Category: Readers Articles of Interest

BANGS OF EXPECTATION

The first Christmas crackers were known as ‘Bangs of Expectation’.

Crackers came about because confectioner Tom Smith needed a way to market French-style sweets wrapped in paper. The story goes that he was inspired to add an explosive element by the sight of a log crackling on the fire. But in reality, it was his brother who came up with the idea, possibly inspired by magic tricks he’d witnessed while working in the music halls.

Launched in the late-1840s, Tom Smith’s crackers sparked a whole new Christmas custom. The company still exists today, and supplies crackers for the royal family each Christmas

THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES

HIGHLIGHT

The English name ‘Highlight’ first appears on maps in the 16th Century – during the reign of Elizabeth 1st – as the name of a farm. Before that time, the name was Welsh – ‘Uchelolau’. The name ‘Highlight’ was obviously an attempt at translating the Welsh name – but unfortunately, it was erroneously translated – although this incorrect version was adopted and has been used down the centuries to this day.
The original Welsh name – Uchelolau – is made up of two elements – ‘uchel’ and ‘olau’. ‘Uchel’ is an adjective – still used today – which means ‘high’ – so that part of the Elizabethan translation was perfectly correct. The problem lies with the second element. There is a Welsh word ‘(g)olau’ which means ‘light’ – and this is what was used in the translation to give us ‘Highlight’.
BUT, ‘olau’ also has another meaning (just as ‘bark’, for example, has more than one meaning in English). ‘Olau’, at one time, was used as the plural form of ‘ôl’ which means ‘mark/ footstep/ track’. (Today we use ‘olion’ as the plural of ‘ôl’). So ‘uchel’ + ‘olau’ correctly translates as something like ‘high track’.
I think ‘Ridgeway’ would be a more correct translation of ‘Uchelolau’.

BRYNHILL
This is obviously an example of a bi-lingual name – made up of two elements with the same meaning – ‘bryn’ and ‘hill’ – a perfect example of tautology!
This phenomenon can be seen in place-names which are centuries old. The name Chetwood in England is made up of two elements – ‘chet’ from the Celtic/Brythonic word ‘kaito’ (which has given us ‘coed’, meaning ‘wood’ in Welsh) and the English word ‘wood’.
Then we have Bryndown near Dinas Powys – ‘bryn’ – the Welsh word for ‘hill’ followed by ‘down’ meaning ‘hill’ of course – as in The Downs at the top of The Tumble – and Gibbonsdown, meaning Gibbon’s hill.
Another obvious example is the River Avon. ‘Afon’ is the Welsh – or old Brythonic – word meaning ‘river’.
Bredon Hill in Worcestershire is an example of triple tautology. It is made up of three elements, all with the same meaning – ‘bre’ from the Brythonic or Celtic word ‘bryn’ meaning ‘hill’ – ‘don’ from the Old English word ‘dun’ again meaning ‘hill’ – followed by the word ‘hill’ itself!
But Torpenhow Hill in Cumbria takes the biscuit! It is made up of four elements – all meaning ‘hill’. ‘Tor’ is from Old English, ‘pen’ is from Brythonic and ‘how’ is from Old Norse. Then the word ‘Hill’ is added for good measure!

There are plenty of examples of this phenomenon in all parts of the world and I’m sure many will surprise you – Lake Tahoe (Lake Lake), Sahara Desert (Desert Desert), Mississippi River (Big river River), Faroe Islands (Sheep islands Islands), East Timor (East East), The Rock of Gibraltar (The Rock of the Rock of Tariq) and many more.

Next month – Merthyr Dyfan, Holton, Buttrills, Tregatwg/Cadoxton. Môr Hafren/Severn Estuary.

Ann M. Jones

ALL CHANGE FOR THE ROYAL MINT

The accession of King Charles III to the throne, brings with it the need for changes to British coins and notes. As important as that is, it is not the only challenge currently facing the Royal Mint, with some recent predictions claiming that in ten years time only one in ten transactions will involve cash.

It is re-assuring that Wenvoe’s shops, pubs and cafes still accept cash as a means of payment. Many of us still prefer to have notes in our purses or wallets and are more than willing to put up with the rattle of coins in our pockets when we are given excess change. All good news for charity tins and buckets.

Despite predictions of a cashless society on the horizon, the future of the Royal Mint seems secure for some time to come. After all, coins have a long history, having been around as a method of payment since the 6th century BC. Those early Lydian coins (made of electrum, an alloy of silver and gold) were minted by merchants, in what is now western Turkey, as tokens for trade transactions. Coins have a long and proud history in the UK as well of course, with the Royal Mint having been in existence for more than 1,100 years. It is in fact Britain’s oldest company and is owned by HM Treasury.

The Royal Mint is the world’s leading export mint, making coins and medals for an average of 60 countries every year and still making an annual profit of over £8 million. More than 900 people are employed at the Llantrisant site where some 90 million coins and blanks – metal discs which are minted into coins – can be produced in a single week. That adds up to almost five billion coins a year! No wonder, then, that the Ministry of Defence is responsible for the round-the-clock, 52 weeks a year security of the 35-acre site. The Mint also regularly produces very popular and collectable special edition coins to mark or celebrate important British events. Some have become very valuable.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the Royal Mint will be designing and minting new coins featuring the head of King Charles III. These will show him facing to the left. Elizabeth II’s effigy faces to the right. It is a tradition from the 17th century to alternate the way successive monarchs are facing.

The new Charles III coins and notes are not likely to appear in general circulation for some time. The Royal Mint Advisory Committee needs to send recommendations for them to the Chancellor and obtain royal approval. Designs are then chosen and the final choices approved by the Chancellor followed by the King. The Queen’s coins did not appear until 1953 – the year after her accession. Elizabeth II’s coins are expected to stay in use until they are gradually replaced.

If you still love coins why not visit the Royal Mint? The Royal Mint has its own fascinating museum and website through which you can book ‘The Royal Mint Experience’ – one of Wales’ top tourist attractions. A guided tour of the site costs from £13.50 for adults, £10.35 for children between 5 and 15 and £11.25 for seniors. There is in fact a full calendar of other activities – ranging from creative workshops to special guest speakers exploring The Royal Mint’s traditions through fun-filled, interactive sessions

MY “ANTIQUES ROADSHOW” MOMENT

This is a tale of serendipity perseverance and self-confidence. In 1988 while rummaging around a second-hand furniture shop in Canton I came across a copy of “South”, Sir Earnest Shackleton’s account of his fateful 1914 Trans Antarctica Expedition. It had a very attractive cover and having read bookshelves full of books on Travel and Exploration in my teens I knew a little about the expedition. I bought the book for the princely sum of 50p. Although the Trans Polar expedition failed it became one of the greatest tales of heroism and survival in the history of Polar exploration. The Endurance became trapped in the ice, was crushed and eventually sank. The tale of how Shackleton managed the rescue of the whole crew without loss is a great read especially the account of the incredible 800-mile voyage across the Southern Ocean in a small boat.

I hadn’t noticed at the time, but the book turned out to be a First Edition albeit a second impression. I was intrigued by the inscription on the flyleaf which read

“To Vince from those who appreciate his worth and villanies” (sic)

And signed J G McIlroy and F Wild

Research showed that Frank Wild was second in command to Shackleton and McIlroy was the expedition surgeon. Further detective work revealed that “Vince” referred to crew member John Vincent. Vincent had been recruited as Bosun but because of his aggressive behaviour Shackleton had demoted him to Able Seaman. He was one of only a few members of the expedition that was not awarded the Polar Medal. This explained the reference to his “villanies”. I deduced that this volume must have belonged to him. Because of this provenance it occurred to me that this book might be of value to a collector of Polar memorabilia but for me it became part of my small collection of first editions.

Some years later I faced up to the fact my book collection would likely end up back on the shelves of some charity shop or even the skip. It was time to cash them in. Cue The Antique’s Roadshow coming to Cardiff. After queuing for an age, the specialist book expert declared that my book was not a first edition because it was a second impression. It was quite interesting because of the inscription but he didn’t think it was worth much. I was convinced that he was wrong, but he was the expert. So, disappointed, the book went back to my bookshelves.

Fast forward to this year, 2022, the centenary of the Shackleton Expedition. There was a massive amount of interest in the press and media which peaked when the wreck of the Endurance was found largely intact on the floor of the Weddell Sea. Much was written about the expedition and especially about the epic 800-mile rescue voyage of the small boat, “The James Caird”. By this time, I knew that John Vincent the original owner of my book, had been one of the five members of Shackleton’s crew on this voyage. I figured that there would never be a better opportunity to find a buyer for the book.

This time I emailed a few auction houses specialising in rare books. Most resulted in lukewarm interest, but one responded quite excitedly and suggested that I include it in their July auction. They put in an estimate of £1000 to £1500. Bingo. I was right. It was quite a valuable find.

Came the day of the sale we watched online. Lot 66. It seemed to take ages to get to it, but too excited to risk missing it we had to watch from the beginning. The bidding opened with a commission bid of £2600. Wow! then, £2800, £3000, amazing. … and finally, as the hammer came down, £4000. Take a breath.  Time to break out the Prosecco. I just knew that a book with such a provenance had to be worth a lot to someone and I was proved right. There are so many societies and Polar organisations, one of them surely would have valued it. Success!

I don’t know who bought my 50p find. I like to think that it went to somewhere like the “Scott Polar Research Institute” and that someday I would be able to see it again. In truth, it’s a bit sad. Of course, the £4000 was exciting and was very welcome but it just vanishes anonymously into a bank account and is forgotten whereas figuratively speaking, the gap on my bookshelf remains. I miss it.

But now the blood is up. Next to go will be my first edition of Bruce Chatwin’s “In Patagonia”. I know this is worth a couple of bob. Then my major project is to convince some art gallery that my original but unsigned Fauve oil painting of Collioure is genuine and worth in my estimate upwards of £2,000,000. I was right last time. I’ve got a lot of work to do.

Alan Williams

References:

The John Caird   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird

The Scott Polar Research Institute
Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge » Our present

Original film of the expedition
In cinemas: South: Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Glorious Epic of the Antarctic (1919) | BFI

Re-enactment of the Boat Journey
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3742938/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

3. THE MEANING AND DERIVATION OF PLACE-NAMES

Y BARRI / BARRY

We know that the name Barri was in existence before the Twelfth Century because the de Barri family, the family of the well-known historian and Archdeacon of Brecon, Gerallt Gymro – Giraldus Cambrensis, Gerald the Welshman – who was born in 1146 – took its name from that of the area. Scholars believe that the name Barri is derived from the name of a stream, Barren, which flowed from the Buttrills area down to the sea. It’s possible that the element ‘bar’ – which means ‘hilltop’ or ‘summit’ – is part of the word ‘Barren’. (Interestingly, this Celtic – or even Brythonic word ‘bar’ can also be seen in the name Berkshire – which is, as you know, a particularly hilly county.) The name given to the stretch of water between the island and the mainland was Aber Barri – ‘aber’ meaning ‘estuary’ in this instance. In Welsh, the definite article (‘y’) is used with the name – ‘Y Barri’ – and this could be a contraction of ‘aber’ as in Aber Barri – or it was adopted because many other place-names in Wales, which begin with the consonant ‘b’, are preceded by the definite article – y Bala, y Borth, y Bermo etc. (By the way, this use of the definite article with place -names is not only a Welsh phenomenon as it is common in many other languages – The Hague, Las Vegas, El Salvador, die Schweiz, der Iran and so on.) The spelling ‘Barry’ with a ‘y’ is merely the anglicisation of the Welsh name.

COLD KNAP

This name derives from two Old English words. The first element ‘cold’ developed from the word ‘col’ which has given us ‘coal’ today. In the name Cold Knap it refers to coal works or pits in the area. But the reference isn’t to coal – but to charcoal – which was used extensively in the ironwork and smelting processes. The second element, ‘knap’ is derived from the word ‘knaepp’ which means ‘hill’. So, ‘Cold Knap’ therefore means something like ‘the hill near the charcoal pits’ or ‘the charcoal pits near/on the hill’.

COLCOT

There are two elements to this word also – both derived from Old English words. The first element is ‘Col’, which refers once again to charcoal works in the area. The second element ‘cot’ is derived from the Old English word meaning ‘a building for creating or storing craft items’. Where that building was situated is lost in the sands of time, but we know that it was somewhere near charcoal pits.

Next month – Highlight and Brynhill

Ann. M. Jones

THE MEANING AND DERIVATION OF PLACE-NAMES

BRO MORGANNWG – VALE OF GLAMORGAN

There are two patterns in English which convey a Welsh place-name such as Bro Morgannwg – namely ‘Vale of Glamorgan’ and ‘Glamorgan Vale’ (cf Ogmore Vale, Ebbw Vale, Merthyr Vale etc). This second pattern is the exact equivalent of the Welsh name though you’ll notice that the English word order differs from that of Welsh. Those of you who speak Welsh or have some knowledge of the language will know also that adjectives follow the noun in Welsh – as they do in Italian, Spanish and French (with some exceptions). English, like German, being a member of the Germanic family of languages, follows a different pattern in that the adjective precedes the noun.

The Welsh word ‘bro’ has no exact equivalent in English and numerous words are used to convey the meaning – depending on the context – words such as ‘land’, ‘area’, ‘district’, ‘locality’, ‘neighbourhood’, ‘native haunt’. In the case of Bro Morgannwg, the word chosen in English is ‘Vale’.

The second part of our place-name is Morgannwg. This consists of two elements – Morgan + wg. The Old Welsh ending ‘-wg’ means ‘territory of’ or ‘land belonging to’. And the person to whom the land belonged was Morgan Mwynfawr – Morgan the Wealthy – who was King of south east Wales in the eighth century. Some scholars maintain that it was after a tenth century king – Morgan Hen – Morgan the Aged – that the area was named. Either way, the name was Morgan! So Bro Morgannwg means something like ‘the district of Morgan’s land’. (Don’t worry about the double ‘n’ – it is merely something that happens to the spelling when the consonant ‘n’ falls under the main accent.)

In the English version, we’ve seen that ‘Vale’ is the equivalent of ‘Bro’ – and this is followed by the seemingly English name Glamorgan. But on further inspection we see that ‘Glamorgan’ is made up of two elements – ‘Gla-‘ and ‘Morgan’. The second element, Morgan, has been explained above. The first element ‘gla-‘ is a contraction of the Welsh word ‘gwlad’ which means ‘land’ or ‘country’. So the name Glamorgan isn’t an English word at all – and I’m sure that has surprised many people! ‘Morgan-wg’ and ‘Gwlad-Morgan’ are two Welsh names which mean exactly the same thing – ‘Morgan’s land’.

Next month – Y Barri, Cold Knap and Colcot.

Ann M. Jones