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Allt Fach Deserted Rural Settlement is a medieval settlement site situated on Lower Devonian bedrock in Wales. The underlying geology—a mix of sandstone and conglomerate laid down in the Early Devonian period—would have shaped both the landscape and the building possibilities available to its medieval inhabitants. The site is protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw, the Welsh heritage agency, under reference BR263.
The settlement represents the pattern of rural habitation that characterised medieval Wales, where small communities were dispersed across the landscape in response to local topography, water supply and agricultural potential. Deserted settlement sites of this type often reflect the complex processes of medieval and post-medieval reorganisation of the Welsh countryside, when population shifts, economic change or land-use alteration caused communities to be abandoned or relocated.
Today, Allt Fach survives as earthwork remains that preserve evidence of its former occupation. Such sites are invaluable for understanding medieval Welsh settlement patterns, domestic organisation and the relationship between communities and their environment—evidence that would otherwise be lost to ploughing or development.
Allt Fach Deserted Rural Settlement is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR263. View the official record →
Allt Fach Deserted Rural Settlement is a medieval settlement site situated on Lower Devonian bedrock in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference BR263.
Allt Fach Deserted Rural Settlement dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a deserted rural settlement. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Allt Fach Deserted Rural Settlement is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is BR263.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cribarth Limestone Quarries and Tramroads (3.6 km), Lefel Fawr Coal Adit (5.9 km), Pillow Mounds at Pant Mawr (6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Allt Fach Deserted Rural Settlement's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Allt Fach Deserted Rural Settlement stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.