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Derwen Moated Site is a medieval moated site located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM444. The monument sits upon bedrock of the Millstone Grit Group, a Namurian formation composed of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone. This underlying geology of alternating fine-grained strata would have influenced both the site's drainage characteristics and the building materials available to its medieval inhabitants.
Moated sites of this type typically date from the 12th to 16th centuries and served as the defended homesteads of minor landowners and gentry. The water-filled or water-retaining ditch surrounding the central platform provided both practical defence and a visible assertion of status within the medieval landscape. The site's position within Wales places it within a region where moated sites are less densely distributed than in lowland England, making such monuments locally significant records of medieval settlement patterns and land management.
The Millstone Grit bedrock beneath Derwen would have been worked locally for constructive purposes during the medieval period. The combination of geological foundations, water retention properties and proximity to stone resources made this a practical location for a defended residence, demonstrating how medieval settlers exploited their landscape's natural characteristics to establish secure and sustainable settlements.
Derwen Moated Site is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM444. View the official record →
Derwen Moated Site is a medieval moated site located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM444.
Derwen Moated Site dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a moated site. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Derwen Moated Site 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 GM444.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Promontory Fort on Fleming's Down (6.2 km), Corntown causewayed enclosure (6.2 km), Ogmore Castle (6.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Derwen Moated Site'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.
Derwen Moated Site stands on Millstone Grit Group [See Also Migr], bedrock that formed in the Namurian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.