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Upper House Platform House is a medieval platform house located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD175. Platform houses represent a distinctive settlement form found across Wales during the medieval period, typically comprising a raised earthwork supporting domestic structures. The monument sits upon Ordovician bedrock consisting of unnamed extrusive rocks, specifically mafic tuff formed during volcanic activity in the Ordovician period approximately 485 to 444 million years ago.
The platform itself would have been deliberately constructed to create a level building surface and may have provided defensive advantages by elevating the dwelling above the surrounding landscape. Such structures are commonly found in areas where natural topography requires modification to establish suitable settlement sites. The underlying geology of mafic tuff indicates a landscape shaped by ancient volcanic processes, which would have influenced both the availability of stone for construction and the drainage characteristics of the site.
Upper House Platform House survives as an earthwork monument testament to medieval Welsh domestic settlement patterns. Its preservation by Cadw ensures that this example of medieval platform house architecture remains available for archaeological study and public understanding of medieval Welsh settlement and social organisation in the landscape where it was constructed.
Upper House Platform House is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD175. View the official record →
Upper House Platform House is a medieval platform house located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD175.
Upper House Platform House 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.
Upper House Platform House 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 RD175.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cwmblaenerw Enclosed Long Hut (5.6 km), Cwmblaenerw House Platforms (6.4 km), Builth Castle (6.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Upper House Platform House'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.
Upper House Platform House stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Ordovician, bedrock that formed in the Ordovician. The rock here is mafic tuff.