CD149

Bwlch-yr-Oerfa Settlement  

14/12/1989  

Designated  

Ceredigion  

Pontarfynach  

276389  

274955  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Grange  

Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument. The monument consists of the remains of a grange, dating to the medieval period. A grange is an outlying farm or estate, usually belonging to a religious order or feudal lord. The term is specifically related to core buildings and structures associated with monastic land holding. The monument comprises a well preserved complex of earthworks just to the north of a recent plantation and set within a hollow in the hills. To the west of a stream is an embanked oval enclosure measuring c.35m by c.17m. It contains nine closely-packed raised sub-rectangular platforms. Attached to the east is an additional or earlier enclosure also with raised platforms internally. To the east of the stream is a raised sub-rectangular platform measuring c.35m by c.17m with traces of long ridges. Under the eastern slope of this platform are the substantial stone footings of a rectangular building measuring c.17m by 6m. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval ecclesiastical and settlement organisation. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. A grange may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can be 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.