An Online Community Newsletter published by the Pencoed Town Council
An interesting article on place names in Pencoed written by Cllr Vernon Thomas for the fifth edition of the Hyphen.
The people of Pencoed have been annoyed of late over alterations in our place names. Pencoed has been altered to Pen - Coed and Ystadwaun to Ystradwaun. These changes have appeared in Pencoed Council Documents and Coity Walia minutes.
The spelling Pencoed is vouched for by a long succession of generations. The name Ystad is posted on the track of that name.
The prefix pen has diverse meaning: head, end, top, above, mouth, retained in the many names of the district, Penprysc, Penlan, Pentwyn - a shouting distance from one another.
Ystad: stad, state, estate, furlong (see Y Geiriadur Mawr) are derived from the old Roman word stadium, the Roman mile of 1618 yards, the standard British mile of 1760 yards and divisions into perch, chain, furlong (see Mile & Furlong - The Shorter Oxford Dictionary). Ystad is a stretch/expanse of unenclosed wasteland. In 'Yr Hogwr' this month, February, "Ystad Celyn" is mentioned as a place name near Maesteg.
The place name Penprysc, is the earliest settlement of the Vicarage of Pencoed. The name refers to a copse, commonly of Hazel trees. It recalls the woodcrafts of basket making, gypsy pegs and the carving of walking sticks. I was recently invited by an acquaintance of the neighbourhood to view the collection of walking sticks. They were all cunningly embossed with animal figures!
There is much undergrowth to our language; its growing point is speech, the spoken word. There is an interesting name to a piece of land near my home off Pentwyn, Penprysc, Pencoed called Tonfri : a hill top piece of fallow land or one laid to grass. How many more around!
Cllr. V.T. Thomas
The people of Pencoed have been annoyed of late over alterations in our place names. Pencoed has been altered to Pen -
The spelling Pencoed is vouched for by a long succession of generations. The name Ystad is posted on the track of that name.
The prefix pen has diverse meaning: head, end, top, above, mouth, retained in the many names of the district, Penprysc, Penlan, Pentwyn -
Ystad: stad, state, estate, furlong (see Y Geiriadur Mawr) are derived from the old Roman word stadium, the Roman mile of 1618 yards, the standard British mile of 1760 yards and divisions into perch, chain, furlong (see Mile & Furlong -
The place name Penprysc, is the earliest settlement of the Vicarage of Pencoed. The name refers to a copse, commonly of Hazel trees. It recalls the woodcrafts of basket making, gypsy pegs and the carving of walking sticks. I was recently invited by an acquaintance of the neighbourhood to view the collection of walking sticks. They were all cunningly embossed with animal figures!
There is much undergrowth to our language; its growing point is speech, the spoken word. There is an interesting name to a piece of land near my home off Pentwyn, Penprysc, Pencoed called Tonfri : a hill top piece of fallow land or one laid to grass. How many more around!
Cllr. V.T. Thomas
Place Names
