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Trelessy Defended Enclosure is a prehistoric defensive earthwork situated in Wales. The site occupies ground underlain by Coal Measures bedrock of Westphalian age, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone interbedded with coal seams and ironstone. This geology would have shaped the settlement's construction and the availability of materials for building and tools.
The enclosure represents a form of settlement fortification typical of later prehistoric Britain, where communities established defended positions through the construction of ditches and banks. The precise defensive configuration would have responded to the local topography and the practical needs of the inhabitants. Such enclosures often served multiple functions: protection from conflict, livestock containment and a focal point for community activity.
Trelessy Defended Enclosure is protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw's designation PE563, ensuring the preservation of this evidence of prehistoric occupation and land-use in Wales. The site contributes to understanding settlement patterns and defensive strategies during the period when such earthworks were constructed across Britain's landscape.
Trelessy Defended Enclosure is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference PE563. View the official record →
Trelessy Defended Enclosure is a prehistoric defensive earthwork situated in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference PE563.
Trelessy Defended Enclosure dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a enclosure - defensive. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Trelessy Defended Enclosure 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 PE563.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Standing Stone 350m N of Knightston Farm (6.9 km), Tenby Market Cross (8.1 km), Tenby Castle (8.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Trelessy Defended Enclosure'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.
Trelessy Defended Enclosure 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.