RD159

Bank House Medieval Settlement  

20/03/1998  

Designated  

Powys  

Penybont  

308451  

260526  

Domestic  

Deserted Rural Settlement  

Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument consists of the remains of a deserted rural settlement, probably dating to the medieval or post-medieval period, located on a sloping valley side on east bank of a tributary of the River Ithon. There are four rectangular house platforms running north-south along the slope, each house orientated east-west with their eastern side cut into the uphill slope, their western end levelled up, measuring (S-N) c12m by 6m, c.13m by 7m, c.16m by 7m and c.10m by 7m respectively. Some 40m to their north, is a single platform with two sides of a rectilinear enclosure to its north, and 90m to the north of this, a single outlying platform house. A bank runs east-west somewhat down slope from the main group of platforms. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval or post-medieval settlement organisation. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. A deserted rural settlement may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.