Enclosure & Associated Structures at Pen-y-Bryn

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of an enclosure, situated on a terrace above the E bank of Afon Aber. The enclosure is quadrangular and defined on the SW by a natural scarp which falls steeply to the river, and on the NW by a series of banks and ditches. The outer bank and ditch are recognisable as a slight surface feature but excavation has identified an inner ditch with a bank on either side. The outer bank appears to have turned SW where it is lost beneath the recent farmyard area, while the line of the inner bank and ditches seems to be reflected in the garden boundary and adjacent lane. The SE side of the enclosure is obscured by the access to the rear of Pen-y-Bryn house where the natural, rising slope may have been cut back. The results of an excavation in 1994 suggest that the enclosure was divided into two large platform areas by a revetment wall.

Precise dating evidence is lacking, but in view of the association with the listed structures at Pen-y-Bryn the enclosure is probably of late medieval date. Such a survival is very rare and its importance is further enhanced by the possibility that it represents the home farm of a demesne associated with the royal manor of Aber.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval defensive organisation and settlement. The site forms an important element within the wider medieval context and within the surrounding landscape. The site is well preserved and retains considerable archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of evidence relating to chronology, building techniques and functional detail.

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