In the time between going to press and distribution of the Newsletter we are due the Time Team programme about Caerwent, our AGM, and another C4 broadcast featuring a well known local folly.  Some of these will be so déjà vu by the beginning of March that I just hope you catch them as they happen!  We have no events arranged for February but:

ADVANCE NOTICE

Dinham Factory Tour

Saturday 21^st March  10.00am

Opportunities to visit the former Royal Naval Propellant Factory have been infrequent in recent years.  This will be a detailed tour, basically by car with a little walking, covering the function of the various buildings and an outline of the chemical processes involved.  We shall cover the remains of the old villages too, though there is less and less to see of them.  Meet outside the Main Gate, top of Dinham Road at 10.00am.

WELSH HOUSE NAMES

The Trust is gradually compiling a list of local house and place names.  Some of these are directly descriptive and help us to appreciate the landscape or history of our area.  Other names might be more arbitrary but even so, it’s good to understand what the meaning is of names we meet in our daily routine.  We’ll start with the area of Llanfair Discoed and Gray Hill (Mynydd Llwyd).  Suggestions or corrections to improve this list would be welcome!

Arosfa                          Stopping Place   (We’ve Arrived!)

Cartref                         Homestead

Craigwen                      White Crag

(The) Bryn                    The Hill

Bryn Gwyn                   White Hill (could be with ripe corn) or possibly Holy Hill

Bryn Adam                   Adam’s Hill

Brynawel                      Windy Hill

Glasfryn                        Green Hilll

Delfryn                         Pleasant/attractive hill

Coed Gwent                 Wentwood

Swn y Coed                 Sound of the Wood

Swn Aderyn                 Sound of the Bird   (Birdsong)  

Maes y Gwenith           Field of Wheat   

(The) Wern                  The Alder Marsh  (a sacred place in ancient times)

Ty Celia                       Celia’s House (Celia Davies moved from a cottage on Gray Hill)

Y Bwthyn                     The Cottage

Ty Ffynnon                   Spring House/Well House (it’s up Well Lane)

Ty Pwll                         House by the Pool/in the Hollow

Pentwyn                       Top/end of the mound/hillock

Penhein                        has been said to mean top/end of the dip slope but recent information

relates “hein” to Heinif, an owner of the land in the 18^th century

(440 Feb 2009)                      John Nettleship  Secretary   01291 420745  gwent-iscoed@talktalk.net