Historic Landscape Characterisation

The Caersws Basin: Cerist
Caersws and Llandinam communities, Powys
(HLCA 1181)

Mixed fieldscapes on the relatively flat and lowlying ground along the lower Trannon and Cerist valleys, representing a combination of piecemeal clearance and enclosure from medieval times onwards, probable emparkment and landscape reorganisation in perhaps the early post-medieval period, and some reorganisation following the construction of the Van Railway and the diversion of a stretch of the river Cerist in the later 19th century.

Historic background

The farm at Park, formerly called Pen-prys, was a manor and possible administrative centre of the of commote of Arwystli Iscoed from at least the later 13th century with both arable and meadow land. The Augustinian canons of Haughmond were granted rights to feed their pigs in the wood of Pen-prys, presumably on more marginal land to the north or west of the manorial centre during the Middle Ages. Park had become a noted centre of horse breeding by the later 12th century and from at least the early 13th century appears to have been the focus of a hunting park. By the Tudor period, in the later 16th century it had become a royal horse stud, perhaps because of the quality of the lowland meadows in the valley of the lower Trannon and Cerist which were being enclosed at this time.

Key historic landscape characteristics

A localized prehistoric lowland peat deposit, up to 2 metres deep and several hundred metres across, spans the eastern boundary of the character area, close to the confluence of the Garno and Severn.

The fieldscapes on the more elevated land to the north and west are dominated by large and small irregular field patterns which are likely to represent a piecemeal process of clearance and enclosure from medieval times or earlier. A distinctive pattern of more regularly shaped fields to the south-east of Park appears to represent landscape reorganisation associated with the Pen-prys manorial estate, and possibly dating from the mid 16th century or earlier. Straight-sided fields bordering the southern boundary of the area represent landscape reorganisation associated with the construction of the Van Railway and the canalization of the river Cerist in 1871.

Early settlement and land use is suggested by the chance find of a Neolithic or Bronze Age stone axe near Park. The course of the Roman road west of the Roman fort at Caersws runs though the area, part of which survives as a visible earthwork. Iron Age or more probably Romano-British agriculture is indicated by a cropmark enclosure representing a ditched enclosure near Maesgwastad, just to the north of the course of the Roman road.

The oldest surviving building in the area is the house of the Herbert family at Park (formerly Pen-prys) which was a high status building originally constructed in closely-studded timber towards the end of the 17th century parts of which survive behind a later exterior. This is associated with the adjacent farm complex of 19th century origin at Werglodd-Deg. Most of the houses and other buildings in the character area lie along the road to Trefeglwys or along the minor road to Park (following the course of the Roman road westwards from Caersws) are of 20th century date.

Sources