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Offa's Dyke: Section extending 200m S to Pool House, Rhos-y-Meirch is an early medieval linear earthwork forming part of the substantial frontier monument that extends across the Welsh-English border. This particular section preserves evidence of the ditch and bank construction typical of the broader defensive system, stretching southward across the landscape towards Pool House. The monument sits upon Ludlow Rocks—a bedrock of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formations—which would have influenced both the engineering of the earthwork and the local terrain it traverses.
The dyke represents an ambitious territorial statement from the early medieval period, running approximately 200 metres along this stretch of Rhos-y-Meirch. The underlying geology of alternating sedimentary strata would have presented variable digging conditions as the earthwork was constructed, with the clay-rich mudstones and siltstones differing significantly in workability from the sandstone layers. Such variations in bedrock may have influenced decisions about the precise route and form of the linear banks and ditches.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw reference RD018, ensuring the preservation of this important section of early medieval military engineering. The survival of the earthwork across this 200-metre length demonstrates the durability of the original construction and the landscape's role in maintaining this significant historical feature.
Offa's Dyke: Section extending 200m S to Pool House, Rhos-y-Meirch is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD018. View the official record →
Offa's Dyke: Section extending 200m S to Pool House, Rhos-y-Meirch is an early medieval linear earthwork forming part of the substantial frontier monument that extends across the Welsh-English border. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference RD018.
Offa's Dyke: Section extending 200m S to Pool House, Rhos-y-Meirch dates from the early medieval period, and is classified as a linear earthwork. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Offa's Dyke: Section extending 200m S to Pool House, Rhos-y-Meirch 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 RD018.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Offa's Dyke: Section from Ditchyeld Bridge to County Boundary (9.1 km), Womaston Castle Mound (9.2 km), Standing Stone 400m ENE of Four Stones (9.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Offa's Dyke: Section extending 200m S to Pool House, Rhos-y-Meirch'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.
Offa's Dyke: Section extending 200m S to Pool House, Rhos-y-Meirch stands on Ludlow Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ludlow. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.