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Y Gyrn longhuts is a post-medieval and modern deserted rural settlement located in Wales, protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument under Cadw reference BR391. The site preserves structural remains of traditional longhouse dwellings, a building form characteristic of upland Welsh rural communities where domestic and agricultural functions were integrated under a single roof. The settlement's abandonment reflects broader patterns of rural depopulation and agricultural change that affected many such isolated communities during the modern period.
The longhuts stand upon bedrock of Lower Devonian age, comprising sandstone and conglomerate laid down during the Early Devonian period. This geology shaped both the landscape and the building materials available to the settlement's inhabitants, with local stone quarried for construction. The exposed moorland setting and underlying geology would have presented significant challenges for agriculture, contributing to the vulnerability of such marginal settlements to economic and social pressures.
The surviving structural remains at Y Gyrn provide archaeological evidence for domestic life and land use practices in upland Wales during the post-medieval and modern periods. The longhuts represent a distinctive architectural tradition adapted to local environmental and economic conditions. As a protected monument, the site preserves an important record of rural Welsh settlement patterns and the material culture of communities inhabiting difficult terrain.
Y Gyrn longhuts is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR391. View the official record →
Y Gyrn longhuts is a post-medieval and modern deserted rural settlement located in Wales, protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument under Cadw reference BR391.
Y Gyrn longhuts dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a deserted rural settlement. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Y Gyrn longhuts 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 BR391.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cefn Esgair-carnau Burnt Mound (8.4 km), Afon Hepste Settlement Enclosure (8.6 km), Glog Las round cairn (8.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Y Gyrn longhuts'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.
Y Gyrn longhuts stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.