BR238

Tretower Shrunken Medieval Settlement  

28/11/1997  

Designated  

Powys  

Llanfihangel Cwmdu with Bwlch and Cathedine  

318581  

221354  

Domestic  

Shrunken Medieval Village  

Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument consists of a shrunken village dating to the medieval period. This is a settlement where previous house sites are now unoccupied, but visible as earthworks, crop or soil marks. An estate map of 1587 shows the settlement included a number of houses, a large courtyard house, roads, boundaries and tracks. The settlement is located in a field north of Tretower Castle, and west of St John's Church. Maps dating to the 16th and 17th century also show a cluster of buildings around a roadway, with boundaries and tracks running between seven houses. Archaeological evaluation of a small section of the area proved two main phases of activity in the south eastern corners of the site. The medieval domestic or smithying activity, structural and industrial features were of 13th to 14th century date. The 18th or 19th century evidence included a building with a paved and pitched stone floor, with slag and industrial features. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval settlement organisation. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.