Welsh Journals

THE PLACE-NAMES OF DEVYNOCK HUNDRED I PEN-PONT THIS paper is the first of a projected series, forming a detailed study of The Place- Names ofDevynock Hundred in the former County of Brecknock. This will be done on a Community basis and the author has chosen his own community as a start- ing point. The choice of unit has been influenced and guided by the book The Place-names ofDinas Powys Hundred by Gwynedd Pierce. The choice of an obsolete administrative unit is one purely of convenience, in that the extent of ground covered by a Hundred is a practical area for such a study. It is only in recent years that any serious attempts have been made to provide a study specifically of Breconshire Place-Names. The first appeared in Brycheiniog, Vol XI, under the title Some Breconshire Place-Names by Stephen Williams and it is unfortunate that this article only covered names from A to G and then only the principal ones. In 1971, Dewi Davies published a handbook Welsh Place-names of Breconshire, a very useful booklet which was, by its nature, unable to provide any detailed analysis of the subject matter. Thirdly, in the Vol XVIII Brycheiniog, the Author published a paper which dealt with a place-name element occurring fre- quently in the Devynock Hundred. Apart from small exceptions, this present study will not duplicate, but rather complement the last mentioned publications. Some detailed comment on the principal sources of information should prove useful and a full list, and will be found at the end of this section. The modern 1:25, 000 Ordnance Survey map has been the basis for the study and most names quoted will be found on the appropriate sheets. It must be stated, however, that many differences in the orthography will be noted between the map versions and those names listed below. When this occurs the ones listed have been based on the rules laid down in A Gazetteer of Welsh Place-Names. Names from historical sources, however, are quoted unaltered and when no equivalent modern record exists they are recorded as 'lost' and a map reference or a description giving their location is given whenever this is possible. Equally important have been the rele- vant Tithe Maps and Schedules c 1840 and the Census Returns for 1841 to 1881. Likewise, the Penpont Documents in the National Library of Wales have provi- ded a fund of information and are, without doubt, the most detailed source avail- able for the area of the Hundred. Historically, in addition to the well known histories of the County, The Parish oj Betws Penpont and Hanes Plwyf Defynog have/ been invaluable for the areas so named. Lastly, mention must be made of the Black Book of Carmarthen, a book of some forty poems written in the 13th cent but thought to have material composed some three or four centuries earlier, contain- ing evidence which any serious study of place-names cannot ignore. In particu- lar, The Stanza of the Graves has numerous references to personal and place-names which, in one case, Bruin o Bricheinauc, can be positively identified with Brecon- shire, while others, if Reon Rid with Nant Rhoen (8.21): Guriad with Nant Gwriad