Scheduled MonumentsWalesCapel Bettws
Medieval · Chapel

Capel Bettws

Carmarthenshire, Wales
Cadw SAM CM125
Period
Medieval
Site type
Chapel
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM CM125
Authority
Cadw
Designated
1951-07-06
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Capel Bettws is a medieval chapel situated in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference CM125. The structure stands upon bedrock composed of Ashgill Rocks, an undifferentiated sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formed during the Ashgill epoch of the Ordovician period. This solid geological foundation of fine-grained sedimentary rock would have provided a stable base for the chapel's construction.

The chapel reflects the pattern of religious provision across medieval Wales, when small chapels served local communities and pilgrimage routes. Built upon the ancient Ashgill geology, the site sits within a landscape shaped by the region's older rock formations and the subsequent weathering and erosion of these Ordovician deposits.

The monument's protected status acknowledges its importance as a surviving example of medieval religious architecture in Wales. The chapel's location and construction on this particular geological substrate form part of the broader historical relationship between human settlement and the underlying bedrock that characterises Welsh heritage sites.

Capel Bettws is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CM125. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Capel Bettws?

Capel Bettws is a medieval chapel situated in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference CM125.

What period does Capel Bettws date from?

Capel Bettws dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a chapel. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Capel Bettws?

Capel Bettws 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 CM125.

What other scheduled monuments are near Capel Bettws?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castell Mawr (0.9 km), Pencastell Hillfort (2.3 km), Castell Bach (3.2 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Capel Bettws

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Capel Bettws's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Capel Bettws

Capel Bettws stands on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.