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Wales (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Wales => Monmouthshire => Topic started by: barryd on Monday 07 September 09 06:37 BST (UK)

Title: Cae Kenfy, Abergavenny, home of W. H. Routledge
Post by: barryd on Monday 07 September 09 06:37 BST (UK)

William Henry Routledge was born 1 March 1857, Centerville, Davis County, Utah. As a child he left Utah for England with his parents. He died 6 April 1927 at his residence Cae Kenfy, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. Cae Kenfy existed before he took up residence there.

Does Cae Kenfy translate into English?

Title: Re: Cae Kenfy, Abergavenny, home of W. H. Routledge
Post by: Dannemois on Monday 07 September 09 17:05 BST (UK)

Hi Barry
I am not Welsh speaking but according to a book I have on 'Welsh Place Names' there is no 'K' in the Welsh alphabet so probably not. 

Cae means field or enclosure, very often used to identify a parcel of land with no building, ie Cae Charles would translate as 'Charles field, so in your case would translate as 'Kenys field'

Sorry I could not help more.
Roy

Title: Re: Cae Kenfy, Abergavenny, home of W. H. Routledge
Post by: pinot on Monday 07 September 09 23:32 BST (UK)

As Roy says, the letter K is not used in present-day Welsh, and as I found the name Kenfy in some 18th century court proceedings via Google, I expect the original Kenfy would have been a new owner sometime; 'cae' is not uncommon as the first part of a name for Welsh smallholdings.
               You may get a lot more from someone with local knowledge.
                                    Pinot  :)

Title: Re: Cae Kenfy, Abergavenny, home of W. H. Routledge
Post by: barryd on Friday 11 September 09 03:44 BST (UK)

Many thanks for your answers on the Cae Kenfy question. I tried Free BMD to see if Kenfy had survived as a modern name. No results. Again on Free BMD Kenfyn was a rarely used boy's first name used in Glamorgan and possibly Breconshire in the the first half of the 20th Century. Possibly the families were related?

Title: Re: Cae Kenfy, Abergavenny, home of W. H. Routledge
Post by: slyvia on Friday 11 September 09 09:33 BST (UK)

Hello

Just googled Cae Kenfy Abergavenny

It seems that a there is a Welsh Paragliding School and the address is
Cae Kenfy Cottage Abergavenny Monmouth

Sylvia

Title: Re: Cae Kenfy, Abergavenny, home of W. H. Routledge
Post by: bobel2 on Wednesday 15 February 12 16:47 GMT (UK)

Apologies for lateness - only just got to this post.
From a person who has lived in Cae Kenfy for over 30 years:-
Kenfy probably an anglicised version of Cefn (pronounced Kevin) meaning "Ridge". The field between Cae Kenfy and the river is called Cae Rhiw (Sloping Field).
The property Cae Kenfy built around 1866, split into two semi's around 1945, is built on the ridge of the field looking down to the river. (see Google maps search for Cae Kenfy Cottage). The cottage mentioned in earlier reply was the old stable complex close to the main house.