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South West Dockyard Tower is a post-medieval fortification located in Wales and protected by Cadw under the reference PE332. Built upon bedrock of Dinantian limestone with interbedded sandstone and argillaceous deposits, the tower occupies a setting formed during the Mississippian period. Its construction reflects the military engineering practices of the early modern era, when such structures served to defend strategic waterside installations and control maritime access to important dockyards.
The tower's location on limestone geology provided a stable foundation for this defensive structure. The underlying Dinantian rocks, characteristic of South Wales geology, comprise the ancient seabed deposits laid down over 300 million years ago. These solid foundations would have been advantageous for the construction of a robust military building designed to withstand both the elements and potential attack.
As a post-medieval tower associated with dockyard defences, this monument represents the evolution of Welsh coastal fortifications during a period of expanding maritime commerce and naval strategy. Its survival and scheduling as a protected monument under Cadw demonstrates the historical significance of dockyard infrastructure to Wales's maritime heritage and broader military history.
South West Dockyard Tower is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference PE332. View the official record →
South West Dockyard Tower is a post-medieval fortification located in Wales and protected by Cadw under the reference PE332.
South West Dockyard Tower dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a tower. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
South West Dockyard Tower 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 PE332.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Sampson Cross Standing Stone (7.3 km), Stackpole Farm Standing Stone (7.8 km), Pricaston Farmhouse (8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of South West Dockyard Tower'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.
South West Dockyard Tower stands on Dinantian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.