Category: Readers Articles of Interest

CELEBRATING BRIDGES

CELEBRATING BRIDGES

6 July saw an international celebration following the conclusion of three years of restoration work on the Union Chain Bridge linking England and Scotland across the river Tweed and the unveiling of an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). There is also an important Welsh connection as all the ironwork was made in Wales, at the Pontypridd chainworks of Brown Lenox. Now 203 years old the extensive restoration work saw some of the ironwork replaced in a complex project costing £10.5m. The bridge is now the oldest vehicle-carrying suspension bridge and with a 449ft (137m) span and was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it opened in 1820. It was designed by Captain Samuel Brown who introduced iron chain cables into the Royal Navy.

The structure is Grade I listed in England and a Grade A listed structure in Scotland and was singled out for honour by the ASCE, supported by the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Japanese Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE), along with many members of the local community from both sides of the Tweed. In terms of this accolade, it now joins the Eiffel Tower, Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge. Amongst the supporters were the Friends of the Union Chain Bridge who had campaigned for many years to support the preservation of the Union Chain Bridge and to conserve, protect and enhance its immediate environment for public benefit. See https://www.unionbridgefriends.com/ and http://union chainbridge.org/

Closer to home the website; Crossing the Severn Estuary severnbridges.org/ has been taken forward by the South Wales Institute of Engineers Educational Trust (SWIEET 2007) to continue the work by the Severn Bridges Trust (SBT). SBT trustees are all Chartered Civil Engineers who have enjoyed an involvement in the design, construction and maintenance of one or both of the Severn bridges. The Trust have sought to provide a permanent record of the many professions and disciplines involved in the First Severn Bridge and the Second Severn Crossing [now called ‘The Prince
of Wales Bridge’] together with approaches, the Severn Tunnel and former ferry crossings of the Estuary.


In 2016, the year marking the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Severn Bridge and the 20th Anniversary of the completion of the Second Severn Crossing, the website was launched to provide a permanent public display expanded with engineering detail for those who are interested and to provide information on the background to both bridges as well as information on earlier crossings of the Estuary. It celebrates the broad spectrum of engineering disciplines and other professions involved, and the environmental and construction achievements of these two crossings. The website has been added to since then but is now complete.

Like the story of the Union Chain Bridge Crossing the Severn Estuary presents an inspirational example of the work of engineers and what they can achieve and contribute to society.

Stephen K. Jones

BIG TREES FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW

BIG TREES FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW

Can you recall what you were doing and where you were, when the dreadful tragedy of 9/11 occurred? It shook the world, and anyone watching the event on TV could hardly believe their eyes when the second plane hit the second Tower. It was so very hard to comprehend the scale of the tragedy, the loss of life, the fear that it might happen again…in USA or anywhere else in the world.

Over the years, even those here with no close ties in USA have been affected in some small way by this monstrous evil, even those in our quiet village. My younger son, Mark Roberts, grew up in Wenvoe, but later went to London to work, and became a TV cameraman for a Japanese News TV Company called TV Asahi. He filmed crime scenes, everyday dramas, earthquakes, floods etc all over the world, recording visually interviews by his colleagues of all sorts of people in all sorts of situations.

Soon after 9/11, Mark and the TV Asahi team, flew out to Toronto with BBC, ITN and other news teams, as all US airports were closed. They travelled straight down to New York by coach, and as they approached New York, they saw U.S. F-16 fighter planes circling the sky, in fear of a repetition of the Twin Towers disaster, a chilling sight. The area around the disaster was a scene of total devastation, but the news crews had to speak to anyone at the scene for their thoughts and comments. I asked him later if he felt intrusive and voyeuristic, filming people’s raw emotions and grief and anger, and he said simply “The world has to know, Mum”.

The following March, I visited USA on a Travelsphere tour of the Canyons, ending up in Las Vegas, with my friend, the late Mrs Maureen Hunt, whom many of you will remember. (We had booked the holiday long before 9/11). We sat having a coffee one day in Las Vegas opposite the New York, New York Hotel, and noticed a long line of people, with their backs to us, seemingly examining the wall around the hotel, so we went to investigate. We found a small, temporary, improvised Memorial had been set up, with mementoes from the Twin Towers, photos of the site of Ground Zero, letters and poems, even photos of some of those killed. It really brought all the memories rushing back, and we were both deeply touched by this humble display, and the solemnity of the long line of locals and tourists paying their respects.

More recently, many of you, like me, admired plants etc at the Wenvoe Open Gardens Event, and I was fascinated by the oak tree sapling grown by Mr Mike Tucker in his greenhouse. He explained that it had been grown by Mr Bruce McDonald, who, about 6 years ago, had collected some acorns from the Memorial Site at Ground Zero which had literally hundreds of these Swamp White Oak trees growing there. After checking it was (at that time) not illegal to bring them into UK, Bruce brought a few home to plant in pots. Only 2 “took” and Bruce gave 1 each to 2 friends, one of whom was our green-fingered Mike! He has nursed it tenderly ever since, and it looked very healthy when we saw it in June. The conditions at Ground Zero seem to suit the swamp oak tree , but it refuses to grow in many places so it is odd that it has settled in Wenvoe!
The plant certainly brought back many sad memories, and I am sure we all hope that the wars in Ukraine, Syria and Sudan will soon be over and that peace will prevail.
Thank you for reading this. and perhaps you could tell us of your experiences?

Val Roberts.

 

SILVER FOX OUTING – No 1: 25 May, 23

SILVER FOX OUTING – No 1: 25 May, 23

 

The outing was suggested and planned by Iain Pate. It
was a highly successful trip and early indications are
that Iain will organise another day-out. There were 10
foxes and one vixen, all proudly waving a Senior Rail
Card. The fare for the Day Ranger was £9.20. A
‘Ranger’ ticket, this got us off to a good start!
It was a lovely sunny day. Shorts were to be seen,
white legs were to be seen, old fashion slacks were to
be seen.
Itinerary
Cardiff Bus, No.96, Depart Wenvoe, Station Road (bus
was late). Arrive Barry station 9.25.
Depart, Barry station, 10,00 for Bridgend.
Arrive, Bridgend station, 10.38.
Depart, Bridgend station, 10.42.
Arrive, Maesteg station, 11,04
Depart, Maesteg station, 11.15.
Arrive, Cardiff Central, 12.06
45 minutes lunch break in Cardiff. (A few said they had
had a salad in the upmarket Pret A Manger fast food
shop, but they were seen in Greggs
with a sausage roll!)
Depart, Cardiff Central, 13.16.
Arrive, Rhymney station, 14.16.
Depart, Rhymney station, 14.27.
Arrive, Cardiff Central, 15.31
Depart, Cardiff Central, 15.41
Arrive, Barry station, 16.05.
Depart, Barry on 96 bus.
Arrive, Wenvoe, later than planned.


Preparation – Iain was meticulous
in planning the outing and created
a WhatsApp group to keep all
informed. However, three of the
group didn’t know how to use WhatsApp. One of the
three asked what’s WhatsApp? Iain explained it was
a modern way of communicating with all in the group
through iPhone. He went on to recommended taking
bottled water, a snack and Tena. Iain kindly agreed to
bulk buy a pack of 10 Tena pads from Amazon.
Everyone turned up at Barry station in good time for
the train. Three of the group took the lift from
Platform 1 to Platform 3, all with walking sticks. An
old ‘Sprinter’ train was the journey to Bridgend
station. The Bridgend ‘Turbostar’ train to Maesteg
went well and the return journey to Cardiff, in time
for lunch.
Prior to lunch at Cardiff, a decision had to be made
on choice of journey for the third leg. The choice was
between Rhymney or Ebbw Vale. Rhymney was
considered the best choice, as it was a two-hour
return journey, whereas Ebbw Vale was almost four
hours; and by this time several in the group were
flagging, mainly those with walking sticks.
So, Rhymney it was to be. To the delight of the group
the Rhymney train arriving at Platform 6 was a
Transport for Wales brand new train, named the
‘Flirt’. Gareth Williams was tickled by this name.
Half an hour into the Rhymney journey, one in the
group started mincing along the carriage; we all knew
why. Tena saved the day until the location of the
onboard toilet in the new train was found. Iain
pointed out that the Rhymney train terminated at
Penarth. Mike Harvey provided a fact of interest, that
Rhymney is one of the poorest towns in Europe,
while Penarth is one of the wealthiest towns in
Europe. Mike is always correct with his facts.
On the one-hour return to Cardiff, we became rather
noisy, with whimsical observations. It took the
group’s Barrister to warn that we speak quietly. No
sooner had he spoken, that he uttered the most risqué
remark of the outing on a passing young passenger.
The group’s vixen came into her own and told him to
shut up.
Arriving at Cardiff Central from Rhymney on
Platform 8 required a change of platform to the Barry
train. The same three who took a lift in Barry station
at the start of our outing, took a lift to change
platforms in Cardiff. Easy. Not so! Exiting the lift at
ground level, they became completely disoriented,
almost missing the Barry train. This was the only
mishap of the outing.
The final train journey was to
Barry, leaving from Platform 6
for the 96 bus to Wenvoe. It
was a great day-out, made
better by all trains being on
time.
Observations – It was a journey
that showed a wedge of the
diversity of south Wales. This
even included the weather. It
was warm when we departed
Wenvoe and remained so along
the coastal belt to Bridgend and Cardiff. The mean
annual temperature in Cardiff is 14 ©, and higher up
the South Wales valleys it is 11 ©. Therefore, more
than a coincidence it became cloudier and cooler the
closer we got to the towns of Maesteg and Rhymney.
Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi
Valley, and Rhymney towards the northernmost end
of the Rhymney Valley.
The railway-line of each valley snugs the western
side of the mountain. Reduced speed as the train
progressed up the valleys, due to stations being just
several miles apart, allowed views of farms, villages
and towns. Being late Spring came the beautiful
greenery of the valleys. Of interest was how close the
trains were, in many places, to rail-side trees brushing
the carriages. Further from the coastal belt, in both
valleys, there were increasing signs of bygone
industries.
Thank you, Iain…By next morning Iain had received
seven plaudits on WhatsApp. The other three who
still couldn’t use WhatsApp thanked him in person at
our Friday, Silver Fox meeting.

 

 

Place-Names Derivation – ABER, BRYN, CWM, PONT

THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES

We’ll now look at some common elements in Welsh Place-names.

ABER

I’m sure you’ve seen this element in many placenames. The word ‘aber’ means ‘the confluence of two waters’ and because so many places containing this word are situated on the coast, it is often translated as ‘estuary’. ‘Aber’ usually precedes the name of the river. There are plenty of examples from which to choose – Abertawe (Swansea), Aberafan, Aberaeron, Aberdaron, Aberdyfi, Aberystwyth.

But some places are situated inland and, in such names, ‘aber’ translates as ‘the confluence of two rivers’ – where one river flows into another – eg

Abercynon – the confluence of the rivers Cynon and Taf.

Aberdâr – the confluence of the rivers Cynon and Dâr.

Aber-fan – the confluence of the rivers Taf and Fan

Aberhonddu (Brecon) – the confluence of the rivers Wysg (Usk) and Honddu.

The name Abertridwr is an interesting one. It is made up of three elements -aber – confluence, tri – three, dŵr – water.

It refers to the confluence of three streams – Ilan, Cwm-parc and Cwmceffyl.

This element is seen in placenames in many different parts of Britain – where the Celts have left their mark – Aberdeen, Aberfeldy etc.

 BRYN

‘Bryn’ is the Welsh word for ‘hill’ and the element that follows it can be an adjective or a geographical position – eg

Bryn-mawr – big hill

Bryn-teg – fair hill

Brynna – hills – from the plural form ‘bryniau’

Bryn-glas – blue (i.e. green, verdant) hill

Brynbuga (Usk) – the hill of Buga. The identity of Buga is lost.

Brynaman – the hill near the river Aman

CWM

‘Cwm’ is the Welsh word for ‘valley’. It is often seen in English place-names with Anglicized spelling -‘coombe’ and it is also used in its Welsh form as a mountaineering term.

Cwm-bach – little valley

Cwmafan – valley of the river Afan

Cwmbrân – valley of the river Brân

Cwm-du – black,dark valley

Cwm-ffrwd – valley of the swift flowing stream

Cwm-yr-Eglwys – valley of the church

Cwm y Glo – valley of the charcoal

PONT

‘Pont’ is the Welsh word for ‘bridge’.

Pontardawe – bridge on (the river) Tawe

Pontarddulais – bridge on ( the river) Dulais

Pont-y-Clun – bridge on ( the river ) Clun

Pont-Rhyd-y-Fen – bridge at the ford of the wagon.

(Traditionally the ford was known as ‘rhyd-y-fen’ as

it was used by wagons. It was eventually replaced by the bridge.)

Pen-y-Bont ar Ogwr (Bridgend) – end of the bridge (over the river) Ogwr

Two local place-names are worth a special mention.

Y Bontfaen (Cowbridge) – the stone bridge.

The Welsh name refers to a stone bridge whereas the English name refers to the bridge over which the cows walked to the market – the Cow Bridge. It is possible that these were two different bridges.

Pontypridd – As it stands this name translates as ‘bridge of soil, earthen bridge’. But the present name is a contraction of the original name which was ‘Pont y Tŷ Pridd’ which translates as ‘the bridge (near) the earthen house’.

Next month – the last contribution – Caer, Pen, Tre, Ystrad, Ynys.

Ann. M. Jones

 

Place-Names Derivation – LLAN

THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES

We’ll now look at some common elements in Welsh Place-names.

LLAN

The most common element by far in Welsh place-names is the word ‘llan’. If you were to look at a book of place-names, you would see that there are over 400 places in Wales which begin with the element ‘Llan’ – an incredible number, I’m sure you’ll agree, in a country the size of Wales!

The original meaning of ‘llan’ was an enclosed piece of land on which produce was grown. It is derived from the Brythonic word ‘llann’ and the earlier Celtic form ‘landa’. By the 12th Century it had developed to mean an enclosed piece of consecrated land – often surrounding a religious building. It developed further to convey the extended land around a religious building – much like a small parish. Nowadays, the word ‘llan’ refers to the religious building itself – the church. You’ll also find many place-names containing this element in Scotland, Cumbria, Cornwall, Brittany and over Offa’s Dyke, in Herefordshire for example – evidence of the widespread existence of the Celtic language.

In most of the ‘llan’ place-names, this element precedes the name of the saint to whom the church is dedicated. It is a feminine noun and the rules of Welsh grammar dictate that words following a feminine noun will undergo a Soft Mutation – i.e. the initial consonant softens. We see this phenomenon in such place-names as Llandudno (Tudno), Llanberis (Peris), Llangadog (Cadog), Llangollen (Collen), Llandeilo (Teilo).

Only 9 consonants undergo this softening – all others are used in their original form Llanisien (Nisien), Llansadwrn (Sadwrn), Llanidloes (Idloes), Llanelli (Elli).

Not all ‘llan’ place-names include a saint’s name. As there are so many places in Wales based on this element, it can be useful to include a geographical element – as in Llandaf (on the river Taf), Llangefni (on the river Cefni), Llanfaes (in a ‘maes’ – meadow), Llangoed (in the ‘coed’ – wood), Llanuwchllyn (uwch – above, llyn – lake), Llanfynydd (on a ‘mynydd’ mountain), Llangwm (in a ‘cwm’ – valley).

Some names include a number rather than the name of one saint – Llantrisant (three saints), Llanddeusant (two saints), Llanpumpsaint (five saints).

The next time you’re travelling around Wales perhaps you can work out the meaning of the ‘llan’ villages through which you drive.

Next month: Aber, Bryn, Cwm, Pont.

Ann M. Jones

 

 

More Tornadoes Per Square Mile In Britain

THERE ARE MORE TORNADOES PER SQUARE MILE IN BRITAIN THAN IN THE USA !

While the stormy weather has been a major talking point in the village so far in 2023, we can at least be thankful that we have been spared the more devastating weather events witnessed in the past. A good example is the tornado which swept through South Wales in 1913.

In fact, although we might imagine them to be incredibly unusual weather events, tornadoes are more common in the UK than you might think. On average we can expect 33 every year. Thankfully they are usually nowhere near as destructive as those in the USA. We are also better prepared than we were in days gone by. The Vale has an official project plan aimed at preparation for the impact of climate change and the ever increasing risk of flooding in many of our communities. As a lead Local Flood Authority, the Vale has a statutory duty to investigate, log and report all instances of flooding. Fortunately for us, the Vale has also been proactive in dealing with the impact of the stormy weather, sending a team to deal with the recent flooding on the Old Port Road.

Such planning had not unfortunately taken place when one of the most devastating weather events hit South Wales on October 27th,1913. Just days after hundreds of miners were killed in Britain’s worst mining disaster at Senghenydd, a tornado struck large parts of South Wales, causing widespread devastation. The Met Office confirmed that the tornado was the same power and severity of those more regularly experienced across the Atlantic in the United States. The South Wales event was in fact a “moderately devastating tornado” (T6 on the TORRO scale) which means that the winds were, at its worse, in excess of 160 mph.

A tornado is defined as a violently-rotating column of air which spins around and upwards, similar to the action of a cork being pulled from a wine bottle. The 1913 tornado began over Devon in the mid-afternoon, as warm air from the Mediterranean struck a cold front blowing down from Iceland. As it progressed, it swept 11 miles through areas such as Trefforest, Pontypridd, Cilfynydd and Abercynon. The impact seems to have peaked at Edwardsville. There, the English Congregational Chapel was wrecked and the pews swept against the west wall. Nearby, a hayrick weighing several tons was carried for a mile and, near Pontypridd, half a ton of brick chimney was carried several hundred yards.

During the tornado six people lost their lives. One of those killed was Francis Woolford, of Edwardsville, captain of Ton Pentre football club, after being transferred from Swindon FC for £25. Woolford , and the trainer, Walter Breeze, were walking to the station on their way home and were a short distance ahead of the rest of the team. Woolford was dashed against a wall, fracturing his skull, while Breeze was lucky enough to get away with a broken rib. Another fatality, Thomas John Harries, a 52 year old miner from Cilfynydd was thrown 300 yards by the winds and was found the next morning in a nearby field. He left a wife and three children. As well as the lives lost and the scores injured there was extensive damage to property estimated to be equivalent to around £3million today. Worse still, a few days later the insurers refused to pay out, presumably because the tornado was considered an act of God.

 

An Unexpected Night With The Ayatollah Khomeini

AN UNEXPECTED NIGHT WITH THE AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI

I woke up on a bunk bed in a concrete shack in Chelgerd, a small town in south-west Iran. We were a group of British ski mountaineers who were training in the Zagros mountains for a ski ascent of Damavand the highest mountain in Iran with a summit at 5610 metres, quite a lot higher than Mont Blanc at 4810 metres.

We were down south to get fit and acclimatised for the attempt on Damavand the following week. The Zagros mountains extend over one thousand miles and are an effective border between Iraq and Iran – or historically between the Ottoman and Persian empires. Alas, the mighty Persia was rather run down in 2002 as the country was still suffering economically after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. So, the ski resort we found ourselves in was very run down with horrendous roads, broken down ski lifts of 1950s vintage, and poor communications.

None of this was in my mind as I stumbled out of bed to find breakfast. This was not difficult as we were now following local customs and breakfast was laid out on a large white sheet on the floor at the end of the bunk beds in the small common area we shared. We tucked into a modest meal of naan bread, soft cheese, jam and tea. Soon we were outside with our rucksacks and clipping into our mountain skis. We were going to climb up to a high hut at Chal Mishan, 3850 metres, to spend the night and off we went. The hut was deserted so we had some porters who were engaged to carry our food and cooking equipment up the mountain. They were on foot in the deep snow which made progress very difficult for them.

After a couple of hours of steep ascent on ski, using skins under our skis for traction, I found that the wet snow was sticking to the base of my skis which stopped them gliding along. So, I did the standard thing which was to continually bash the ski with my stick to dislodge the snow. Unfortunately, my stick suddenly broke and was useless, which is not ideal on a high mountain. By this time, it was snowing hard and with a strong wind. The group pulled up together for a chat about the conditions and we felt that it would be dangerous to go on, so we agreed to take our skins off our skis and ski back to the base camp. We were all relieved to be skiing down now, but after just a couple of turns I was hit hard by a wall of snow that appeared over my left shoulder – it was a serious avalanche. I was rolled over and over again and again. It was like being in a washing machine with me, my skis and sticks rolling head over heels beneath the snow. I thought I might die. I tried to keep breathing but the snow was in my mouth and up my nose. I was using my arms in a fruitless attempt to swim to the surface but in truth, I did not know which way was up. When the avalanche hit, the wind was howling, and the snow was blowing.

After what seemed an eternity the moving mass of snow came to a stop I was buried below the surface.

I was breathless, exhausted, but thrilled to be alive. I felt I was lying on my back and was pleasantly surprised to see light above me through the snow, so I knew which way was up. At this point, my right arm was trapped under me and was very painful. But I could breathe as the snow was fresh and loose. I lay for some minutes getting my breath back and waiting for the others, with their electronic trackers, to find me and dig me out. Surprisingly no one came and I wondered if we had all been buried. I was beginning to get cold, so I decided to self-rescue and using my left arm dug up to the surface which was only a few feet above me. Moving more snow I sat up and looked up at the sun and blue sky. In a few minutes, I had been swept down hundreds of metres from a snowy ridge to a sunny spot below. I stood up and could see no one. My skis had been torn off but I had my rucksack so I could survive the night. My worry was a second avalanche so I decided to move on foot as fast as I could in the deep fresh snow. As I started, I saw one ski tip glinting in the sun so climbed back up to retrieve it. Then I set off downhill and caught sight of two of our Iranian porters and together we carried on down. One of the party arrived on skis and told me that some others had been hit by the avalanche, but no one else had been swept down the mountain and buried.

We soon came to the tree line and a track in the forest which we followed. We knew that we could not get down to our valley base at this slow walking speed but were unsure what to do. Luckily, we came across a small stone building in good condition which looked as though it belonged to the local water company as there was a dam nearby. The door was locked, but the padlock was no match for hungry men with ice axes and soon we were inside. There were two or three small rooms, all clean and tidy so the porters set up a stove and prepared a meal. I took some serious painkillers, washed down with sweet mint tea, and stretched out my sleeping bag on a good quality carpet below a large framed picture of Ayatollah Khomeini.

AD

Place-Names Derivation – Llwyneliddon / St Lythans

THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES

LLWYNELIDDON / ST LYTHANS

The Welsh name is made up of two elements – ‘llwyn’ and ‘Eliddon’. ‘Llwyn’ is the Welsh word for ‘grove’ or ‘copse’ and the second element ‘Eliddon’’ is the name of the saint to whom an earlier church was dedicated. So ‘Llwyneliddon’ literally means ‘the grove of Eliddon’. There are examples in some manuscripts of the name being recorded as ‘Llaneliddon’(Church of Eliddon) – but there is no concrete evidence that ‘llwyn’ was mistakenly written for ‘llan’.

The English name ‘St Lythan’s’ is merely the Anglicised form of the name, Sant Eliddon.

But the present church in the village is not dedicated to St Eliddon, of whom very little is known, but to St Bleddian (or Bleiddian) – again of whom very little is known. At one time, the village was known as Llanfleddian Fach (The church of Bleddian) – the adjective ‘fach’ (minor) being added to differentiate it from Llanfleddian Fawr (Major) – which, as you know is situated near Cowbridge – nowadays spelt Llanblethian.

TWYNYRODYN The name comprises three ele-ments – ‘Twyn’, ‘yr’ and ‘Odyn’. ‘Twyn’ is a common Welsh noun meaning ‘knoll’ or ‘hill’ and ‘odyn’ means ‘limekiln’. Between these two nouns we have the definite article ‘yr’, which normally translates as ‘the’. But when it stands between two nouns, it conveys ‘of the’. So, ‘Twynyrodyn’ trans-lates as ‘Hill of the limekiln’. There is an area of the same name at Lavernock and at Merthyr Tudful.

LLANCARFAN The name consists of two elements – ‘Llan’- which you now know means ‘church’ – and ‘Carfan’, which is the name of the nearby stream or brook. There is no certainty about the meaning of ‘carfan’. It could be a personal name – or it could mean ‘ridge’ – referring to a boundary of some kind. An earlier form of the place-name was Nant Carfan – ‘nant’ meaning ‘stream’ or ‘valley of the stream’.

TRESIMWN / BONVILSTON Both the Welsh and English names of this village are based on the name of the Norman family which settled in the area in the 12th Century. The village is probably named after Simon de Bonville.

The Welsh name, ‘Tresimwn’ is made up of the pre-fix ‘Tre’, which you now know means ‘homestead’ of ‘settlement’ – followed by the Christian name Simwn.

On the other hand, the English name ‘Bonvilston’ uses another part of the family name, ‘Bonvil’ followed by the suffix ‘ton’, again meaning ‘farmstead’ or ‘settlement’.

ABERDDAWAN / ABERTHAW Again, we see that there are two elements in the Welsh name ‘Aberddawan’ – ‘aber’, meaning ‘estuary’ in this instance followed by the name of the river – ‘Ddawan’. Historic manuscripts show that the original name of the river was ‘Naddawan’ – but the un-Stressed first syllable was lost, to give us ‘Ddawan’ today. I have mentioned previously that river names are among the oldest examples of all languages – and this is true in this case. The meaning of ‘Ddawan’ or originally ‘Naddawan’ is uncertain – unless it is based on the Welsh verb ‘naddu’, which means ‘to cut’ or ‘to hew’ or ‘to whittle’. This could then describe the river cutting through the land-scape. But this is all surmising.

The English name, ‘Aberthaw’ is the Anglicisation of the name ‘Ddawan’ – the unstressed final syllable having disappeared – leaving us with ‘Thaw’ as the name of the river.

TREBEFERED / BOVERTON You’ll notice that we have the now familiar elements ‘Tre / -ton’ – meaning ‘farmstead’ or ‘settlement’ – in the Welsh and English names. This leaves us with ‘Befered’ in Welsh and ‘Bover’ in English. These are derived from the name of someone named Bouvier – but nothing is known of a person of that name.

Next month – Some Cardiff suburbs.

Ann M. Jones

 

‘Auld Lang Syne’ And A Warm Welcome To 2023

‘AULD LANG SYNE’ AND A WARM WELCOME TO 2023

With the worst of the pandemic seemingly behind us, this year’s New Year celebrations were likely to have had a welcome and more traditional feel about them. Many of us will have planned to enjoy parties and join in the traditional singing of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. A good time perhaps, to remind ourselves about its surprisingly interesting history and influence around the world.

The story starts in Scotland with the poet Robert Burns (right) . He is credited with adapting and partially rewriting an old Scots -language poem or folk song in 1788. That year Burns sent a copy of the original song to the Scots Musical Museum with the remark, ‘The following song, an old song, of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript until I took it down from an old man.’ In 1799, it was set to a traditional tune, which is basically the one we are familiar with today.

One interesting story about Auld Lang Syne involves Queen Elizabeth II. At Hogmanay in Scotland, it is common practice that everyone joins hands with the person next to them to form a great circle around the dance floor. At the beginning of the last verse (And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!/and gie’s a hand o’ thine!), everyone crosses their arms across their breast, so that the right hand reaches out to the neighbour on the left and vice versa. Outside Scotland the hands are often crossed from the beginning of the song, at variance with Scottish custom. The Scottish practice was demonstrated by Queen Elizabeth II at the Millennium Dome celebrations for the year 2000. Some press outlets berated her for not ‘properly’ crossing her arms, unaware that she was correctly following the Scottish tradition.

In Scotland, it is often sung at the end of a cèilidh, a dance, and at weddings. At weddings, it is performed in the same way as at New Year, but the bride and groom are often lifted up in the centre of the circle. The tune is also played, and sung by the crowd, in the final stages of the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo. In Great Britain, it is sung at the end of the Last Night of the Proms and played at the close of the annual Congress (conference) of the Trades Union Congress. The song is also played at the Passing Out Parade of Young Officers in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as well as at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, for young officers joining the British Army. It also has a similar role in countries who are members or former members of the Commonwealth of Nations including Canada, India, Pakistan, Singapore and Bangladesh.

In fact it is also widely known and popularly sung in many countries, especially English speaking ones. The song is widely used by the international Scout Movement, at the closing of jamborees and other occasions. In the Netherlands, the melody is used as the Dutch football song “Wij houden van Oranje” (“We Love Orange”), performed by André Hazes. In Thailand the lyrics have been adapted as a patriotic song about the King and national unity, although many Thais are not aware of the song’s Western origin. Most surprisingly perhaps, before 1972, Auld Lang Syne was even the tune for the national anthem of the Maldives and using the current words!

 

Place-Names Derivation – Fawr / Llantwit Major

THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES

LLANILLTUD FAWR / LLANTWIT MAJOR

The name Llanilltud is made up of two elements – ‘llan’ and ‘Illtud’ (‘Illtyd’). The first element is an old Celtic word, which I will discuss in detail at a later date. Suffice to say at this stage that the meaning is ‘church’. The second element is the name of the saint to whom the church is dedicated. Illtud was a 5th/6th Century saint who established his monastery in this location. Holy men came to this early centre of learning from all over Britain and Europe to study and it is said that the Patron Saint of Wales, Dewi Sant himself studied there. So Llanilltud means ‘the church of Illtud’. The second word ‘Fawr’ is the mutated form of the adjective ‘mawr’ which conveys ‘large, big, major’ depending on the context. This adjective is used as part of the place-name to reflect its importance as a major centre of learning – or early university!

In English the Welsh name ‘Llanilltud’ has mutated to ‘Llantwit’. But how in the world could that happen? Down the centuries, in documents and manuscripts, the name of the saint has been written as Iltut, Iltuit, Yltwyt and so on. As far back as 1100 the name of the monastery appears as Llanitut, Llanntwyt, Llanulltut and many other versions, depending on the spelling abilities of the scribes! In 1431 the first two letters of the saint’s name seem to have been dropped and versions such as Lantwyt, Lantwytt, and Lantwit appear. So this explains the aberration (in my mind, at least!) ‘Llantwit’. The second word ‘major’ is explained above.

Y RHWS / RHOOSE

This name is very easily explained. ‘Rhws’ is derived from the Welsh noun ‘rhos’ meaning ‘moorland’ or ‘heathland’. Because it is a common noun, it is preceded by the definite article ‘y’ (the) in Welsh.

The English name ‘Rhoose’ is merely the Anglicized spelling of the Welsh name.

SAIN TATHAN / ST ATHAN

The name refers to the church of Saint Tathan – which is mistakenly written as ‘St Athan’ in English. In Welsh place-names, the word ‘saint’ is conveyed in various ways – ‘Sant, San, Sain’. In the case of Sain Tathan we see that ‘Sain’ is used.

PEN-MARC / PENMARK

The name Pen-Marc obviously consists of two elements. ‘Pen’ means ‘head, top, summit, end’ in Welsh – depending on the context. In this case it refers to the headland – the bluff overlooking the river Weycock – which is the location of the village. The second element ‘marc’ probably derives from the word ‘march’, meaning ‘stallion’ – though the final ‘h’ has been lost. It is not certain to what the stallion’s head refers – possibly to the shape of the headland – or to the location of various rituals or ceremonies involving a stallion’s head – or to something else long forgotten.

The English spelling uses a ‘k’ to convey the sound

of the final consonant. There is no ‘k’ in the Welsh alphabet – it is not required – because, unlike in English – the consonant ‘c’ is always hard. In English of course, it can be hard – as in ‘car’ or soft – as in ‘ceiling’. The rule seems to be – to make sure, use ‘k’ or even, in places, ‘ck’!

Next month: Llwyneliddon / St Lythan’s, Twynyrodyn, Llancarfan, Tresimwn / Bonvilston, Aberddawan / Aberthaw, Trebefered / Boverton.

Ann M. Jones

 

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