Medieval · House (domestic)

Plas Berw

Anglesey, Wales
Cadw SAM AN057
Period
Medieval
Site type
House (domestic)
Broad class
Domestic
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Plas Berw is a medieval domestic house located in Wales and protected as an ancient monument by Cadw under reference AN057. The building stands on bedrock of Neoproterozoic metamorphic rocks, including marble and meta-limestone, which underlie much of this region and would have been quarried locally for lime and stone in the medieval period. The exposed geology indicates a landscape of considerable geological antiquity, shaped during the Neoproterozoic era hundreds of millions of years before the house's construction.

Medieval houses of this type in Wales served as the residences of landowners or gentry, typically combining domestic and managerial functions for their estates. Plas Berw's survival to the present day reflects both its solid construction and the continuity of settlement in its location, a pattern common in the Welsh countryside where medieval structures have been maintained, adapted or rebuilt across successive centuries.

The monument remains an important record of medieval Welsh domestic architecture and settlement patterns. Its preservation under Cadw's guardianship ensures the protection of this evidence of medieval life and building practices, contributing to understanding of how communities were organised and sustained in medieval Wales.

Plas Berw is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference AN057. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Plas Berw?

Plas Berw is a medieval domestic house located in Wales and protected as an ancient monument by Cadw under reference AN057.

What period does Plas Berw date from?

Plas Berw dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a house (domestic). It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Plas Berw?

Plas Berw 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 AN057.

What other scheduled monuments are near Plas Berw?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bryngwyn Standing Stones (4.8 km), Perthi-Duon Burial Chamber (5.2 km), Old Parish Church, Llanidan (5.6 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Plas Berw

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Plas Berw's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Plas Berw

Plas Berw stands on Unnamed Metamorphic Rocks, Neoproterozoic, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is marble, meta-limestone.

The wider landscape

Around Plas Berw

Bryn Celli DduArchaeological site · ~2.8 miles