MM094

Hen Gwrt Medieval Moated Site  

 

Designated  

Monmouthshire  

Llantilio Crossenny  

339576  

215129  

Domestic  

Moated Site  

Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a well-preserved medieval moated homestead. The site comprises a roughly square level area of ground measuring 38m by 38m, surrounded by a flat bottomed moat between 6m and 10m wide and around 1m deep. A low bank is visible on the external edge of the moat, and a platform extends from the edge of the moat to the Park Farm stream on the north-western side of the site. This platform is around 30m wide and up to 1.2m higher than the level of the surrounding land, and is thought to have been built from material derived from the digging of the moat. Excavations carried out on the site in 1957 revealed that the structures built on the island had been systamatically robbed in the post-medieval period, probably during the building of Llantilio Court in 1775. Nevertheless, the excavation results together with a plan made in about 1820 have revealed the presence of at least two buildings, a small medieval (14th century) one on the southern side of the island and a larger post-medieval one on the northern side. When Llantilio Crossenny belonged to the Bishops of Llandaff, Hen Gwrt is likely to have been a manor house. Finds evidence indicates that the site had been occupied since the early 13th century, with the moat dug around 100 years later, possibly around an existing building. There was a wooden bridge across the moat on the east side, timbers from which were revealed during the excavation. Occupation continued into the 14th century, when a possible kitchen building was built on the southern side of the island, but by the 15th century the building was in agricultural use. In the 16th century the site was occupied again when it was owned by the Herberts of Raglan Castle. The site lay within their deer park, which extended northwards to White Castle, and it is probable that the building erected (or converted from an earlier medieval structure) on the island was a hunting lodge. At this time the building on the southern side of the island was levelled, and a wall was built to enclose the whole of the interior of the island. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval settlement. The monument is well preserved and is an important relic of the medieval 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.