedicated.

LLANUWCHLLYN .

—The n am e in dicates a church

above the lake . The village is situated on the Dee a

short distan ce above Teg id lake .

LLANDDERFEL .

—From Der/el Ga da r n ,a celebrated

w arrior in the sixth c en tury . The church wa s rem ark

a ble for a vast wooden im age of Der/el , which wa s the

subj ect of m uch superstition in olden tim es .

LLANDRILLo .

—From Tr i llo,

son of Ithel Hael.‘

Tr ilo’

s well is n ear the village .

LLANFROTHEN .

— Fr 0m B rothen , son of Helig ab

G la n a wg ,a n d a popular sain t of the Sixth cen tury .

LLANGELYNIN .

—Fr0m Celyn in ,son of Helig ab

G la n a wg .

LLANEGRYN .—Eg ryn , a sain t of the seven th cen tury ,

i s supposed to have foun ded the church .

LLANWRIN .—From Gwrhin ,

son of Cyn ddilig ,a

supposed sain t of the sixth cen tury .


2 2 2 PLACE - NAMES IN WALES .

p lural term ination . The t is dropped a nd n substituted

for the sake of euphony .

PENRHYNDEUDRAETH .

—P en rhyn , headland ; da ze,

t wo ; tra eth, beach , seashore . The headlan d proj ects

i n to the Trem adoc B a y ,between the Tra eth i l l a wr a nd

the Tr a eth B a ch.

PENIARTH .

— The right wording is probably Peny

g a rth, which m ean s hill - top , from the village bein g

situate on a part of the Cader Idris range .

PANDY ’

R CAPEL .— P a ndy m ean s a fulling- m ill

,which

wa s situated n ear what is supposed to have been som e

t im e a Rom an Catholic Chapel .

PENNAL .—A com poun d of P en . head , t op, a n d

ta l , of the sam e m ean in g . The village lies on the

old Rom an road called Sarn Helen,Helen ’s cause

wa y ,a nd it is supposed that the Rom an s had a station

h ere .

RHYDERIN.—Rhyd , a ford ; er i n

,a corru ption of

gerwin ,rough . The n am e is derived from a rough a n d

perilous ford across the Dysyn i river. The etym ology

of Dysyn i is di - swn a c'y ,n oiseless water.

RHYDONEN.—Rhyd , a ford ; onen . the ash tree .

RHYDUCHAF.—The n am e sign ifies the highest ford .

RHIW AEDoc .—Rhiw

, slope , the brow of a hill

gwa edog , bloody so called from a battle that wa s fought

here between Llywa r ch Hen a n d the Saxons , in which he

lost Cyn ddelw, the last ofhis son s . A sm all lake in the dis

triet is called Pwll y Gela n edd ,the pool of slaughter.

SAETH MARCHOG .- In this place Owen Gwyn edd

i s supposed to have surprised Reginald de Grev a n d

MERrox-ETH . 2 2 3

seven kn ights (Sa i th M a r chog ) in his train ; hen ce the

right wordin g is Sa i th Ma r chog , a nd its En glish n am e is

Seven Kn ights .

TOWYN .-Edm unds derives the n am e from twyn , a

c urved hillock or bank ; but we thin k the right wordis Tywyn ,

which is derived from tywodyn ,san d ; hen ce

t he n am e sign ifies a place of san ds . The village is

situate n ear the seashore,a n d is celebrated as a beautiful

bath in g- place . Som e tran slate Tywyn as sea—shore or

sea—lan d . Br onyc lydwr is n ot far distan t from here , where

the im m ortal Hugh Owen w a s bor n in 1637.

TANyBW LCH .

— The n am e sign ifies below the pass .

The place is situate at the brow of a hill overlooking the

vale of Ffestin iog .

TRAWSFYNYDD .

— Tr a ms,across ; mynydd ,

a m ou n

t ain . The n am e in dicates a place situ ate on the Side of

a m oun tain .

TALSARNAU .

— Ta l,fron t r ; sa r n a u ,

causeways , roads .

TALYLLYN — The n am e sign ifies the en d or head

of the lake,from the situation of its church at the

head of a beautifu l lake called Llyn Mwyng i l .

TANYGRISIAU .— Ta n

,un der

,below y ,

the g r isi a u ,

steps,stairs . In com in g down from Cwm or thin t o

Dolredyn ,the pedestrian s used to descen d over a series

of steps m ade of ston es , called Gr isi a u M a wr , great

steps a n d,on accoun t of the village lying below these

steps,it wa s called Ta nyg r isi a u .

Y CWRT .— The Court . We fin d the n am es Top y

e t, _ a n d Tower Court in the locality ,

a n d a fewRom an

rem ain s are visible at Cefn c a er .

MONTGOMERYSHIRE .

The Welsh n am e is Trefa ldwyn ,Baldwin ’s town ,

so

c alled in hon our of Baldwin ,a Norm an gen eral , who

built a castle on the border of the coun ty . In 1090

the castle wa s taken by Roger Mon tgom ery,a n d the

Saxon s called the place afterwards Mon tgom ery . Som e

seem t o think the English n am e is a Norm an corrup

tion of Mynydd y Cym ry ,the m oun t of the Kym ry .

ABERHAVESP .

—The place is situate at the c on

flu en c e of the rivers H a v esp a n d Severn ; hen ce the

n am e . H a v esp sign ifies a river whose chan n el is d ryin the sum m er .

ABERRHOSAN .

—Ab er, estuary ; rhosa n

,the n am e of

the river,which sign ifies the m eadow brook .

ABERMULE .

— The village is situated n ear the poin t

where the river Mule discharges itself in to the Severn .

M u le is probably a con traction of m u dliw,changin g

colour,from which we have the En glish m otley .

BERRIEW .—The correc t etym ology

,doubtless

,is

A b er—rhiw . The river Rhiw flows through the parisha n d em pties itself in to the Severn . Rhiw

,perhaps

,

from rhiw,what breaks ou t .

BLAENGLESYRCH .

— A place situate on the rivulet

Glesyr eh. from which it takes its n am e . Glesyr ch is a

corruption of g la s- er ch,dusky blue .

BUTTINGTON .

— The Welsh n am e is Ta ly b on t , b r idgen d

,from a bridge crossing the Sever n n ear it . Offa’s

Dyke passes through the parish , a n d here separates



CWMBELAN.—Bela n , sign ifies a woody ridge .

CYFEILIOG .—This pleasan t vale is n am ed in hon our

of Owen Cy/ei liog , who ,in 1130 ,

becam e the sole own er

of the estate through the death of his grandfather ,Meredyth ,

the prin ce . The n am e m ean s com pact

t ogether .”

CA-Es s.— It appears . that

'the Rom an s had a

station a nd a road in this place . The latter wa s called

Sa r n Swsa n ,Susan ’s road

,portion s of which are dis

cern ib le t o this day . The station wa s probably called

after the sam e n am e , a n d the Briton s decided t o per

pet u a te it , reducin g Swsa n t o Sws ; hen ce C a ersws.

CROESLLW YB IR.

—Cr b es,cross

,over llwyb i r , a cor

ru ption of llwv b r , a wa y ,path .

CYFRONYDD .—A com poun d of cyd , with ,

un ited, a n d

b ronycld , sloping hills . Cyfron ydd Hall is situated on a

rising em in en ce , com m an din g the beautiful scen eries of

the valley below , through whic h the river Ma nw flows .

DOLARDDIN.

— Som e are of opin ion that this placewa s n am ed in hon ou r of Arddu n

,daughter of Pabo Post

Prydain , a nd a sain t of the sixth cen tury . Arddu n

m ean s sublim e , gran d ,from d6l+ a r+din la s: them eadow

beyond. the fort .

DAROWEN . corruption of da r or der i,oaks

,

-

a nd

Owa in ,n am e of a m a n .

DERLL\VYN.

—From rler i,oaks

, a nd llwyn ,bush

,

gr ove .

DOLFOR.—A com poun d of dol , a m eadow or plain

,

a n d /awr , large , great .

DOLW EN.

—A com pou n d of dol, m eadow, a nd wen

,

fem in in e form of gwyn ,white

MONTGOMERYSHIRE . 2 27

DOLL—A corr u ption of dol,a m eadow.

DW YRIW .—A com poun d of dwy ,

fem in in e of da u

t wo a n d rhiw,slope

,ascen din g path .

DW YNANT .—Dwy ,

two ; n a n t,brook ; sign ifyin g a

place situated between two brooks that flow in to theriver Ba chog .

DYLIFAU .—Som e thin k the n am e is the plural form

of dylif, a warp . Dylif goton ,a cotton warp . It is

som etim es Spelt Dylife,which is probably a con traction

o f dylif- le, which m ean s a high place when ce water

flows to differen t direction s .

DOLYFELIN.—D0l , m eadow , dale ; y , the ; melin ,

m ill . Near this place is the site of a n ancien t British

sm elting - hearth, where num erous pieces of lead - ore

have been found .

DYFFRYN .—A village in the parish of Meifod .

EsGArR- GEILroc .—Esg a i r m ean s a con spicuous pro

m on tory . Gei liog—gei lig , hun tin g , explorin g . The n am e

sign ifies a hun tin g—groun d .

EsGArR MAEN .

—M a en ,a ston e . The nam e sigmi

fies a stony or rocky ridge .

FORDEN .—Perhaps a n An glo—Saxon word

,m ean ing

a shallow part of a river where a road crosses . The

use of the Anglo - Saxon verbal plural en is very comm on

in som e parts of this coun ty .

GAER .—From c a er , a fortress . This place is in the

parish of Caerein ion .

GARTH MILL — Ga r th,a n en closure , a mess

,a

prom on tory .

2 28 PLACE - NAMES rN WALES .

GARTHBEIBIO .—Pei b io is a m odification of Pei b i a w,

the n am e of a king recorded in m an y of the Welsh legen ds .

GARTH GELLrN .

—Gelli n ,perhaps

,is

'

a corruption

of collen,hazel - tree .

GLYN CLYW EDOG .

— Glyn ,a glen , a n arrow vale

Clywedog ,the roaring river that run s through the glen . .

GLANYNANT .

—The n am e sign ifies the bank of the

brook .

GLYN TREFNANT .—Glyn ,

a glen , a n arrow vale

Trefn a n t is a corruption of tr i—n a n t , three ravin es (P)

GRIBBIN . A com poun d of c r i b , crest , sum m it ; y ,

the b ryn ,hill sign ifyin g a place situated high on the

hill . Cr i b m v n y da’

,the sum m it of a m oun tain .

GUILSFIELD .

—The Welsh n am e is Ceg i d/a , sig n i

fyin g a place of hem lock , or ,perhaps

,it is a com poun d

of c eg id ,the bird wi twa l a n d fa n—m a n

,place . Som e

derive Gzi i lsfield from St . Gu la n’

s field . Perhaps it is a

com poun d of g u i ld ,a n in corporation

,a n d field .

GUNGROG .

— A corruption of Grc'a zm i v-

g rog , the

m eadow of the cross,so called from the supposition

that a cross wa s erected here in the m iddle ages in c on

n ec t ion w ith the Ystrad Fa r chell m on astery .

GW ESTYDD .

— Fr0m g zr'est—l v—dd in

,the cam p restin g

place .

GW ERN- Y—BW LCH r a swam p,a b og y ,

the

b ra lc lz, a pass , a gap . The n am e is derived from a m ounta in —pass in the district

,from which a distan t view of

Cader Idris is obtain ed .

GW ERN ESGOB .—Gwer a ,

a swam p ,a m eadow ;

Esgob , a bishop .



LLANDINAM .- Di n a m is referred by som e to the

Rom an Di n a m,a frequen t term in ation in place—n am es

in Gaul a n d Britain ,equivalen t t o the English Tu ne,

n ow ton, town , &c . Others take Dinam t o be a proper

n am e , hen ce the n am e sign ifies Din am’

s Church . Din amwa s form erly Din a n z a little hill fort .

LLANGYNOG .~—The church is dedicated t o Cyn og ,

the eldest son of Brycha n .

LLANGW YNOG .— Gwyn og ,

son of Gildas , a sain t of

the sixth cen tury,is the patron sain t of the church .

LLANDYSIL IO .—The church is dedicated t o Ty si lio,

the son of Brochwel Ysgythr og .

LLANFAIR CAERETNION.

— Lla n/a i r , a church dedi

c a t ed to St . Marv . C a er . fortress ; Ei n ion ,the n am e

of the river n ear which the town is Situated . The

latter part of the n am e is derived from a n old British

en cam pm en t , about three m iles from the town,parts

of which are discern ible t o this day .

LLANERFYL .~ The church is dedicated t o Er/yl , in

m em ory of whom a large ston e is erected in the churchyard .

LLANYMECHAIN .—1Wecha i n is a com poun d of m a

,3.

place ; a nd c a in,fair

,the n am e of the river on which

the church is situate . This par ish is fam ous for bein gthe birth - place of Gwa llter Mechain , in 1761.

LLANFIHANGEL - YN- NGWYNFA .—Tl’le church is dedi

c a t ed to St . Mi cha el , a nd the village is Situated in that

part of Powys called Gwynfa , the blessed place ; hen ce

the n am e .

LLANv MYNACH .—Myn a ch here is probably a corr up

tion of mwa a n , m in es . The ch is frequen tly added t o

MONTGOMERYSHIRE . 231

plural n oun s en ding w ith a u . Mwna u is the right word ,but it is colloquially pron oun ced mwn a ch. The place

probably derives its n am e from the m in es in which the

distr ict form er ly aboun ded, a nd which were worked so

early as the Rom an period . Som e think the word ismyna ch, m onk , from the supposition that a m on k lived

som e tim e in the vicin ity .

LLANSANTFFRAID .—Fr0m St . Ffra id, t o whom the

church is dedicated .

LLANWDDYN .—The church wa s probably dedicated

to a m on k n am ed d yn ,who ,

accordin g to tradition ,

l ived in a sequestered spot in the n eighbourhood .

LLANWRIN .—From Gwr i n ,

to whom the church is

dedicated .

LLANDRINIO .— Tr in io is the patron saint of the

church .

LLANLLW CHHAIARN.—From Llwchha i a rn ,

to whom

the church is dedicated .

LLANBRYNMAIR .

— B ryn ,a hil l ; Ma i r

,the Virgin

Mary . The church is dedicated t o St . Mary ,a n d

pleasan tly situated on a n em in en ce ; hen ce the n am e .

MACHYNLLETH .

- Som e derive the n am e thus : Ma ,

a place chyn ,from c a in

,fair

,beautiful lleth, a n a b b re

v ia t ion of llethr , a slope . An other derivation Ma ch, a

high ridge,a barrier yn , in or on lleth—llethr , a slope .

Edm un ds thinks lleth is a con traction of lla i th, dead ,

a nd that the n am e sign ifies the field of the dead by

the wayside .

” Others thin k the n am e sign ifies Cyn

lla i th’

s field, a nd this is , n o doubt , the right derivation .


MOCHNANT .—Moch

,quick

,swift n a n t

,brook ; the

n am e of the swift stream,that flows through the place ,

or m ore prob a b ly z swine da le. Com pare P a n t -

y- m och

a s a place - n am e .

MEIFOD .—Ma i

,a plain

,or cam paign coun try ;

b a d, a dwelling . The parish con sists of a n open a n d

exten sive tract of lan d . Or,perhaps

,it is a com poun d

ofm a es, a field a n d b od ,a dwelling sign ifyin g a dwell

in g in a field . Som e derive it from m a i—fod ,Ma y resi

den ce . Others say that a herm it som etim e resided in then eighbourhood

,hen ce m eu dwy

—fod ,the herrn i t ’s place .

MANLEDD .

—A com poun d,probably

,of b a n ,

a high

place , a sum m it or top ,a peak a n d Lethr ,

Slope . In the

old parish registers it is spelt Ma n leth a n d B a n - lethr .

MOUGHTRE .—~A corruption of Mochdre.

NEWCHAPEL .

— SO ca lled from the chapel which is

Situated on the confin es of the parishes of Gu ilsfield .

Llan san tffraid,a n d Meifod

,for the accomm odation of

those who reside at a distan ce from the parish church .

NEWTOWN .

—A tran slation of the Welsh n am eTrefn ewydd . Its an cien t n am e wa s Lla n fa i r—yn—Nghydewa i n but

,in con sequen ce of the large flan n el m anu

factories that were built there,the place grew so rapidly

that , in 1832 ,the privileges of corporation were bestowed

upon it,a n d hen ceforth it wa s called Newtown .

POOL QUAY .

~ —A village n ear Welshpool,when ce it

d erives its n am e .

PENNANT MELANGELL .

— P en,head or en d n a n t

,

brook lVIeZa n gell , called in a Latin sain t book St . Mon a



SNEAD .—From the En glish sn aed , a piece of lan d.

separated from a m anor.

STAYLITTLE .—The an cien t n am e wa s P enfiorddla s,

the head or en d of the green wa y . The presen t n am e

is derived from a public - house in the place bearin g the

n am e .

TYLW CH .—Tradition has it that the n am e is a corrup

tion of ta welweh,calm n ess , tranquility ,

the word used by “

a Welsh Prin ce,probably Llewelyn ein llyw Ola f , when he

wa s m arching through the place . Ty ,a house ; llwch,

a lake or in let of water .

TREGYNON .-Fr0m the dedication of the church t o

St . Cynon .

TAFOLOG .— The nam e im plies a place aboun ding in

dock plan ts da i l ta fol , dock leaves .

TREFEGLWYS . —The n am e m ean s a ham let or a

district privileged with a church .

TrR—i' —Ti r , groun d ; territory , y ,

the ;m y n a ch ,

m onk ; so called from the town ship havin gsom e tim e form ed a portion of the possession s of the

Abbey of Strata Marcella .

WELSHPOOL .—The Welsh n am e is Tr a llwm , or

Tr a llwng .

— Tra,extrem e , very ; llwng ,

a corru ption of

llwng a ,so called from the great depth of the lake below

Powys Castle . The n am e sign ifies a greedy swallow . It

has been prophesied that the pool is som e day to swallow

up the whole of the town of Welshpool . It wa s called

Welshpool by the English t o distin guish it from a town in

Dorsetshire called Poole . Tr a + llwng = the place beyond

the b og .

PEMBROKESH IRE .

Som e Welsh scholars thin k that the Old Welsh

form of the n am e wa s Pen b rog or Pen b rogh,a n d the

Latin ized form P em b rochi a ,when ce probably the En g

lish Pem broke . The roots are pen ,head

,en d ;

a n d b ro,a coun try

, or exten sive tract of lan d ,sigu i

fyin g a headlan d ,which is a very proper appellation ,

sin ce the coun ty form s the west en d of Wales . Then am e Dyv ecl wa s on ce applied to the whole coun ty ,from which the Rom an Dim etce wa s derived ,

but in the

tim e of Gir a ldu s Cam b rensis, the sm all pen in sula of

Castlem artin,lyin g between Milford Haven

,on the

n orth, a n d the B ristol Chan n el on the south ,

con sti

t u t ed the provin ce of Pem broke . The n am e wa s also

extended t o the town a n d fortress built there by Arn u lph

de Mon tgom ery ,in the reign of Hen ry I.

, a n d u ltim atelyit wa s given t o the whole coun ty .

ANGLE — Probably from the angle - like form of the

district . It lies i n a n g u lo.

AMBLESTON .

— This place wa s n am ed in hon our of

Ham ill, on e of the Vikings who foun ded the Welsh

colon y .

AMROTH .

—Am ,about

,en circling ; roth, a corrupted

form of rha th,a m oun d or hill , a n d rha th is used t o

den ote a plain or m oorland . Roa th,Cardiff , com es

from the latter root . In“

Liber La n d a v en sis it is

called Ra dh a nd Lla n r a th.

BRAWDY .

— Fen ton thinks it is a m utation of Broad

wa y . We in clin e to think it has a m ore an cien t deri


vation . B ra wd is a n an cien t Welsh word for judgm en t .

Dydd b r a wa , the day of judgm en t . Dy- ty, hou se . The

rem ain s of a n old British en cam pm en t that are dis

c ern ib le n ear a farm house called B r a wdy poin ts to the

probability that a judgm en t court w a s held here hen ce“ the n am e B ra wdy or B ra wd—dy .

BUTTER H ILL - In a n an cien t deed it is called

the Gran ge of Butter H ill , supposed to have been a

grange to the Pr iory of P ill , settled by the foun der ,Adam de Rupe . Butter , perhaps , is a corruption ofBu tha r , the n am e of an other Vikin g who visited the seshores .

BRIMSTON.—From Er im i , the n am e of a Norse

s ettler. B r im i is the Norse for flam e , a nd the name of

a m agical sword m en tion ed in Norse poetry . Er im i

ha s left his n am e in Br im sc om b ,Som erset .

BUCKSTON.—Nam ed in hon our of B a kki , a Norse

settler.

BURTON .—An old Saxon form of Briton . Briton

Ferry wa s on ce called Burton Ferry .

BRYNBERIAN .

—B l’yn ,a hil l ; b er i a n

,according to

s om e , com es from B er a n,the n am e of a rivulet

,sign ify

in g a short river ; but we in clin e to derive b er i a n fromb er i

, a kite or glede . Beri Farm , n ear Newport,Pem . ,

wa s so called probably from the visit of the kite to this

district .

BONCATH .—Nam ed after an other of the bird species

,

the buzzard .

BUGELY .—Eu

, a n ox gely ,a corru ption of gelly ,

a

g rove , sign ifying the buffalo of the forest .



COED GLASAN .— The n am e sign ifies G la sa n

’

s

t rees .

CREAMSTON.— Cl’c’a m is a corruption of Gr im , the

n am e of a Norse settler.

CAMROSE .- Ah Anglicized for m of Ca m rhos ; c a m ,

crooked,a n d rhos

,heather .

CASTLE MORRIS—So called in hon our of a m a n

n am ed Morris.

CYLCH BYCHAN .—Tli e parish is divided in to four

districts,of which this is the sm allest hen ce the nam e .

Cy lch B ye/t a n ,the sm all district .

CAPEL NEWYDD .—A sm all village n ot far from

Ca stell Newydd .

C1LYMAENLLW YD.—Ci l , hidden place y ,

the m a en,

ston e llwyd , grey .

CLYDEY .— So n am ed in hon our of Clyda i , a daughter

-o f Brycha n ,t o whom the church is dedicated .

CRYMYCH .

—VV€ find the root c rwm i n c rym lin a n d

c rom lech. The n am e m a y be a con traction of c rwm

rhych ; c rwm , ben ding , con cave , crooked rhych,ditch

,

tren ch .

CRESELEv .—The roots are c res,

a heatin g or parch

in g ,a n d g elly , a grove , so called probably from the

abun dan ce of culm a nd coal in the district

CAREw.

—A corruption of c a era u , walls , or for t ific a

t ion s . The castle wa s built by Nest , the daughter of

Rhys ab Tewdwr , Prin ce of South Wales , or from c a er

+yw= yew tree .

DALE — A Norse n am e , sign ifyin g a broad va lley ,

a n swering t o the Saxon vale , a n d to the Welsh c a t -m .

PEMBROKESHIRE . 2 39

One writer thinks it is a con traction of De Va le,the

n am e of one of its an cien t lords , in whose tim e it wa sd ign ified with the title of a borough .

DINAS — This place derives its n am e from P en din a s,

t he prom on tory that form s a part of the Fishgu ard

an chorage . Fortified walls were on ce built on the

headlan d hen ce it wa s called P en di na s.

DREW SON. A corruption of Druid’s town . Near

t he village there is a n en closure of n early one acre

called Drewson cha pel . The ston es which form ed the

Druidical circle were rem oved in 1740 .

EGLWYSWRW .

—Eg lwysei rw is the right wording , the

c hurch b eing dedicated t o Ei rw,whose r em ain s are

supposed t o have been in terred here .

ESTINGTON.—A tran slation of Tre Iestyn ,

Iestyn’

s

t own . Iestyn wa s a Welsh prin ce .

FREYSTHORP .—The prefix refers to the goddess

Freya (Friday) , a n d the affix thorp is the Norse word

for vil lage , a n d the equ ivalen t of the Saxon ha m .

FELINDRE .—This place has probably taken its

n am e from a n old m ill that wa s in the vicin ity .

FISHGUARD .

—Ab ergwa u n is the Welsh n am e,from

i ts Situation at the m outh of the river Gwa c h or Gwa in,

which im plies a river takin g a level or straight course .I t bore the n am e of Fishg a r th as far back as the tim e of

Richard I I . The Welsh g a r th a nd the Norse g a rdr ,o rigin ally m ean t a n en closure or yard . The n am e

occurs in Norm andy , a s Fisig a rd , Au ppeg a rd , a nd Epe

g a rd, the form er of which m a y be com pared with Fish

g u a rd, which m ean s a fishin g w ear or fishin g en closure.


FLATHOLM.—A large body of Dan es took refuge

here in the year 918, a nd left their m ark in the above

n am e,which wa s origin ally Fla dholm en e, sign ifying a .

flat islan d. Holm is the Dan ish word for a grassy ban k

n ear water , or a n island . Stockholm , the Swedish capital ,is Situated on two grassy hills n ear the water.

FLEMINGSTON .—This n am e is a con clusive ethmo

logical eviden ce oi the Flem ish settlem en t .

GELLYSW ICK .—An 0ther hybrid. Gelly ,

a g rove ;wi ck

, a creek or bay.

GRESHOLM.—A com poun d of g r a ss a nd holm ,

sig n i

ty ing a grassy island .

GOMFRESTON.—~SO called in hon our of Gorm or

Gomfre, a Norse settler .

GLYNDERW EN.—A com poun d of c lyn ,

a placecovered w ith brakes

, a n d derwen , oa k .

Goonwrc r< .— Som e say it is a corrupted form of the

Welsh c oedwig , a forest but we are in clin ed t o thin k it

is a hybrid n am e , m ade up of good ,a n d the Norse wick

,

a creek or bay . Isaac Taylor is of opin ion that theViki n gs, or c reekers

, derived their n am e from thewies or creeks in which they an chored . In the n in th .

a n d ten th cen turies the creeks a n d islan ds alon g theW elsh coast , especially those of Pem brokeshire

,were

in fested with these m arauders . The Anglo - Saxon verbwi c i a n m ean s t o r u n a ship on shore , t o take up a sta

tion , a nd finally it becam e t o m ean a village .

HAVERFORDWEST .—The Welsh is l fiordd ,

fromhwyl , a sail , a nd flordd , a wa y ,

a strik ing appellation t o

a place where a sea m akes its wa y in to it . Edm un ds

derives the English n am e from Ga /r -fiordd -

gwesi , the in n



HODGESTON .

—A m odification of Oggeston or Hogges

ton ,probably from som e Norse chief called Ug g a .

HUBBERSTON .—So called in honour of H u b b er

, or

H u b b a ,a Norm an warrior

,who ,

w ith his brother H in g u a ,

led the Norsem en in that great invasion of 866 . H is

n am e is also preserved in Hu b b erst , Derbyshire ; a n d

probably in Ob b est on , Som erset .

HUNGERSTON.

—From H i ngwa r , the com pan ion of

Ubba, 866.

JAMESTON .—So n am ed in hon our of f a m es, a Flem ing

who took refuge here after the subm ersion of Flan ders

in the year 1110 .

J EFFRESTON .

—From j efirey , an other of the settlers

of Anglia Tr a nswa llia . j efirey or Geofirey is probably

a Norm an corruption of Godfred , the good peace , or

God’s peace .

J OHNSTOWN . Nam ed in hon our of j ohn , a n

English n oblem an , it is supposed of the twelfth cen tury

KESTON .

— Probably from Kessa or Cissa,a Norm an .

Keswick (Cum berlan d) , Cissa'

s dwelling .

LAWRENNY .— Som e thin k it is a corruption of lla w

ren i , plural of lla wren , or lla wr,

floor . groun d . Others

thin k it is a corruption of Lla n -

yr—wzys, a church in the

islan d . This accords with the topographical situation

of the place , as it is a n islan d surroun ded by water.form ing two creeks , on e run n in g t o Carew

, a nd the

other t o Langwm .

LANGUM.

—A corruption of Lla ngwnz, sign ifyin g a

c hurch in the valley.

PEMBROKESHIRE . 243

LUDCHURCH .— The Welsh n am e is Eg lwys Lwyd .

L u d is a n An glicism of lwyd adorable,blessed

.

LAMBSTONE .

~ SO called in hon our of La m b i or

La m b a, on e of the settlers of the Welsh colony

,whose

n am e is also preserved in Lam beth,Lam bourn e

, a nd

in the surn am e Lam be .

LAMPHEY .

— A corruption of Lla nyfiydd ,Fa n u m

Fi dei, the church of the faith . It is Spelt in som e old

docum en ts Lla n /a i th a n d Lla nfeth ; then i t w a s c or

r u p t ed in to Lla nfey a n d La m phey . The con son an t n is

fr equen tly substituted in Welsh place - n am es in lieu of

the letter a t .

LANTEAGUE .

~ Pr0 b a b ly a corruption of Lla n—deg ,

sign ify in g a fair church .

LETTERSTON .

— A tran slation of the Welsh n am e,

Treletter t,from Letta rd , the an cien t own er of the lan d ,

w ho gave the advowson of the church ,w ith the chapel

o f Ll a n fa i r an n exed ,to the com m andery of Slebech .

LLANIADEN .

— ] a den is a corruption of Aedda n,the

n am e of the patron sain t of the parish church . Pro

fessor Rhys refers the n am e Aedd to the word a dd which

is explain ed in Dr . Davis’s diction ary as m ean in g dom in u s

,

m aster . It would seem , he says , t o be m atched in

O . Irish by Geda ,the gen itive of Oed ,

later Aedh,Aodh,

H a odh,An glicized H u gh,

a n d the lateMr . Stephen s , ofMer

thyr Tydfil , w a s probably right in regarding the Aedd of

m odern Welsh tradition as a Goidelic im portation from

North Britain .

LLANFRYNACH or LLANFYRNACH .

—From B ryn a ch,a

popular Irish sain t,who accom pan ied B rycha n B rych

e in iog to Britain in the fifth cen tu ry .


LLANGLOEFAN .— Ths church is dedicated to Clofia n ,

LLANGOLMAN .

—From Colm a n ,supposed to be a n

Irish sain t .

LLANWNDA .

— W u da is a corruption of Gwyn da f, a .

descen dan t of Em yr Llyd a w , a nd a sain t of the sixth

cen tury ,who is supposed to have been the foun der of

the church . Llanwn da Poin t is celebrated for the

surren der,in 1797,

of the French troops un der Gen eral

Tate .

LLANTYD .— Tyd is a n abbreviation of Illtyd ,

t o

whom the church is dedicated . It is also called Lla n twit

LLANDELOY .

—A corruption of Lla n dei lo the parish

church is dedicated to Tei lo.

LLANRHIAN .

—Rhi c m is supposed to have been the

foun der of the church .

LLANSTINAN .— S ti n a n or j u stin i a n ,

a sain t of the

Sixth cen tury ,wa s the foun der of the church .

MILFORD HAVEN — Som e are of opin ion that thisis a tran slation of Rhyd

-

y- m i lwr

,the n am e of a brook ;

taking m i l from m i lwr,a soldier

, a n d tran slatin g rhyd

in to ford , then Mi l/0rd . Others thin k it is a n Angli

c ized form of Myl far , or ymyl mor ,bordering the sea .

Within a m ile of the presen t town a stream let w a s.

won t t o turn a m ill that belonged t o the Priory ,a n d ,

before the bridge—period had dawn ed in the district the

people were obliged t o cross the brook over the m ill ’s

ford , called in Welsh Rhydyfeli n , a n d we in clin e t o think

Milford is a tran slation of Rhydyfeli n . The Welsh n am e

is Ab er - da u —g leddyf, from the fact that the two rivers,Cledda u Fa wr a n d Cledda u Fa e/z

,discharge them selves.


240 PLACE—NAMES IN WALES

ban ks of which river the parish is situated ,which wa s

n oted for the abun dan ce of fish caught there durin gthe season .

MARLOES .

— Perhaps a m utation of M a r la is m a r

a n exten sive tract of lan d ; l a i s,a corruption of c la is,

a tren ch or rivulet . More probably from m oel z b a re ,

a n d rhos.

MAZEBRIDGE .

—The prefix m a y be the An glo - Saxon

m a ze, sign ifying a place or passage full of win dings a n d

turn ings,which is very often span n ed by a bridge .

MARTHREY or M a r thr i,which is perhaps a corru p

tion of m er thyr , m artyr . The place suffered very heavily

from the Dan ish on slaughts, a n d the church is dedi

c a ted t o the holy m artyrs , or it m a y be from m a a n d

tr u (a n ) : a wretched spot , a place of Slaughter .

MIDDLE MILL —A tran slation of Felin g a n ol . A

Baptist Chapel wa s built here in 1756,a n d called Feli n

g a nol , from its situation n ear a m ill of that n am e,which

in terven ed between two other m ills .

MUZZLEW ICK .— From Mou ssel , a Norse settler a n d

wi ck, a creek or bay .

MYNACHLOG DDU .

— Black m on astery t .e.,

m onastery belongin g to the B lack Friars .

MOYLGROVE .

—A com poun d of m oel,a bare poin ted

hill,a n d g rov e.

NEYLAND .—The old Norm an n am e wa s Na yla nd ,

from ey la n d : (isla n d ) w ith a prefixed n,for which corn

pare Narberth a n d Nash . We fin d Naylan d in Suffolka n d Nylan d in Som erset . The inhabitan ts , aspiring hardt o com pete w ith their n eighbours in Milford

,aban don ed

the old n am e, a n d called the place New Milford .

PEMBROKESHIRE . 247

NARBERTH . In the Ma b inog ion it is calledAr b erth

, which sign ifies a place situated on a sloping

hill , aboun din g w ith per thi , bushes . The n am e an swers

to the physical aspect of the town . The preposition

yn , in ,wa s gen erally used before Ar b er th ; hen ce the

con son an t n adhered to the n am e, a nd then ce we have

Na r b er th.

NEVERN .

— The parish derives its n am e from the

rivulet Nev er n ,which flows through it . Lewis

,in the

“

Topographical Diction ary , thinks , very im probably ,

the word is derived from n i fer , a num ber , on accoun t of

the num erous stream lets that r u n through the parish

in to the sea . Teg id spelt it Na nhyfer ; if so ,the roots

are na n t,a brook ; a nd hyf, bold ,

NASH— Perhaps a m odification of the Norse ness, a

cape,

.or prom on tory , b u t proba bly from (a ste)n a shz a t

the ash . Nash Poin t,Naze , a n d Na zeb y ,

com e from

the sam e root . Nash village is situated n ear Milford Ba y .

NOLTON .— Nol is supposed to be a con traction of

O liver ; hen ce the nam e Oliver’s town . More probably

from ’

n Old town . Com pare Na r b er th from yn Ar b er th.

NEW MOAT.— So called from the Flem ings having

con structed a n ew m oat here in the tim e of Hen ry II .

NEWPORT .— The Welsh n am e is Trefdr a eth,

which

sign ifies a town on the san ds , from its situation

n ear a san dy beach of con siderable exten t . Six or

seven places in the Un ited Kingdom bear the nam e

Newport . It wa s wisely proposed som etim e ago t o

chan ge Newport , Monm outh , t o Uskpor t . We would

strongly advise the corporation of Trefdr a eth to aban don

the nam e Newport , a nd give it the right English nam e— Beachton .


NEWCASTLE—There is a n an cien t m oun d n ear the

church called the castle,

which wa s called“

n ew

to distin gu ish it from a m uch older on e,which is at a

short distan ce from the village . Pa n t g rwndy ,P a n t , hol

low ; c rwndy,a roun d house .

PELcwrr. -From Pela,the titm ouse ; a nd wa rn .

valley .

PENYBRYN.—The n am e sign ifies a place on the t op

of the hill .

POPE H ILL .- The lower part of the coun ty wa s on ce

designated Peb ydiog , from P eb yd , probably a m an ’s

n am e . Com pare Dol B eb in in Carn arvon shire .

PATER , or PEMBROKE DOCK . This place on ce

con sisted on ly of a farm, on e house , a n d a church ,

then

design ated Paterchurch . In 1812 surveys werem ade , a nd in two years after the nucleus of the presen tGovernm en t Station wa s form ed

,when i t wa s called

Pem broke Dock .

PENAR .—The nam e sign ifies a place situated on a

high m oun tain .

PENALLY .—Pen

,head a lly ,

a corruption of g elly ,a

grove ; sign ifying the head of the grove . The churchis Situated in a thickly - wooded place

, or m ore probably

from P en +Alu n .

PONTFAEN .—Pon.t

,b ridge ; fa en - m a en ,

ston e . Per

haps [a m is a corruption of Gwa en,the n am e of the

river that flows throu gh the parish ; the b i - la b ial w

bein g changed in to the u n i—labial

PRENDERGAST.— Tbis place der ives its n am e from a

Dem et ia n fam ily of the n am e,who were the own ers of

t he land in olden tim es. Maur ice de Pren dergast wa s



REYNOLDSTON .

—S0 called in hon our of Reyn old , aFlem ing

, who probably settled here in the reign ofHen ry I .

ROGESTON .

— From Roger ,an other Flem ing ,

who

took up his abode here .

ST . DAVID’

s.

— A free tran slation of the WelshTy ddewi

,so called in hon our of Dewi

,David

,the patron

sain t of Wales . Its an cien t n am e w a s M v nyw ,j uttin g ,

pen in sulated ; but after S t . Da v id rem oved there , a n d

becam e the bishop of the see , a n d wa s buried ,the old n am e

wa s aban don ed , a n d his hon ourable n am e wa s bestowed

upon it . St . Da v id wa s gran dson of Cered ig ,who gave his

n am e to Ceredigion, a n d w a s son of Cu n edd a . It is sup

posed that he wa s the first who system atically un dertook

to Christian ise the people of Dem et ia .

ST . DoGMELL’

s.

— The Welsh n am e is Lla n d u doch,

Ta d, a surfa ce

,a region ; ei ch

,the Celtic for water , a.

n am e quite descriptive of the physical aspect of the

place . The church wa s dedicated to Dog/a el , son ofIthel

,son ofCeredig . Dogm ell is a n An glicism ofDogfa el .

ST . ISMAEL .

— This village derives its n am e fromI sm a el

, a sain t of the sixth cen tury ,a n d supposed t o

have b een the foun der of the church .

ST . FLORENCE —Called in Welsh Treg oyr ,which is

probably a corruption of Treg a er ,walled town

'

or place .

We have n o reason t o suppose that this place w a s fort ified by a c a er ; but it m a y be so called from its c ont ig u i ty t o a large wall that belon ged t o the exten sive

park of the Ear ls of Pem broke . The church wa s dedic a ted to S t . Floren c e ; hen ce i ts presen t n am e .

PEMBROKESHIRE . 2 51

STAR—Probably after a public house so called .

STACK—The word is derived from the Norwegiansta ckr

, a colum n ar rock , a n d is foun d in Stack Rocks ,Stackpole , Head Penyholt Stack ,

a n d Stack Island ,

frin gin g the Pem brokeshire coast .

ST . N ICHOLAS—The place wa s on ce called Mon kton

, from the church bein g gran ted by Arnu lph deMon tgom ery ,

in 1088,to the Abbey of St . Scyes in

Norm an dy . In a short tim e after this a priory ofm on ks of the B en edictin e order

,dedicated t o St .

Ni chola s, wa s foun ded at this place , a n d m ade a cell

to that foreign abbey .

ST . LAWRENCE — This parish derives its n am e

from the church, which is dedicated to St . La wren ce.

ST . PETRox.—A free tran slation of Lla n b edrog .

The church wa s dedicated t o St . Pedrog ,who flourished

about the begin n in g of the seven th cen tury ,when ce

(St .) Pedrog’

s corrupted in to Petrox.

SOLVA .— This beautiful little Village derives i ts

n am e from the river Solfa ch. Sol m a y be a corru ption

of sio, to hiss , whiz ; a n d lli , a str eam ,Sign ifyi ng the

hissin g stream,or it m a y be derived from si lod , seed

lin gs,youn g fish . Or

,perhaps

,sol is the fem in in e form

of the adj ective swl , which sign ifies dirty or m uddy ,

m odifyin g a ch,water hen ce sola ch,

the m uddy stream .

Som e thin k the n am e is a n An glicism of C i l/a ch, givingthe hissing soun d t o c ; hen ce Si lfa ch, then Sol/a ah,

Sol/a . It appears that the n am e wa s on ce spelt Ci l/a ah

a n d S i lfa ch hen ce it m ight be easily changed t o Sol/a ah,

Sol/a . We adopt the latter.


SPITTAL .—This n am e is a m odification of the Latin

hospi t i u m . An ysb ytty ,hospital

,is recorded to have been

erected in olden tim es n ear Roach en cam pm en t .

STEYNTON .—This village probably wa s so called in

h on our ofAda m de St a i n ton . Som e derive it from stea n ,

a ston e , som etim es a bounda ry stone.

SUTTON.~ An abbreviation of Sou th- town . It is

an alogous w ith Surrey , the south realm , a n d Suffolk ,

t he southern division of the East- Anglican folk .

SAUNDERSFOOT .— The prefix is a con traction of

A lexa nder . The n am e sig nifies Alexander's place at

t he foot of the hill .

S ILVER H ILL—Perhaps the burial - place of a Vikin gc alled Solv a r .

l

SOUTH DAIRY .— So called t o distin gu ish it from the

n orth a n d west dairies .

SKOKIIOLM. Norse n am e sign ifyin g a woodedi slan d . Holm e is the Norse for a n island .

TAEARN SPITE .— Ta fa r n ,

in n,public - house ; Spi te,

a corruption of ysbyt ty , hospital ; the n am e is derivedfrom a n inn raised from the ruin s of a n liospi tz

'

u m ,which

h a d been founded there for ' the accom m odation of the

pilgrim traveller t o the shrin e of St . David’s . Spital

Square , London ,derives its n am e from the church of

t he priory a nd hospital of St . Mary,which stood in

Spi t a lfields.

TIER’

S CROSS— Perhaps from Thor, one of the

V ikin gs who founded the Welsh colony .

TREFGARx.— Tre/, place , town ; c a r n ,

heap,cairn ;

sign ifyin g , literally , the town on the heap . There are



TI-IORNTON.—SO called in hon our of Thorn i , on e of

the Norse settlers .

TEGRYN —TEGFRYN .

— A corruption of teg , fair ,.a nd b ryn ,

a hill .

TRELEDDIDFAW R.

— A corruption of tre, place ;l la dd/a ,

slaughter ; a n d fa wr , gr eat ; sign ifyin g a place

o f great slaughter . Som e are of opin ion that som e

bloody battles were fought in this district .

TRETE10 .— Teio,

perhaps,is a corruption of tei a n ,

sm all houses , cottages , or of ta eog , a vassal , tenan t in

villeinage , a peasan t . One of the old Welsh laws reads

thus : Ta i r rha ndi r a fydd yn y da eogdref”— there

shall be three sha rela n ds in the villein—town .

TREFLERW .—Lerw, a n in flection of llerw

,what is

n ice or delicate .

USMASTON .— Usm a s is a corruption of Ism a el , t o

whose m em ory the church is dedicated .

WISTON .—A free tran slation of Ga s Gwys, the

Castle of Gwys, which wa s built by a Norm an n am ed

W iz hen ce the town of W iz .

WALTON—This district wa s given by a Norm an

n am ed W a lter de W a le to the Kn ights of St . John,a nd

wa s so called in hon our of the don or .

WILLIAMSTON .— SO called in hon our of W i lli a m ,

a n other settler of the twelfth cen tury .

RADNORSH IRE .

The Welsh n am e,

i'lI a esyfed ,

is variously derived .

In som e an cien t MSS. it is written Ma eshyfa i dd ,which

sign ifies a lan d of boldn ess,or a m artial region . We

are in form ed in the British Triads that three exiled

prin ces , Gwrg a i , Ca da fa el , a n d Hyfa idd Hi r ,the son of

Ca r a dog Freichfra s, were on accoun t of their m ilitary

prowess m ade kin gs ; the form er two in the n orth,a n d

Hyfa idd H i r in the south . Som e are of opin ion that

the latter wa s m ade kin g of Radn or , a nd hen ce his n am e

wa s bestowed upon i t .

* Others adhere t o the pre

sen t orthography , Ma esy/ed ,which sign ifies the im b i b

in g m eadow,

”or the drin kin g lan d

,from the fact

that the little river Som erg ill sudden ly sin ks in to the

earth in the vicin ity of New Radn or,a n d then follows

a subterran ean course for a con siderable distan ce . The

popular derivation am on g the inhabitan ts is M a esy

fedw,from the abun dan ce of birch—groves in the coun ty .

The En glish n am e,Radn or , wa s given to it in the reign

of Hen ry VII I .,a n d sign ifies the red district . We

fin d Radford in Notts , Radlow in Hereford ,Redcliff in

G loucester , &c .

ABEREDW Y .

—From the river Edwy that flows

through the place . Edwy is probably a derivative of

eddu,t o press on ,

t o g o . Or , perhaps , the right word

in g is a i dwy ,sign ifyin g the lively water (P)

ABBEY CW M HIR.— Cwm H i r

,lon g vale . Ca dwa llon

a b Madoc bu ilt a n abbey of the Cistercian order here in

1143 for 60 m on ks . The abbey wa s destroyed by Owen

G lyn dwr .*This is the best su ppor ted der iv a t ion .


BEGUILDY .—A corruption probably of B u gei l—dy ,

the shepherd ’s house , a very appropriate n am e in a

sheep - rearing district .

BLETHFA (older BLEDDEACH) .—Som e derive it fromb li th, m ilk a nd m a n , a place sign ifyin g a dairy place .

It is som etim es spelt Bleddfa as a con traction of

Bleddyn- fa n ,

Bleddyn’

s place . Bleddyn wa s the n am e

of several bards in the years 1090- 1260 . We in clin e to

thin k it is a com poun d of b la idd , wolf a nd m a n,place .

BOUGHROOD .—Edm un ds thin ks it is a corruption

of b uwch firwd , the cow’s brook . We rather thin k it is

a n Anglicised form of B a chrhyd ,which is a com pou n d

of b a chog , crooked , havin g m any turn ings or win dings ;a n d rhyd , a ford . A stream let that discharges itself

in to the Wye , n ear the village,is called Ba chwy ,

the

m eandering water. The Wye m akes a sharp turn in ghere . Ma i a n dros, a river in Phrygia

,is proverbial for

its m any win dings , when ce cam e the word m ean der .

Som e think the right wordin g is B a chrhyd ,sign ifyin g

the little ford ”

on the Wye,where a boat a n d horse

were in con stan t atten dan ce .

CROESFEILIG .— Croes, cross Mei lig , the n am e of

the son of Ca w , a nd a sain t of the fifth cen tury .

CREGRINA .—A m utilation of Cr u gyn a u ,

heaps .

COLFA .—A corr u ption of Collta , which m ean s the

place of the hazel- wood .

CASCOB .— In Doom sday Book it is ca lled Ca s

c ope, which , accordin g to som e , is a com pound of c a ska nd hope—Mr .William s , in his H istory ofRadn orshire

,

derives it thus C a s, a fortress a nd cope, a n em in en ce .


258 PLACE~NAMES IN WALES .

con fluen ce of the rivers Elan a nd Wye . The parish

adj oin s the coun ties of B recon , Cardigan , a n d Mon t

gom ery ,a n d is the on ly on e in Radn orshire where Welsh

is un derstood a n d spoken . According to colloquial pro

n u n c ia t ion it is Cwmwd Dou ddwr , the comm ote of the two

waters.

CLAS GARMON .— Cla s, a green spot or en closure , 3

Cloister ; Ga rmon , perhaps the m em orable Germ ann s .

DYFFRYN ELAN .—Dyflryn , a long vale ; Ela n ,

the

n am e of the river that run s through it .

EVENJOBB .—The popular opin ion in the n eighbour

hood an en t the n am e is that a m a n n am ed Job livedhere at som e rem ote period , a n d wa s proverbial

, a s

the prototype Job ,for patien ce a nd evenn ess of tem per ,

a n d hen ce the place wa s called in hon our of him . The

n am e is , perhaps , a com poun d of e/es, brink or m a rg in

a n d hwpp,a slope . Bu r linjob b ,

in the sam e coun ty,

m ean s Brechla ’

s hwpp or slope . It wa s an cien tly spelt

Ev a n chob b , Evan’s cop , i .e.

,Evan ’s hill - top .

FELINDRE .—The n am e is a corrupt form ofm i leindref,

a town ship under villain soccage tenure .

GLASCOMB .—A com poun d of g la s,

green a n d com b ,

a n Anglicism of cwm , a valley ,a din gle . The village

lies in a beautiful a nd verdan t valley , where also stan ds

the fine m an sion of Gla scom b .

GOLON .—A corruption probably of colwyn, a sharp

hillock , a prom on tory .

HARPTON .—A tran slation of the Welsh nam e

,

Tre/ydelyn .

HEYOP.—A com poun d of ha v e, a grove , a n d cope, a n

em in ence .

RADNORSHIRE. 259

KINNERTON .—A corruption of Cen a rth, headland ,

a nd town , Sign ifyin g a place at the headland .

KNIGHTON . The Welsh n am e is Trefycla wdd,Dykestown , so called from its con tiguity to Offa

’s Dyke ,traces of which are discern ible to this day . The En glishn am e m ean s kn ight - town

,which

,after the Norm an Con

quest , wa s probably held on the tenure of kn ightly service ,a n d is one of those n am es that illustrate the old law phrase ,“ a kn ight

’

s fee .

KNUCKLAs.—A corrupted form of cnwc , a slight

em in ence , a nd g la s, green . a c h a s been corru pted in

a few English place - n am es , such as Kn ock in (Salop) ,Kn ock - holt (Ken t ) , a n d Kn ook (Wilts) a nd in Ireland

we fin d Kn ockg la ss, Kn oc kdow ,&c .

LLANANNO .—The church is dedicated to Wa nn a , or

Anno.

LLANBADARN FAWR .

— The church is dedicated to

P a da rn ,a descendan t of Em yr Llyd aw, a nd it is called

Fa wr in distin ction from Llanbadarn - Fynydd a nd Llan

ha d a rn -

y- Graig.

LLANDEGLEY .— The church wa s probably dedicated

t o Tegwel , a Welsh sain t . Tegwel m ean s a fair coun

t en a n ce or aspect .

LLANGUNLLo .—The church is dedicated t o Cu nllo,

a Welsh sain t . Cu nllo or Cyn llo, is probably m ade u pof eyn ,

the first or chief,a n d llo or lo, referred by Pro

fessor Rhys to a word of the sam e origin as the Latin

lu pu s, a wolf.

LLANDRINDOD .— Its an cien t n am e wa s Ftynon Llwyn

y Gég , the well of the cuckoo’

s bush ; but in 1603 the

.260 PLACE- NAMES IN WALES.

church wa s dedicated t o the B r inda d (Trin ity) hen ce

the n am e.

LLANDDEwr- YSTRADENNI.—The church is dedicated

to St . Dewi . Ystra d , a flat , a vale enn i is obscure . The

village is situated in a low vale on the river Itha n .

LLANEARETH.—The church is situated n ear the

confluen ce of the rivers M a reth a nd Wye ; hen ce the

nam e . Ma reth sign ifies lively or active water.

LLANFIHANGEL RHYDITHON .—The church is dedi

c a ted to St . Mi cha el . Rhyd , a ford I tha n , the n am e of

the river that flows through the pari sh .

LLANYRE .—Yre is a n abbreviation of Llyre. The

church is dedicated to Llyr , a descendan t of Cu nedd a

W led ig , a nd a sain t of the fifth cen tury .

MEISTY - RHOS is,probably

,a cor

ruption of m a es, a field , a n d ty ,a house ; rhos, a. dry

m eadow, a plain . Lowry perplexes us the root perhaps,

is lla wr , ground. Lowry is however , a person al n am e

which probably wa s con n ected w ith the place .

MONOGHTY.—A corruption of myn a chdy ,

a m onast ery . It is supposed that a m onastery stood here inolden tim es. Mon a u ghty Poydd (Salop) is said to beMon a chty Poelk, the hot m on astery .

NANTMEL .—Na n t , a brook m él

,accordin g to som e ,

is a n abbreviation of Ma el, a personal nam e ; but we

rather think it is the Welsh for hon ey hen ce the nam e

m ean s hon ey - brook , so called ,perhaps

,from its hue

,

or from the hives of wild bees in the n eighbouring rocks.


262 PLACE—NAMES IN WALES.

RHAIADR.—This town derives its nam e from a

Rha i a dr,a waterfall , that is con tiguous to it . The

Welsh call it Rha i a dr Grev ,from its Situation on the

ea stern ban k of the river Wye . The word rha i a dr is

derived from the sam e root as rhedeg ,t o ru n , or perhaps ,

from rlza o, to roar , bluster , in allusion to the din of the

water in its fallen state .

SALFORD .—A com poun d of sa llow,

a willow,a n d

ford ; Sign ifying the willow ford .

ST. HARMON .—F1‘Oln St . Garm on , to whom the parish

chu rch is dedicated . Gerrn a n u S—Garm on , B ishop of

Auxerre , wa s the son ofRhedyn , a n d a n ative of Brittany.

Gir a ldu s says that in the chu rch of St . Harm on, n ear

Rha ia dr , wa s the crutch of St . Cyr ig , plated with gold ,a n d adorn ed with pearls , above loft , called lloflt y grog(because the im age of the cross w a s gen erally pain ted on

the fron t of the loft ) . This crutch possessed the virtue

of healing m any diseases , such as the plagu e , the king's

evil, a n d all m an n er of swelling in the arm pits. The sick

person would kn eel with reveren ce before the cru tch, a nd

offer a piece of m on ey for his clean sin g a n d un less this

wa s don e , no cure could be expected .

" This crutch wa sburn t at the Reform ation .

TREFONEN .— Tref, a n abode , a plac e onen

,ash tree

.

W EYTHEL.—A corruption of Grc'yddel , a m a n of the

wood ,a n Irishm an .

Documents

Place-Names in Wales