A NEW legal protection to prevent historic Welsh house names from being lost is being put into action by a leading law firm.

Swayne Johnson, which has branches across North Wales - including Ruthin, Denbigh and St Asaph - has already used a new covenant-based scheme that stops property buyers dispensing with historic and often evocative names, many of which date back centuries.

The scheme is operated by Welsh language organisation Cymdeithas yr Iaith and was officially launched at the National Eisteddfod in Tregaron although it has been operating since last year.

Mared Williams, a solicitor based at Swayne Johnson’s Ruthin office, said: “I have already put this covenant into practice and am proud to play a part in ensuring that the owners of properties with historic names can protect those names for generations to come.

“There are very many house names in Wales that tell the story of the property and are part of the area’s local history.

"The house or farm name adds colour and information about the building, the landscape or the people who might have once lived there.

“The name of a property is often an integral part of the story of the place and it’s important that historically and culturally important Welsh place names are protected and not lost.”

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It’s been a contentious issue for years and back in June 2018, Welsh comedian Tudur Owen presented a short programme about disappearing Welsh place names, saying “history is lost when Welsh place names are changed”.

The clip, which aired on BBC Wales Live, sparked a debate on social media, with many other famous figures, as well as members of the public, having weighed in on the issue since.

BBC news anchor Huw Edwards wrote on Twitter: “It’s been going on for years. So Porth Trecastell became ‘Cable Bay’ and the historic church of Nantcwnlle – now a private home – became ‘Dunroamin’. I propose replacing London with its old Welsh name ‘Caerludd’. No? Ah. I thought not.”

The new scheme, called Diogelwn, meaning We Will Protect, was drawn up by Simon Chandler, of Manchester law firm Chandler Harris, to give legal backing to the preservation of Welsh house and even place names.

Mared, a former secretary for Welsh teaching and promotional charity Menter Iaith Sir Ddinbych, added: “It means that if you are selling a property and want to play your part in protecting its historic name we can help you achieve this goal.

“As a firm we are encouraged to play our part in the community so that sense of identity is at the core of what we do and this fits perfectly with that ethos.”