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Offa's Dyke: Section N of Home Farm is an early medieval linear earthwork in Wales, protected by Cadw as a scheduled monument. Built in the 8th century during the reign of Offa of Mercia, this section forms part of the longest earthwork surviving from the early medieval period in Britain. The monument comprises an embanked ditch and bank running broadly north-south, which once extended for approximately 80 miles along the Wales-England border. The underlying bedrock at this location consists of Pennine and South Wales Middle Coal Measures, composed of mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete, which would have influenced both the construction techniques employed and the appearance of the finished earthwork.
This particular section stands within the distinctive landscape of the coal-bearing upland, where the exposed geology shaped settlement patterns throughout the medieval period and beyond. The dyke's construction required substantial labour and co-ordination, testimony to the power and resources of the Mercian kingdom. Though its exact original purpose remains debated—whether primarily defensive, administrative boundary or symbolic—the earthwork's impressive scale demonstrates the significance the border held in early medieval politics.
Offa's Dyke: Section N of Home Farm is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference DE177. View the official record →
Offa's Dyke: Section N of Home Farm is an early medieval linear earthwork in Wales, protected by Cadw as a scheduled monument. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference DE177.
Offa's Dyke: Section N of Home Farm 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 N of Home 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 DE177.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including A 1.43km length of the Ellesmere Canal and associated features at Chirk Bank (6 km), Motte castle adjacent to Oaklands Hall, Chirk Bank (6.1 km), Roman military site at Rhyn Park (6.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Offa's Dyke: Section N of Home 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.
Offa's Dyke: Section N of Home Farm stands on Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Middle Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Moscovian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.