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Castle Bank Settlement is a post-medieval and modern deserted rural settlement in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference RD187. The site sits upon Wenlock Rocks, a geological formation of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone dating to the Wenlock period. These durable foundation stones would have provided a stable base for the structures that once stood here, their varied composition offering both building material and a naturally firm ground across the settlement area.
The settlement represents a phase of rural occupation and use that extended from the post-medieval period into more recent times before eventual abandonment. Such deserted settlements are common across Wales and reflect changing patterns of agriculture, land use and population distribution. The survival of Castle Bank Settlement as an archaeological site preserves evidence of domestic and possibly agricultural activity from several centuries of occupation.
The monument's designation by Cadw recognises its importance as a record of how Welsh rural communities were organised and sustained across these later centuries. The underlying geology of mudstone and siltstone, weathered into soil across the site, would have determined both the fertility of any associated fields and the character of the landscape that inhabitants worked and inhabited. Today the settlement remains as earthworks, a physical trace of lives lived in this Welsh location.
Castle Bank Settlement is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD187. View the official record →
Castle Bank Settlement is a post-medieval and modern deserted rural settlement in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference RD187.
Castle Bank 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.
Castle Bank 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 RD187.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Moel Dod round barrow (1.1 km), Castell Tinboeth (2.7 km), Llananno Royal Observer Corps Monitoring Post (3.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Castle Bank 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.
Castle Bank Settlement stands on Wenlock Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.