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Moat NW of Merryborough Farm is a medieval moated site situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference PE465. The monument comprises a substantial earthwork defensive feature typical of medieval manorial settlements, with a water-filled or water-retaining ditch encircling a raised interior platform. Such moated sites became widespread across Britain during the 12th to 16th centuries, serving as the residential and administrative centres of minor landowners and knights.
The site lies upon bedrock of Ashgill Rocks, an undifferentiated sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formation. This geology would have provided workable material for the earthwork construction whilst the underlying strata offered natural drainage properties essential for maintaining the moat itself. The combination of readily available stone and manageable soil conditions made this location suitable for establishing a defended homestead.
Moated sites such as this represent an important phase in medieval Welsh settlement and land management. The moat provided both practical defence and a visible statement of the resident's status and territorial authority within the local landscape. Though now reduced to earthwork traces, the site preserves evidence of medieval social hierarchy and the pattern of dispersed noble settlement that characterised the medieval Welsh countryside.
Moat NW of Merryborough Farm is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference PE465. View the official record →
Moat NW of Merryborough Farm is a medieval moated site situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference PE465.
Moat NW of Merryborough Farm 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.
Moat NW of Merryborough 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 PE465.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Picton Castle Mound (4.1 km), Castle Lake Camp (4.9 km), Picton Point Camp (5.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Moat NW of Merryborough 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.
Moat NW of Merryborough Farm stands on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.