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Banc Erw Barfe Deserted Rural Settlement is a post-medieval and modern deserted settlement located in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference CD176. The site sits on bedrock of Llandovery rocks, undifferentiated mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposits that date to the Ordovician period and form the geological foundation of this upland terrain.
The settlement represents the abandoned remains of rural habitation from the post-medieval period onwards, when scattered farmsteads and smallholdings formed the typical pattern of Welsh settlement. Such sites reveal how communities adapted to challenging landscape and subsistence patterns across centuries of agricultural use.
Deserted rural settlements like Banc Erw Barfe become archaeological monuments when their populations departed, leaving behind earthwork remains of buildings, field systems, and settlement boundaries. The site's preservation under Cadw protection ensures these physical traces of past occupation survive for future study and understanding of rural Welsh life and settlement history.
Banc Erw Barfe Deserted Rural Settlement is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CD176. View the official record →
Banc Erw Barfe Deserted Rural Settlement is a post-medieval and modern deserted settlement located in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference CD176.
Banc Erw Barfe Deserted Rural Settlement dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a deserted rural settlement. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Banc Erw Barfe 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 CD176.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Hafod: Peiran Cascade (4.8 km), Hafod: Chain Bridge and Gothick Arcade (4.9 km), Hafod: Nant Bwlch-Gwallter (5.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Banc Erw Barfe 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.
Banc Erw Barfe Deserted Rural Settlement stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.