Appendix Eight - Place Names in the Usk Valley
Most of the place names in the Upper Usk Valley are Welsh, naturally enough. Many of them go back a considerable time, and quite a few of them have changed through the years due to such factors as mutation (a feature of Welsh grammar), Anglicisation, and a lack of standardisation of spelling in years gone by. This appendix provides a key to the translations of the usually-accepted names. It is worth including because many of the names are of ancient origin and they can provide an insight into topography which may have changed over the years.
Mouth of the Henwen Brook (= 'fair old' brook)
Wood or slopes of the peak
Head of the Usk River
Hill of black stones
Black or dark castle
Valley of the Usk
Break of mountain slopes
Black or dark ditch
Ditch of the ducks
Crooked wood
Alder trees or wooded marsh
Holly bush
Grove of song
Meurig's grove
Grove of the ash trees
Church of (St.) Llywel
Brook of the spring
Top of the slope
Small village
Top of the hill
End of the field
Lower pool
Upper pool
New houses
Green land
Great land
Black cross hedge
Town of the castle
Big hillside
Meadow of Clydach (stream)
Narrow meadow
Knight's meadow