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Garden Earthworks at Old Gwernyfed is a post-medieval and modern garden preserved as earthworks in Wales. The site lies upon Pridoli rocks comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone, which provided a firm foundation for the cultivation and modification of the landscape. The earthworks represent the accumulated layers of horticultural and domestic activity spanning several centuries, reflecting changing tastes and agricultural practices from the early modern period onwards.
The surviving features include raised beds, paths and levelled terraces that once formed the working kitchen and ornamental gardens attached to the main dwelling. These earthworks remain visible in the landscape as slight banks and hollows, marking where soil has been moved and compacted through repeated use. The underlying geology of relatively stable rock would have allowed gardeners to construct permanent features without significant subsidence or erosion.
The site is now protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw's care, reference BR193. This designation recognises the archaeological and heritage value of the garden earthworks as evidence of domestic life and land use practices. The preservation of these features, however modest in appearance, contributes to understanding how ordinary households organised their immediate surroundings and exploited local resources in post-medieval and modern Wales.
Garden Earthworks at Old Gwernyfed is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR193. View the official record →
Garden Earthworks at Old Gwernyfed is a post-medieval and modern garden preserved as earthworks in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference BR193.
Garden Earthworks at Old Gwernyfed dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a garden. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Garden Earthworks at Old Gwernyfed 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 BR193.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bwlch Bach a'r Grib, round cairn to SW of (5.8 km), Castell Dinas (6.5 km), Cwm Fforest Long Barrow (7.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Garden Earthworks at Old Gwernyfed'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.
Garden Earthworks at Old Gwernyfed stands on Pridoli Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Pridoli. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.