Historic Landscape Characterisation

The Clywedog Valley: Bryn y Groes
Llanidloes Without community, Powys
(HLCA 1192)

Upland plateau and hill edge south and west of the Clywedog Reservoir with widely dispersed farms of possibly medieval or early post-medieval origin associated with irregular fieldscapes and extensive 19th-century enclosure of former and existing common land; discrete mining landscapes.

Historic background

Key historic landscape characteristics

Recorded placenames in the historic landscape area are mostly topgraphical and provide little evidence of historic land use or settlement history.

Early prehistoric settlement and land use is indicated by the chance find of a stone axe hammer of Bronze Age date found near Pen-y-banc Farm and by a hilltop burial mound at Penycerrig. The small defended, hilltop enclosure with stone ramparts overlooking the Clywedog dam at Pen-y-gaer probably represents a period of settlement and land use associated with the exploitation of upland grazing during the later prehistoric Iron Age.

A mixture of fieldscape types are represented in the area and notably include irregular patterns of smaller fields encircling the lower-lying farms in stream valleys, such as Pen-y-rhynau, Foel Pen-y-banc, Deildre-fawr, Deildre-fach, and Gwestyn, which in origin appear to represent former seasonally-occupied habitations or encroachments within areas of more extensive open grazing during the medieval and early post-medieval periods. Extensive areas of the higher ground throughout the character area were the subject of parliamentary enclosure during the earlier 19th century, represented by both large and small straight-sided fields, with the exception of substantial areas of Mynydd y Groes and Bryn Mawr in the western part of the area, which though partitioned into large straight-sided fields remain as registered Common Land.

Metal mining remains mostly of mid to later 19th-century date survive in a number of areas, notably a probable drainage adit in the valley of the Nant Felen at Nant-y-Gwrdu, below the Nantmelin mine, several shafts in the Gwestyn valley associated with the Aberdaunant mine, and the more extensive remains at Gwestyn, above the valley of the Nant Gwestyn, all of which exploited mineral veins shared by the Bryntail, Penyclun and Van mines to the north-east, from which copper and lead were extracted. The mining remains at Gwestyn survive over an area of 3 hectares on the broad upland ridge at Gwestyn now forming semi-improved pasture land, which largely date from the period between the 1850s and 1870s. Visible remains include a run of shafts, trials and collapsed workings along the vein, spoil heaps, a whim circle and possible capstan circle, a stone-lined drainage adit lower down the hill near the Nant Gwestyn, and by the foundations of former mine buildings including a former engine house, explosives magazine and mine office but little ore processing appears to have been undertaken at the site. Power for drainage was also provided by a waterwheel driven by water from the Gwestyn, the use of water power being indicated by a number of earthwork reservoirs and leats.

Sources