New Radnor: Medieval Traces and Landscape

New Radnor brings together medieval traces of the town, historic buildings and landscape-related features in the wider region. If you are looking for a hotel for a stay in New Radnor, you can distinguish between the town’s history and the region’s routes and landscapes when planning your trip. Fortification remains, historic houses and the church offer different points of reference in time; Radnor Forest and Water-Break-its-Neck broaden the view to the surrounding region.

Medieval Town and Fortifications

New Radnor was historically a market town, a borough and a county town. The Scheduled Monument New Radnor Medieval Town: South West Quadrant includes well-preserved remains of the medieval town. Another focal point is the Town Bank and Ditch monument: it includes six scheduled sections, the best-preserved of which lie on the west, south and east sides of New Radnor.

In these sections, the town’s defensive wall is about 2.7 metres high; the ditch lies approximately 0.7 metres below the present ground surface. These measurements use different reference points: a height for the wall and the present ground surface for the position of the ditch. Together with the distribution of the sections, they give a concrete impression of the surviving fortification remains without reducing all the parts to a single point.

Castle and Historic Houses

New Radnor Castle adds to the picture of the fortifications. The motte mound was formed out of a natural ridge. Little of the castle itself survives; nevertheless, its site is among the most significant surviving remains of the fortifications on the outskirts of New Radnor.

Swan House also offers a glimpse into the town’s architectural history. The Grade II listed building dates back to the 15th century. Its surviving remains are part of a high-quality late-medieval cruck-framed house. Brookside Farm has origins in the 16th or 17th century. Buildings Nos. 1 and 2 on High Street were formerly part of The Cross Inn, which was built in the 17th century. The time frame therefore extends from the 15th to the 17th century; Brookside Farm’s dating is limited to the 16th or 17th century.

Church and Historic Milestones

The present-day St Mary’s Church was built between 1843 and 1845. It lies at the end of a lane on the north side of New Radnor and is terraced into a steep slope below the castle earthworks. Its location and construction period offer two specific points of reference: its spatial relationship with the earthworks and a building phase considerably later than the medieval traces of the town.

Another historical reference takes us back to March 1188. New Radnor was then the first stop for a group of Christian leaders travelling through Wales to recruit men for the Third Crusade. The group included Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury.

Landscape, Orientation and Routes

New Radnor lies on the A44 between Worcester and Aberystwyth. Warren Wood is nearby. In the wider region, Radnor Forest includes livestock-rearing areas on the slopes, extensive moorland, steep narrow valleys and hills. The area extends to Black Mixen, at 650 metres the highest point in Radnorshire. Water-Break-its-Neck is also one of the region’s landscape attractions and has drawn tourists for more than 200 years.

On the outskirts of town, Newgate Lane is a hollow way. A circular route around Radnor Forest can begin in the village of New Radnor; many routes in Radnor Forest start at Mutton Dingle in the village. The Whimble Loop cycle route runs along the B4372 to New Radnor and, at the village entrance, via Mutton Dingle. As route conditions can change, check the latest route information before setting out.

Discover more destinations: Staylittle, Llanbedr, Erwood, Evenjobb, Hyssington, Forden, Pen-y-bont, Pontrobert.

For the main travel overview: Powys.