Summary

The earthworks and buried remains of a 520m long section of Offa's Dyke, 380m west of Pottery Cottages to the north of Trefonen.

Source: Historic England

Details

PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a 520m long section of Offa's Dyke, 380m west of Pottery Cottages to the north of Trefonen. Offa's Dyke generally consists of a bank, up to 3.5m high, with an intermittent parallel ditch and quarry pits in places. It was strengthened in some areas by additional earthworks, namely a berm between the bank and ditch and a counterscarp bank on the outer lip of the ditch.

DETAILS
The section of Dyke which runs southwards for approximately 520m from a road running west to east passing Pentre-shannel Farm, to the point where the Dyke is crossed by Chapel Lane to the north of Trefonen. At its northern end, for the first 130m, the bank has been reduced slightly by ploughing, particularly on its western side but survives as a low-profiled bank. The ditch, although largely infilled, remains visible as a slight depression. South of this section is an approximately 300m length where the earthworks of the bank, the counterscarp bank and the ditch are well preserved. Beyond this, is a 100m long section of the Dyke where the bank has been lowered by ploughing and cut by a lane but there are traces of a shallow ditch and the counterscarp bank on the west side. To the south of the lane, as far as Chapel Lane, the bank has a lowered profile and the ditch is visible as a shallow depression. At the southern end of this section of the Dyke the earthworks have been removed by the road (Chapel Lane) which runs from Fron to Trefonen.

EXCLUSIONS
All fence posts, stiles and telegraph poles are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath these features is included.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The section of Offa’s Dyke 380m west of Pottery Cottages, and east of Pentre-shannel Farm, is scheduled for the following principal reasons:

Rarity: this section represents part of a significant frontier work dating back to the early medieval period; Offa’s Dyke is considered to be the largest and most complete purpose-built earthwork of its type in the country;
Survival: it survives well despite some localised reduction of the earthworks and the infilling of the ditch over time, and will retain evidence for the date and method of its construction;
Potential: the Dyke will contain archaeological evidence which will increase our understanding of such defensive or demarcatory systems and will contribute to our knowledge of territorial boundaries both locally and in the wider context.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
D Hill & M Worthington, , Offa’s Dyke History & Guide, (2003)
J Highham & M J Ryan, , Landscape Archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England, (2010)
Kay, K, Richards, , Offa's Dyke Path North, (1995)
Other
A H Archaeological Services, Heritage Assessment on land north of Whitridge Way, Trefonen, Shropshire NGR SJ 258 270, Report Number 46, May 2014,
Dr G Nash, Proposed Development at Whitridge Way Development, Trefonen, Shropshire. Heritage Statement, April 2014,

Source: Historic England