Elan Links Landscape Character Assessment Report by: Trysor For: The Elan Valley Trust December 2016 Elan Links Landscape Character Assessment By Jenny Hall, MCIfA & Paul Sambrook, MCIfA Trysor Trysor Project No. 2016/541 For: The Elan Valley Trust December 2016 38, New Road Gwaun-cae-Gurwen Ammanford Carmarthenshire SA18 1UN www.trysor.netU [email protected] Cover photograph: An early 20th century concrete boundary post marking the limits of the Elan Valley Estate. The BC stamp stands for Birmingham Corporation Elan Links Landscape Character Assessment RHIF YR ADRODDIAD - REPORT NUMBER: Trysor 2016/541 DYDDIAD 12fed Mis Rhagfyr 2016 DATE 12th December 2016 Paratowyd yr adroddiad hwn gan bartneriad Trysor. Mae wedi ei gael yn gywir ac yn derbyn ein sêl bendith. This report was prepared by the Trysor partners. It has been checked and received our approval. JENNY HALL MCIfA Jenny Hall PAUL SAMBROOK MCIfA Paul Sambrook Croesawn unrhyw sylwadau ar gynnwys neu strwythur yr adroddiad hwn. We welcome any comments on the content or structure of this report. 38, New Road, 82, Henfaes Road Gwaun-cae-Gurwen Tonna Ammanford Neath Carmarthenshire SA11 3EX SA18 1UN 01639 412708 01269 826397 www.trysor.net [email protected] Trysor is a Registered Organisation with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists and both partners are Members of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists, www.archaeologists.net . Jenny Hall (BSc Joint Hons., Geology and Archaeology, MCIfA) had 12 years excavation experience, which included undertaking watching briefs prior to becoming the Sites and Monuments Record Manager for a Welsh Archaeological Trust for 10 years. She has been an independent archaeologist since 2004 undertaking a variety of work that includes upland survey, desk-based appraisals and assessments, and watching briefs. Paul Sambrook (BA Joint Hons., Archaeology and Welsh, MCIfA, PGCE) has extensive experience as a fieldworker in Wales. He was involved with Cadw’s pan-Wales Deserted Rural Settlements Project for 7 years. He also undertook Tir Gofal field survey work and watching briefs. He has been an independent archaeologist since 2004 undertaking a variety of work including upland survey, desk-based appraisals/assessments, and watching briefs. Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. The Landscape of the Elan Links: An Overview 4 3. Landscape Characterisation 7 4. Characterisation of the Elan Links Area: Thematic Overview 11 5. Bibliography 26 6. Appendix 1:Elan Links Landscape Characterisation Assessment 29 Elan Links Landscape Character Assessment 1. Introduction 1.1 Trysor was commissioned in 2015 by the Elenydd Landscape Partnership to undertake a Landscape Character Assessment to support an application for Heritage Lottery Funding. 1.2 The existing landscape characterisations, including LANDMAP, the Register of Historic Landscapes and county-based Landscape Character Assessments were reviewed in order to determine a suitable boundary to undertake a more detailed landscape characterisation focused on the Elan Valley. 1.3 This process led to the selection of the present holding boundary of the Elan Valley Estate to define the Elan Links area on the grounds that; 1.3.1 The estate is an historic entity which was defined for a specific purpose i.e. to include the entire watershed of the Elan Valley to feed the reservoir system which had been proposed in the late 19th century. Some additions to the estate have been made through land acquisitions during the 20th century, but the estate boundary has remained largely stable to the present day. 1.3.2 The estate has been under consistent management for over a century. This is what makes its landscape special and stand out from adjacent landscapes. It is by far the most robust boundary available for consideration, as both the Historic Landscape and LANDMAP boundaries may be reviewed in future. 1.4 The boundary has reviewed in 2016 following consultation. 1.4.1 The boundary has been revised to include the line of concrete boundary watersheds posts where these lay outside the current Elan Valley estate boundary. This has slightly changed the western and southern boundaries. At the northwest of the area this amendment now brings in a small area of coniferous forestry. This is a different element but it was felt that having the complete watershed boundary included was important. 1.4.2 A small area of woodland on the western slopes of Carn Gafallt has been added. This is owned by the RSPB and was included for additional value whilst not deviating from landscape character already identified. 1 Elan Links Landscape Character Assessment 1.4 Having established the Elan Links boundary for the Landscape Character Assessment, Landscape Character Areas were created within the defined area, details of which are included in Appendix 1 of this report. Figure 1: Location of the Elan Links project area in mid Wales. 2 Elan Links Landscape Character Assessment Plate 1: A view of the Craig Goch dam at the heart of the Elan Valley. Plate 2: A peat bog at the heart of the Elenydd upland plateau. 3 Elan Links Landscape Character Assessment 2. The Landscape of the Elan Valley Estate: An Overview 2.1 The Elan Valley Estate was created in 1892 by an Act of Parliament. Its boundaries were defined to encompass the watersheds of the Elan and Claerwen rivers. This secured the water supply for a series of reservoirs in the heart of the Cambrian Mountains in order to provide the city of Birmingham with fresh, clean water. 2.2 The estate includes a significant portion of the Elenydd uplands as well as five reservoirs in the Elan and Claerwen valleys. The juxtaposition of the wild, open spaces of Elenydd against the designed, engineered landscapes of the valleys is quite unique in a Welsh context. The reservoirs are today a major attraction, annually drawing tens of thousands of visitors into the Elan Valley. 2.3 The distinctive upland plateau of Elenydd is underlain by early Silurian sandstones and turbidites and dissected by valleys, carved by glacial and fluvial action. Boulder clay deposited at the end of the last Ice Age masks much of the area and was responsible for turning the river Ystwyth to the west and creating the Elan. Acidic soils and poor drainage have led to the development of blanket bogs across parts of the landscape, some of which have considerable palaeoenvironmental importance. Peat cut from bogs was the main source of domestic fuel in the district for much of the post-medieval period. 2.4 The estate includes nationally and internationally recognised habitats, especially for breeding birds, which are reflected in the 80% of the landscape here which is protected as a SSSI or a SPA and 32% as a SAC. The upland plateaus and the Claerwen valley are a mixture of wet heathland, dry heaths and blanket bog whilst the Elan Valley is a mosaic of enclosed pasture fields, broad-leafed woodlands and conifer plantations. 2.5 In an upland area which is otherwise devoid of modern settlement, 28 farms are maintained by the estate, their boundaries largely based on traditional sheepwalks which estate records show to have been in existence by the 1870s. Despite the low population in modern times, this is an archaeologically diverse landscape, with evidence of human settlement, industry and burial extending back over some 5,000 years. This includes nationally important remains from the Bronze Age, medieval activity related to its use as a grange by the monks of Strata Florida, as well as the extraction of metalliferous ores during the 19th century. 4 Elan Links Landscape Character Assessment Figure 2: A map of the Elan Links area 5 Elan Links Landscape Character Assessment 2.6 In later post-medieval and modern times, sheep-farming has dominated the management of the uplands. The remains of cottages, huts and folds of shepherds dot the area. Today, the spread of purple-moor grass, Molinia Caerula, now presents a particular challenge for the management of upland habitats, with invasive species such as gorse and bracken also established and spreading on some valley slopes. 2.7 Culturally, the Elenydd uplands have great significance. Gerald of Wales visiting Strata Florida abbey in Ceredigion mentioned the “lofty mountains” of Elenydd in 1188. John Leland, the English antiquarian, crossed the western part of the area when sent by Henry VIII to assess Strata Florida in 1538. His itinerary records encounters with herdsmen on these wild and remote hills and documents their world. The Abbey controlled Elenydd throughout the Medieval period and divided it into a series of upland granges from which it drew much of its wealth. 2.8 The Elan valley also has important cultural associations. It was once at the heart of the Cwm Elan Estate, the forerunner of the modern Elan Valley Estate. In the early 19th century the poet Percy Bysshe-Shelley visited his cousins, the Grove family of Cwm Elan, on a number of occasions. He fell in love with the valley and intended to lease a local farm. At the eastern side of the area lies Elan Village, a maintenance workers’ settlement built in the Arts and Crafts style, completed in 1909. Plate 4: The Nant y Gro Dam, built to supply water for the workers’ settlement at Elan Village was breached by experiments with bouncing bombs carried out by Barnes Wallace in 1942. 6 Elan Links Landscape Character Assessment 3. Landscape Characterisation 3.1 The landscapes of Wales have been characterised through various projects over the past two decades or so. The process started with the identification of particular landscapes that were seen as being historically important - Historic Landscapes. These were broken down into smaller character areas. LANDMAP followed with a grand plan to characterise the whole of Wales according to five themes or aspects: Geological, Historical, Cultural, Visual & Sensory and Landscape Habitat.