Names Without Places - Ieuan Morris's Portfolio

This is a project that documents areas of landscape with distinctive Welsh names – they can be surreal or poetic, refer to past events, or are descriptive of the locations. By now, it is impossible to know when and by whom these places were given their names. Research revealed that many of the names probably refer to historic events that took place many centuries ago. Because many of the locations were common ground, some may have been named by cattle drovers, or by hill farmers who used the land for sheep grazing, or through habitual use in the nearest local community.

You will notice that the great majority of these places appear, by now, to be ‘empty’, ‘anonymous’ and ‘inconsequential’. If you were to walk through these places you would not think they were worth naming. Some are noteworthy because of an absence of any traces of human activity. In a sense, the only evidence of this is in their naming. Others, however, regardless, or despite, being named have been transformed, recently, by commercial forestry, for instance – but their names survive on maps, nonetheless.

Together, the names are the remains of a rich, but hidden, social, cultural and political history. The aim of the images and texts on the following pages is to restore meaning to these obsolete places and to invite the viewer to reconsider and expand their idea of where history “resides”. In addition, amongst the history, the descriptions and the speculation, you will find aspects of my conceptual and emotional journey during the making of the series.

There is an additional personal aspect to this series. Perhaps as a result of a childhood spent in a small rural community in North Wales, landscape has been a continual preoccupation in my creative practice, both as filmmaker and photographer, although my visual approach has often been tempered by a reluctance to submit to classic pictorial conventions that offer easily digestible ‘beautiful’ views. Instead, in this series, I want to encourage the viewer, via title and text, to engage actively with each picture as a ‘documentary record’ of an activity that has to be imagined, rather than passively contemplating the images as ‘sublime’, timeless vistas. The series has also enabled me to convey some of the complexities of my feelings for, and interactions with landscape. In this sense, I hope it acknowledges that every landscape is a human landscape and that each view represented will always be a signifier, not simply of ‘nature’, ‘terrain’ and so on, but also of memory, absence, history - and the imaginary.

Rhiw Cantorion - ‘Singers Hill’

A mile south-east of Fochriw, Caerphilly. Altitude: 380ft.

It is inconceivable, surely, that this remote spot, high above a steep valley, was at any time host to numbers of people singing. Why would anybody take the trouble to climb the mountain when they could sing lower down? I wonder if it was named after a dispute amongst members of a choir from the three nearby villages, Fochriw, Pontlottyn and Pentwyn - almost equidistant from this spot - when they refused to rehearse in any village other than their own, and arrived at a compromise. Or, could it be that a musical family once lived on this hill somewhere...

Cwm Byddar - 'Deaf Valley'

A mile north-east of Coelbren, Powys. Height: 300 ft.

Ffos y Ffwdan - 'Fussy Ditch'

Two miles north-east of Llangurig, Powys. Altitude: 360ft.

This is a twisting, undulating, waterlogged and redundant track. Clearly pre-dating the patch of dense forest it runs through, could it have been given its name after being the subject of a long-running boundary dispute between two farming families? Or, could “fuss” be an euphemism for something much more sinister that took place here: a murder, for instance? Or, perhaps “ffwdan” was, in this part of Powys, at one time, another name for courting or, even, sex, making it a “lovers’ lane”.

Cwar yr Offeiriaid - 'Priests’ Quarry'

A mile south-west of Blaencwm, Rhondda Cynon Tâf. Altitude: 350ft.

Cairns, stone mounds and other evidence of Mesolithic and Neolithic activity has been found in the region, in addition to more recent building ruins - but no quarry, as such, yet. However, I wonder if the name points to the possibility that an early Christian, or even Pre-Christian religious building might have been erected in the vicinity, and that the building materials for it were found here, and that the priests themselves did the quarrying?

Nant Cylla - 'Stomach Brook'

Ystrad Mynach, Caerffili. Height: 170 ft .

Bwlch y Lladron - ‘Thieves’ Pass’

Two miles south-west of Hirwaun, Rhondda Cynon Tâf. Altitude: 500 ft.

Was this break in the escarpment named by the victim of a robbery, having surmised that it was the only way they could make it over to the next valley with their spoils? Was it named by a local farmer whose livestock was routinely raided and herded through the gap? Or could it have been named, at first, by the thieves themselves, who shared their knowledge amongst the local criminal fraternity, before it caught on and spread to the wider community?

Nant Marw-Dyn - 'Death of Man Brook'

A mile and a half from Eisteddfa Gurig, Ceredigion. Altitude: 500 ft.

Pen Rhiw-Trwyn - ‘Nose-Hill Peak’

A mile east of Blaengwynfi, Neath Port Talbot. Altitude: 450 ft.

I felt cheated. The hill’s nose-like promontory, which was clearly delineated by the contour lines on my OS map, and the very feature that surely gave it its name, has been obliterated recently in order to make way for a forestry road. I was expecting to find the one place amongst all those I’ve visited whose name was self-explanatory. It is no longer the case…

Cwm Selsig - 'Sausage Valley'

Two miles east of Treherbert, Rhondda Cynon Tâf. Altitude: 320 ft.

Llygaid y Ffynhonnau - ‘Eyes of the Springs’

A mile north-east of Blaengarw, Bridgend. Altitude: 370 ft.

It’s not difficult to guess how this bit of mountain got its name. In Welsh, the ‘eye’ of a spring is its source, and there are five or six on these slopes. The meaning of the old Welsh idiom “llygad y ffynnon” is to go to the original source of something, especially information or news, conveying the same meaning as the English phrase "from the horse's mouth".I wonder if this spot gained a reputation for providing insight and clarity for the visitor in days gone by?

Ffynnon y Ceffyl Bâl - ‘The Piebald's Spring’

A mile north of Blaengwynfi, Neath Port Talbot. Altitude: 450 ft.

O'r Diwedd - ‘At Last’

Bryngolau, Tonyrefail, Rhondda Cynon Tâf. Altitude: 200ft.

Yes, believe it or not, the hill behind this cemetery is really called At Last on the Ordinance Survey map. Could it be the result of a joke? A parting shot by a disgruntled cartographer before resigning? His or her last act before retirement, perhaps? Or, did the local council choose this location for the cemetery because of the hill’s name?

Llyn Pen-Fathor - 'Fieldmouse's Head Lake'

Mile and a half north-east of Ystradfellte, Powys. Height: 440 ft.

Cwm Lladdfa - 'Valley of Slaughter'

Two miles southeast of Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot. Altitude: 200 ft.

I wondered whether this modest little valley’s name referred to the slaughter of animals, or perhaps to a murder of a local inhabitant. However, I discovered its connection with important events that took place around 50 A.D., when a Briton warrior called Caradog or Caractacus, who’d fled the Romans from his stronghold in the Hertfordshire area, teamed up with the local Siliurians in South Wales. After seven years of waging guerrilla warfare against the invaders, it is thought he and his allies where defeated in a fierce battle in this area. Caradog escaped to North Wales and then to the north of England, where he was captured and sent to Rome. Tacitus recorded that Caradog convinced the Emperor Claudius, as a result of a famous speech, that freeing him would do more to enhance his reputation than killing him.

Bol Lâs - ‘Blue Belly’

Two miles south-west of Glyncorrwg, Neath Port Talbot Altitude: 450 ft.

Examples of likening features of the landscape to parts of the female anatomy are common in historic Welsh poetry, sustaining at different times, on the one hand, the notion of nature and nation as the bountiful, nurturing Mother and on the other, the pure, unspoiled and vulnerable Virgin. Might Bol Lâs, once fertile farm land, perhaps, have been named after the blue veined belly of an expectant mother? Whilst the land is no longer bountiful, it is wind that is harvested here now.

Twyn Canwyllyr - 'Chandelier Hill'

Two miles south-east of Hirwaun, Rhondda Cynon Tâf. Altitude: 240 ft.

Nant y Ceisiad - ‘Inquisition Brook’

A mile north-east of Trethomas, Caerphilly. Altitude: 200 ft.

Why would a little stream that flows for less than a mile before it joins the Rhymney river near the village of Rudry have been given such an intriguing name? Might it refer to events in the Tudor period, when, during the Protestant Reformation Welsh Catholics were forced to renounce their Catholic faith? I believe it could, in fact, derive from the reign of Elizabeth I, when inquisitions were held following every landowner’s death to decide either that his land should revert to the Crown or be passed down to a rightful heir. I discovered the records of the relevant inquisition, in the document Inquisitiones Post Mortem. Eliz.1601. No.181, which states that “certeyne escheated lands” in the “Mannor of Rudrey”, nearby, reverted to the Queen.

Gwyneb yr Haul - 'The Face of the Sun'

A mile West of Clydach Vale, Rhondda Cynon Tâf. Altitude: 260ft.

Carn y Wiwer - ‘Squirrel’s Mound’

North-east of Wattstown, Rhondda Cynon Tâf . Altitude: 220 ft.

As I was setting up to take this photograph, I asked one of the inhabitants if he knew the name of the hill at the bottom of his street. “Yes, of course” he said, “It’s the Tip!”. There’s no denying that, on the surface, it is exactly that: it is covered with ‘levels’ of coal slag from an old colliery. But is there a stash of nuts, acorns and berries buried underneath?

Llyn Dwr - 'Lake Water'

A mile north-east of Lanfihangel Nant Bran, Powys. Height: 424 ft.

Twyn y Bloedd - ‘Shout Hill’

Two miles north of Blaenrhondda, Treherbert, Rhondda Cynon Tâf. Altitude: 500 ft.

High above the northernmost reaches of the RhonddaValley, this spot is miles from any settlement. Why would it have become a place known for shouting? Because its very location makes it likely that no one would hear? Did shouting here provide therapeutic benefits, for some reason? No one was around, so I tested that idea by having a shout myself, and did experience a slight feeling of release once I stopped. However, perhaps the erection of this wind turbine and the presence of others already operational nearby suggest a more likely explanation for the naming: that strong winds often howl and yell as they race over the hill.

Traed y Milwyr - ‘The Soldiers’ Feet’

A mile north of Princetown, Tredegar, Merthyr Tidfyl. Altitude: 410 ft.

I wondered whether the namer might have compared the particular shapes of the small valleys and hills here to feet. But why soldiers’ feet specifically? The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of Wales is inconclusive on the matter. Its website states that Samuel Lewis, in his Historical Dictionary of Wales (1849), claims the area was the site of a 11th century battle where the Welsh defeated an Anglo-Norman army. It also states that the only written account of the battle is likely to be a forgery...

Nant yr Ysfa - 'Stream of Desire'

A mile and a half east of Perthcelyn, Mountain Ash. Altitude: 250 ft.

Pant Meddygon - ‘Doctors’ Hollow’

Two miles south-east of Myddfai, Carmarthenshire. Altitude: 380 ft.

“A WAY IN WHICH THINGS CAN BE SEEN WHICH ARE INVISIBLE TO OTHERS

#814. Take the gall of a cat, and hen’s fat, mixing them together. Put this in your eyes, and you will see things which are invisible to others”

This is a concoction created by the Physicians of Myddfai, the longest British medical dynasty, that extended from the 13th to the 18th Centuries. They lived around the nearby village of Myddfai, and it is likely that they found a number of plants used in their medicines and tinctures in this hollow.

Cwm Bwgan - 'Ghost Valley'

A mile north of Llanfihangel Nant Bran, Powys. Height: 330 ft.

Cwm y Saeson - ‘Valley of the English’

Two miles south-east of Llangurig, Powys. Altitude: 340 ft.

Was this tranquil valley named, perhaps a couple of centuries ago, after an English farming family set up in what was then an exclusively Welsh community? Was it much earlier, around 1645, during the English Civil War, when a battle between Parliamentarians and the Royalists of Llanidloes is reputed to have taken place here? Or could have been after the defeat of one of Llywelyn the Great’s armies by the English, purportedly in this valley, in a 13th century battle? There is an old farm called ‘Tŷ Llywelyn’ (Llywelyn’s House’) formerly known as ‘Lluest Llywelyn’ (Llywelyn’s Camp) nearby...

Llethr Cadno - ‘Fox’s Slope’

A mile and a half east of Blaengwynfi, Neath Port Talbot. Altitude: 500ft.

After walking a couple of miles along tracks towards this place, deep into a commercial forest, it occurred to me that I could enter the forest at any point, take a photograph, call it Fox’s Slope and no one would be any the wiser. I persevered, thinking along the lines of “I’ve come this far; I might as well find the actual place”. I entered the forest at the exact spot indicated by my OS map, and was shocked to discover that my visit and a fox’s visit had nearly coincided there.

Nant yr Esgyrn - 'Stream of the Bones'

A MIle and a half north of Ystradfellte, Powys. Height: 350 ft.

Cors y Beddau - 'Bog of Graves'

A mile and a half north of Ystradfellte, Powys. Height: 370 ft.

Carn Caca - 'Shit Peak'

Half a mile south of Melincwrt, Castell-Nedd Port Talbot. Height: 320 ft.

Not far from this spot in the valley below stand the remains of Neath Abbey, established by the Normans in the early 1100s and inaugurating over 400 years of monastic occupation, first by Savignacs and later by Cistercians. It is the later order that is thought to have introduced wool-rich sheep breeds to these hill-tops, generating income from selling yarn to (the then) Flanders and Italy. It was to become one of the richest monasteries in Wales. As it is today, it is likely this spot has been peppered with sheep shit for most of the year, continuously over the last 900 years.

Pen Moel Crochlef - 'Bare Headed Shout'

A mile north-east of Cynonville, Neath Port Talbot. Altitude: 350 ft.

Nant y Pwyntel - 'Stylus Brook'

A mile south of Caerffili. Height: 200 ft.

Cwm Caca - ‘Shit Valley’

Two miles south-east of Melincourt, Neath Port Talbot. Altitude: 330ft.

Ok, so, compared to the Grand Canyon, this little valley isn’t very impressive, but did the namer have to be quite so scathing? It is surrounded by pasture with both sheep and cattle decorating it with liberal amounts of shit, but that’s the case in many parts of Wales. Perhaps the namer, a farmer, unhappy with the area’s tendency to waterlog because of the heavy clay soil, was just sick and tired of the place, and left for better pastures elsewhere?

Nant y Gwerydd - 'The Virgin's Stream'

Five miles north-west of Llanfihangel Crucornau, Sir Fynwy. Height: 350 ft .

Twyn Dylluan-Ddu - ‘Black-Owl Hill’

Two miles south-west of Libanus, Powys. Altitude: 560ft.

Black or “Sooty” Owls are not native to Britain, but to Australia and New Zealand. However, a Barn Owl with a one in a million genetic defect (”melanism’) causing it to be born with black feathers could have given this hill its name, I suppose. What is more likely, perhaps is that the namer saw a silhouette of a Barn Owl or a Brown Owl on a branch on one of these trees, on a day like this, and believed it was black.

Nant y Dall - 'Stream of the Blind'

Half-a-mile north of Pentre'r Eglwys, Rhondda Cynon Tâf. Height: 160 ft .

ieuan morris