Description1. FROM C.S.Briggs, Gardens Under Threat: Archaeology in Jnl of Garden History 1991
Recent evidence from excavations suggests that Cwrt Llechryd was a defended site established prior to the Norman Conquest. Previously considered to have been somewhat later in date, 'Cwrt' -type enclosures, encompassing up to 8 acres (c 3 ha.) besides being foci of lordly residence, may have housed a variety of specialist activities including the cultivation of more vulnerable or economically important plants.
See also C.R.Musson and J.Spurgeon,'Cwrt Llechryd, Llanelwedd: An unusual moated site in Central Powys', Med. Archaeol. 32 (1988), 97-109.
2. This site is depicted on the Ordnance Survey 25-inch map of Brecknockshire VIII, sheet 15 (1880s, 1904). Its main elements on that map include include viewing platform (depicted as motte), parkland and woodland. There is no certainty that any particular area was a garden, but there is a strong likelihood that horticulture would have been practised within the bounds of its enclosing banks.
C.S.Briggs 22.12.05