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Pillow Mound at Bryn y Gwyddel is a post-medieval to modern earthwork constructed on Coal Measures bedrock in Wales. The monument takes the form of a low, elongated mound characteristic of pillow mounds, which were artificially created warrens designed to support populations of rabbits for food and profit. Built upon mudstone, siltstone and sandstone of the Westphalian period, the mound's survival depends partly on the stable geology of the Lower Coal Measures Formation beneath it. Such structures became widespread across Britain from the medieval period onwards, though this example belongs to the later phases of rabbit farming when the practice remained economically significant.
The monument is protected by Cadw, the Welsh Historic Monuments service, under the reference GM517, reflecting its archaeological and historical interest as evidence of post-medieval land use and resource management. Pillow mounds required substantial labour investment to construct and maintain, indicating the value placed on rabbit meat and fur during this period. The Bryn y Gwyddel example survives as a visible earthwork within the Welsh landscape, preserving evidence of this now-obsolete form of animal husbandry.
Pillow Mound at Bryn y Gwyddel is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM517. View the official record →
Pillow Mound at Bryn y Gwyddel is a post-medieval to modern earthwork constructed on Coal Measures bedrock in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM517.
Pillow Mound at Bryn y Gwyddel dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a pillow mound. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Pillow Mound at Bryn y Gwyddel 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 GM517.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Gadlys Ironworks (Remains of Blast Furnace) (4.1 km), Darren Fawr Round Cairns (5.3 km), Rhos-Gwawr cairn cemetery (6.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Pillow Mound at Bryn y Gwyddel'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.
Pillow Mound at Bryn y Gwyddel stands on Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.