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Lower House Moated Site is a medieval moated enclosure located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD148. The monument comprises a residential moat typical of the medieval period, when such water-filled ditches served both defensive and status-signalling purposes for the gentry. The site sits upon Pridoli bedrock, a geological formation of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone that would have influenced both the ground conditions for digging the moat and the character of the surrounding landscape.
The moat at Lower House would originally have enclosed a timber or stone dwelling, with associated outbuildings for agricultural and domestic functions. The specific geology of the Pridoli rocks—prone to weathering into a mixed substrate—likely affected drainage patterns and the stability of the moat sides, shaping how the earthwork was constructed and maintained over time.
Today the monument survives as an earthwork feature in the Welsh landscape. Its preservation under Cadw's protection recognises its importance as evidence of medieval settlement patterns and the social hierarchy of rural Wales during the medieval period. The site contributes to our understanding of how such residential complexes were distributed across the Welsh countryside.
Lower House Moated Site is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD148. View the official record →
Lower House Moated Site is a medieval moated enclosure located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD148.
Lower House 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.
Lower House 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 RD148.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Remains of Blaenau Stone Circle (7.3 km), Coed y Polyn round barrow (7.6 km), Little Lodge Long Barrow (7.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Lower House 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.
Lower House Moated Site stands on Pridoli Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Pridoli. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.