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Capel Newydd, Blaenavon is a medieval chapel site located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference MM212. The chapel occupied ground underlain by Millstone Grit Group bedrock, a sequence of mudstones, siltstones and sandstones deposited during the Namurian period of the Carboniferous. This solid geology is characteristic of the upland terrain of South Wales, where such hard, acidic soils supported sparse settlement and pastoral use in the medieval period.
The site represents one of the small rural chapels that served scattered communities in the Welsh uplands during the medieval era. Such chapels typically functioned within broader parochial systems, providing spiritual services to populations living at some distance from larger parish churches. The exposed, elevated landscape around Blaenavon would have presented challenging conditions for both construction and maintenance.
Today, Capel Newydd survives as an archaeological site rather than a standing structure, its physical remains now incorporated into the historic landscape of this industrial region. The chapel's history reflects medieval patterns of religious provision in upland Wales, where difficult terrain and dispersed settlement required local places of worship to serve the spiritual needs of the community.
Capel Newydd, Blaenavon (site of) is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MM212. View the official record →
Capel Newydd, Blaenavon is a medieval chapel site located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference MM212.
Capel Newydd, Blaenavon (site of) dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a chapel. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Capel Newydd, Blaenavon (site of) 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 MM212.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Aaron Brute's Level and Iron Bridge (2.4 km), Blaenafon Ironworks (2.6 km), Engine Pit, Blaenavon (2.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Capel Newydd, Blaenavon (site of)'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.
Capel Newydd, Blaenavon (site of) stands on Millstone Grit Group [See Also Migr], bedrock that formed in the Namurian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.