Cadw is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. Cadw works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage sites of Wales, to make them available for the public to visit, enjoy, and understand their significance. Cadw manages 127 state-owned properties and sites. It arranges events at its managed properties, provides lectures and teaching sessions, offers heritage walks, and hosts an online shop. Members of the public can become members of Cadw to gain membership privileges.
Neath Abbey was a Cistercian monastery, located near the present-day town of Neath in South Wales, UK. It was once the largest abbey in Wales. Substantial ruins can still be seen, and are in the care of Cadw. Tudor historian John Leland called Neath Abbey "the fairest abbey of all Wales."
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. It is based in Aberystwyth.
Merthyr Mawr is a village and community in Bridgend, Wales. The village is about 2+1⁄2 miles from the centre of Bridgend town. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 267. The community occupies the area west of the Ewenny River, between Bridgend and Porthcawl. It takes in the settlement of Tythegston and a stretch of coastal sand dunes known as Merthyr Mawr Warren. It is in the historic county of Glamorgan.
Monmouth Castle is a castle close to the centre of the town of Monmouth, the county town of Monmouthshire, on a hill above the River Monnow in south-east Wales.
The Welsh Archaeological Trusts are four archaeological organisations established in the mid-1970s to respond to rescue archaeology. They are independent charitable trusts which together provide a uniform regional archaeology service across Wales, working closely with Welsh Government and local authorities and forming a 'tripod' of archaeology and cultural heritage institutions with Cadw and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.
The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust is an educational charity which was established in 1975. Its objective is ‘to advance the education of the public in archaeology’. CPAT is one of four Welsh Archaeological Trusts (WATs) which work to help protect, record and interpret all aspects of the historic environment. This includes providing advice to local authorities on archaeology and planning, undertaking archaeological projects for private- and public-sector clients, and delivering a programme of community archaeology events and activities.
The Dyfed Archaeological Trust is one of the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts established in the mid-1970s with the charitable object 'to advance the education of the public in archaeology'. Its core area comprises Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire in south-west Wales.
The Gwynedd Archaeological Trust is an Archaeological Trust organisation established in 1974; it is one of four Welsh Archaeological Trusts.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Wales:
Pen y Clawdd Castle is a ditched mound with a double moat, roughly circular in shape, with a diameter of approximately 28m to 30m and about 2.4m high. The castle is in Llanvihangel Crucorney, about five miles to the north of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, in south east Wales and lies between the Usk and Monnow rivers. The mound was designated a scheduled monument in 1950 and described as a defensive medieval motte.
The Monmouth town walls and defences comprise the defensive system of town walls and gates built in Monmouth, Wales between 1297 and the early part of the following century. Wye Bridge Gate, East Gate, Monk's Gate, and Monnow Bridge Gate were access points to the town. West Gate, across Monnow Street, also provided access. Only the Monnow Bridge Gatehouse survives intact, albeit in a substantially modified version from the original.
St John's is a grade II listed building in the town centre of Monmouth, Wales. It is located in Glendower Street within the medieval town walls. The house is most remarkable for the rear of the property which features a Coalbrookdale verandah and formal walled garden that have been separately grade II listed with the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. The villa's garden is also registered with the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust.
Pembrokeshire is the fifth-largest county in Wales, but has more scheduled monuments (526) than any except Powys. This gives it an extremely high density of monuments, with 33.4 per 100 km2.. With three-quarters of its boundary being coastline, Pembrokeshire occupies the western end of the West Wales peninsular, terminating with the tiny cathedral city of St David's. It was a historic county in its own right but between 1975 and 1996 it joined Carmarthen and Ceredigion in the much larger county of Dyfed.
The archaeology of Wales is the study of human occupation within the country of Wales which has been occupied by modern humans since 225,000 BCE, with continuous occupation from 9,000 BCE. Analysis of the sites, artefacts and other archaeological data within Wales details its complex social landscape and evolution from Prehistoric times to the Industrial period. This study is undertaken by academic institutions, consultancies, charities as well as government organisations.
The Register of Landscapes of Historic Interest in Wales is a non-statutory heritage register of 58 landscapes of outstanding or special historic interest published in two volumes. It was produced by a partnership between Cadw, the Countryside Council for Wales, and the International Council on Monuments and Sites working in collaboration with the Welsh Archaeological Trusts and several other organisations with the intention of aiding in the protection and conservation of the most important and significant historic landscape areas in Wales.
