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Pen Y Bryn Quarry and tips is an industrial quarry in Wales that exploited the Lower Cambrian rocks underlying the site. These strata, formed during the Early Cambrian period, consist of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposited in ancient marine environments over 500 million years ago. The quarry extraction and associated spoil heaps remain visible as substantial earthworks in the landscape, recording the industrial use of this geological resource.
The site is protected by Cadw, the historic monuments service of Wales, under reference CN419, recognising its significance as an example of quarrying heritage. Industrial quarries of this type were essential to the development of local and regional economies, providing raw materials for building stone and aggregate. The preservation of the quarry workings and tips offers evidence of the scale and methods of extraction employed.
The Lower Cambrian rocks at Pen Y Bryn form part of a widespread geological formation across Wales. The layered succession of fine-grained sedimentary rocks was well-suited to quarrying for constructional and industrial purposes. The quarry and its associated tips represent an important phase of industrial land use, with the physical remains now forming a distinctive part of the Welsh heritage landscape.
Pen Y Bryn Quarry and tips is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CN419. View the official record →
Pen Y Bryn Quarry and tips is an industrial quarry in Wales that exploited the Lower Cambrian rocks underlying the site. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference CN419.
Pen Y Bryn Quarry and tips dates from the industrial period, and is classified as a quarry. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Pen Y Bryn Quarry and tips 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 CN419.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Hut Circle Settlement Above Gilfach (6.8 km), Huts and Enclosures, Cwm Llefrith (8.3 km), Llystyn Gwyn Inscribed Stone (8.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Pen Y Bryn Quarry and tips'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.
Pen Y Bryn Quarry and tips stands on Lower Cambrian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Cambrian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.