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Wat's Dyke is a linear earthwork of Early Medieval date forming part of a larger defensive system constructed along the Welsh-English border. This 375-metre section, located south of Middleton Road and west of Laburnum Drive near Oswestry in Shropshire, comprises a substantial bank and ditch characteristic of frontier works from the seventh and eighth centuries. The dyke represents significant territorial boundary demarcation during the period of Anglo-Saxon expansion and Welsh resistance in the Marches, though scholarly consensus regarding its precise dating and the political circumstances of its construction remains subject to ongoing archaeological study. The monument's survival as an upstanding earthwork testament to its robust original construction and its archaeological importance for understanding early medieval border management.
Wat's Dyke: 375m long section immediately south of Middleton Road and west of Laburnum Drive is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1020619. View the official record →
Wat's Dyke is a linear earthwork of Early Medieval date forming part of a larger defensive system constructed along the Welsh-English border. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1020619.
Wat's Dyke: 375m long section immediately south of Middleton Road and west of Laburnum Drive is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1020619.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Offa's Dyke: section 200yds (180m) long, S of The Royal Oak Inn (5.5 km), Offa's Dyke: section 330yds (300m) S from Treflach Wood (5.8 km), Offa's Dyke: section 90m east of Ty Gwyn (6.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Wat's Dyke: 375m long section immediately south of Middleton Road and west of Laburnum Drive'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.
Wat's Dyke: 375m long section immediately south of Middleton Road and west of Laburnum Drive stands on Warwickshire Group, bedrock that formed in the Early Permian. The rock here is siltstone and sandstone with subordinate mudstone.