Researching, promoting and protecting Welsh toponyms – Challenges and possible solutions

Abstract

Place names are stepping-stones to our past, connecting us to our ancestors. Once severed, geographical, social and cultural links between local people and place and names cannot be restored. Documentary and mapping research has been conducted in parts of the largely upland, a protected area of Snowdonia National Park. A new methodology reveals a palimpsest of toponyms in Welsh rural landscapes since 1284 and uncovers previously concealed history and untold narratives of Welsh heritage. Toponyms in Wales are under threat. Social and economic changes impose adverse effects on the traditional family farm, relic farm buildings and linear landscape features such as stone walls, banks and woodlands and field patterns. A consequence of this is the reduced use of toponyms. Tourists, walkers, climbers, and divers contribute to this erosion unintentionally. They often translate toponyms literally or make up their own (usually non-Welsh) names, for rock climbs, lakes, peaks, and caves that are considered too difficult to pronounce. These newly invented names quickly replace the original toponyms, often reinforced by guidebooks and maps published in English. New housing estates, homes and tourist businesses frequently adopt English names which are not in keeping with traditional visual signage in rural areas. The Welsh Place Name Society (WPNS) formed in 2013 is a grass roots and academic inclusive organisation which provided robust evidence to the Welsh Government during the consultation stage of the Historic Environment Bill 2016. However, it was decided not to give place names legal protection, unlike historic monuments, country houses and bats. The Office of The Commissioner for Welsh has a well-established panel of experts who determine standardised spellings for towns and villages. Their on-line list provides a useful reference for organisations and individuals, but this list and others have no legal standing. This paper discusses the critical legal issue of protecting place names in Wales and illustrates how the Society has worked alongside organisations and local communities in Wales to promote and defend place names.