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Deserted Settlements 800m N of Blaenau Farm is a post-medieval and modern deserted rural settlement in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference BR194. The site occupies land underlain by Lower Devonian rocks of sandstone and conglomerate, formed during the Early Devonian period. This geology of interbedded strata would have presented both opportunities and challenges to settlement, with the harder stone suitable for building but demanding labour-intensive quarrying and working.
The settlement represents the abandonment of rural occupation, a pattern common across upland Wales during the post-medieval period and continuing into modern times. Such deserted settlements typically resulted from economic changes, agricultural reorganisation, or population movement towards expanding industrial and urban centres. The site preserves evidence of the domestic and working landscape that once supported a dispersed community in this locality.
The monument's protection recognises its value in understanding rural settlement patterns and the forces that shaped the Welsh countryside. The visible remains, set within the surrounding moorland and agricultural landscape, provide archaeological and historical evidence of how people adapted to and eventually departed from these marginal upland environments. Such sites contribute significantly to knowledge of post-medieval rural life and the transformation of the Welsh landscape.
Deserted Settlements 800m N of Blaenau Farm is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR194. View the official record →
Deserted Settlements 800m N of Blaenau Farm is a post-medieval and modern deserted rural settlement in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference BR194.
Deserted Settlements 800m N of Blaenau Farm 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.
Deserted Settlements 800m N of Blaenau Farm 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 BR194.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cribarth Limestone Quarries and Tramroads (5.7 km), Pillow Mounds at Pant Mawr (7.5 km), Round Cairn NW of Blaen-Nedd Isaf (7.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Deserted Settlements 800m N of Blaenau Farm'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.
Deserted Settlements 800m N of Blaenau Farm stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.