Moated Site at Trefenter

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of a well-preserved square moated homestead and adjacent features relating to it. The main homestead area measures c.15m by 15.5m, surrounded by a moat c.5m to c.7m wide. The moat is well preserved on the west, south and east sides, where it still holds water, but on the north side, a stone field wall runs across the inner edge of the moat, and the moat itself has been filled in. Earthworks were formerly visible connecting the south-west corner of the moat to a boggy area to the south-west; to the east of the channel were signs of a possible former building. All above-ground trace of these latter remains have now been lost to improvement, but remains may survive below the surface. The moat was built in 1826 by Augustus Brackenbury, who had purchased the right to enclose the area, to defend his (fortified) house against the local inhabitants who were aggrieved at losing their traditional rights to cut turf as commoners. This was the second house he had built after acquiring the land in c.1819. He was not there long before they took advantage of his absence to burn it down and carry off the remains. Related litigation rumbled on for some time and Brackenbury, after rebuilding elsewhere, eventually sold up, largely to local buyers, and left the area in about 1830.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of early 19th-century settlement. The monument is well preserved and is an important feature of the enclosed landscape. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of intact archaeological deposits and structural evidence.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.