Scheduled MonumentsWalesTretower Barn
Medieval · Barn

Tretower Barn

Breconshire, Wales
Cadw SAM BR146
Period
Medieval
Site type
Barn
Broad class
Agriculture and Subsistence
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM BR146
Authority
Cadw
Designated
2018-10-19
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Tretower Barn is a medieval barn located in Wales and protected by Cadw as an ancient monument under reference BR146. The building stands on bedrock of Lower Devonian composition, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formed during the Early Devonian period, which provides a stable foundation for this substantial agricultural structure.

The barn exemplifies the medieval approach to farm buildings in Wales, constructed to serve the storage and processing needs of a significant agricultural holding. Its position reflects the practical considerations of medieval settlement, situated where the underlying geology offered suitable ground conditions for permanent construction.

As a protected heritage structure, Tretower Barn survives as evidence of medieval Welsh farming practices and rural economy. The building's survival demonstrates the durability of medieval construction methods and materials, whilst its continued presence on the landscape makes it an important resource for understanding how agricultural communities organised their resources and labour during the medieval period.

Tretower Barn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR146. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Tretower Barn?

Tretower Barn is a medieval barn located in Wales and protected by Cadw as an ancient monument under reference BR146.

What period does Tretower Barn date from?

Tretower Barn dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a barn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Tretower Barn?

Tretower Barn 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 BR146.

What other scheduled monuments are near Tretower Barn?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Mynydd Pen-cyrn round cairn (6.7 km), Twr Pen-cyrn round cairns (6.9 km), Disgwylfa Tramroads (7.9 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Tretower Barn

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Tretower Barn'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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Tretower Barn

Tretower Barn stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.