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Platform Houses on Coly Uchaf is a medieval platform house situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM320. The monument occupies ground underlain by the South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, a geological sequence of mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete dating to the Westphalian period. This distinctive local geology shaped both settlement patterns and building practices in the medieval period.
Platform houses represent a characteristic Welsh medieval domestic form, built upon artificially levelled terraces cut into sloping ground. The platform at Coly Uchaf would have created a level foundation for the timber-framed or stone structure that once stood here, a practical solution to challenging topography. Such dwellings typically accommodated a single household and commonly date to the later medieval period, though occupation sometimes extended into the early modern era.
The Coly Uchaf platform survives as an earthwork testament to vernacular medieval settlement in upland Wales. The Coal Measures bedrock would have presented constraints on construction and water drainage, factors that influenced where inhabitants chose to establish their homestead and how they prepared the ground. The site contributes to understanding rural medieval Welsh life and the adaptation of communities to their landscape.
Platform Houses on Coly Uchaf is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM320. View the official record →
Platform Houses on Coly Uchaf is a medieval platform house situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM320.
Platform Houses on Coly Uchaf dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a platform house. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Platform Houses on Coly Uchaf 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 GM320.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Tir Lan round barrow cemetery (3.2 km), Brynbychan Round Cairn (4.3 km), Fforest Gwladys Roman practice camp (5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Platform Houses on Coly Uchaf'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.
Platform Houses on Coly Uchaf stands on South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.