Welsh Journals

EXCAVATIONS AT THE PORTH, NEW RADNOR, 1991-2 NIGEL JONES The present town was founded sometime in the first half of the 13th century, possibly replacing an earlier settlement. It was laid out on a fairly regular grid of streets enclosed by a stone revetted bank and external ditch, and dominated by an impressive masonry castle built by Roger Mortimer (fig. 1). After initial success New Radnor appears to have suffered a decline in fortunes, leading to many areas within the town being abandoned after c.1400 when the town was attacked by Glyndwr, and remaining undeveloped to the present day. John Speed's map of 1610 shows large areas of empty space within the town walls indicating that by this time the down had seriously declined.7 Figure 1 New Radnor-The Porth, 1991-1992: location of excavations by CPAT in 1991-1992 The proposed development of a vacant plot just inside the west gate of the medieval town led to trial work by the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust commencing in September 1991. The site fronted onto Church Street to the north, with the town defences to the west and a disused medieval side street to the east. In all, an area of c.520m2 was excavated, with work continuing until March 1992. In addition to the main area, two trial trenches were excavated across a raised building platform at the southern end of the plot. The results have produced significant evidence for occupation in the medieval period, continuing into the post-medieval. Medieval Occupation (fig. 2) The medieval occupation appears to have been concentrated on two distinct areas, possibly representing separate burgage plots. The general pattern conforms to that of many medieval settlements, with buildings