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Cymraeg

Introduction

Wales is a small country packed full of history. This website tells you a little about 81 of the most important places in the history of Wales. It has proved challenging to decide which places to include and which to leave out. In drawing up our list, we considered a number of questions; for example:

We wanted to make sure that there were places from different parts of Wales and from different periods in history. We also included different kinds of places, such as castles, houses and places of worship. We also asked experts and a panel of teachers for their views.

Perhaps you can think of places that should be on the list but are not. This is what makes history so interesting.

Finding your way around the website

Click on the icon in the top menu to view and search through a list of the places that have been plotted on the map.You can click on each place's description card to have the map center itself over it. You can also to see an area-based list of all the sites contained in this resource.

Hover over a place number on the map to see its name. Click on the number to see the following:

Why is this site important? This explains why the place is historically important Did you know? This reveals an unusual fact about the place or time Things to do Click here to carry out activities linked to the place Explore further This suggests websites and ideas to follow up

As a rough guide, the places shown on this website are colour coded according to when they were important in history, which can be viewed in the table below:

Period Timeframe Colour
Multiple Periods - - -
Prehistoric Pre 4500-750 BC
Iron Age 750-55 BC
Roman 43-410
Medieval 410-1485
Tudor/Stuart 1485-1714
Georgian/Victorian 1714-1901
Modern 1901-today

You can also filter the places according to time periods. So, for example, suppose you want to find out about the Romans. Click on the 'Roman' filter and you will see that two places are highlighted:

9 Caerleon museum and Roman Fortress 57 Segontium, Caernarfon

It is not easy to put places in time categories. to find out why!

Some buildings cut across periods, such as historic houses. For example, although Erddig House was built in 1684 during the Stuart period, we look at some of the people who worked there in the 1790s and 1800s.

Other places have a very long history dating back to the Romans. Cardiff Castle, for example, can be seen in the multiple periods category.

We have put some sites in a period in which they became famous, although they were actually occupied before the period began. For example, Parys Mountain and Cyfarthfa Castle are to be found in the Victorian period which was from 1837 to 1901. However, mining copper at Parys Mountain began in 1768 and Cyfarthfa Castle was built in 1825.

We have also included some modern buildings but focus on what they tell us about earlier times. For example, the Memorial Gardens in Whitland opened in 2006 but we look at what it tells us about life in medieval Wales.

There are a number of museums linked to the National Museum of Wales that you could visit to discover more about the history of Wales. Some of these are in the multiple periods category. Click here to find out more about the National Museum of Wales: https://museum.wales/

Filter by County

NumberNamePeriodCountyLink to Info
1 Margam Country Park Georgian/Victorian West Glamorgan
2 Aberdulais Falls, Neath Georgian/Victorian West Glamorgan
3 Gower Heritage Coast including Paviland Cave Mumbles Prehistoric West Glamorgan
4 Chepstow Castle Medieval Mid Glamorgan
5 Sirhowy Ironworks Georgian/Victorian Mid Glamorgan
6 Cosmeston Medieval Village Medieval South Glamorgan
7 Owain Glyndŵr Centre, Machynlleth Medieval Powys
8 Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal Georgian/Victorian Powys
9 Powis Castle Tudor/Stuart Powys
10 Offa's Dyke (Knighton) Medieval Powys
11 Llangorse Lake, Brecon Prehistoric Powys
12 Llancaiach Fawr Tudor/Stuart Mid Glamorgan
13 Island Farm, Prisoner of War Camp, Bridgend Modern Mid Glamorgan
14 Nash Point Lighthouse Georgian/Victorian Mid Glamorgan
15 Ewenny Pottery, Bridgend Georgian/Victorian Mid Glamorgan
16 Tryweryn, Bala Modern Gwynedd
17 T&ycirc Mawr Wybrnant Farmhouse, Betws y Coed Tudor/Stuart Gwynedd
18 Great Orme Copper Mine Georgian/Victorian Clwyd
19 Castell y Bere, Llanfihangel-y-pennant Medieval Gwynedd
20 Penrhyn Castle, Bangor Georgian/Victorian Gwynedd
21 Blaenau Ffestiniog Railway and slate quarry Georgian/Victorian Gwynedd
22 Bangor Cathedral Medieval Gwynedd
23 Parys Mountain, Amlwch Georgian/Victorian Gwynedd
24 Caernarfon Castle Medieval Gwynedd
25 Segontium, Caernarfon Roman Gwynedd
26 Menai Suspension Bridge, Anglesey Georgian/Victorian Gwynedd
27 St David's Cathedral Medieval Dyfed
28 Dylan Thomas Boat House Modern Dyfed
29 Memorial Gardens, Whitland Medieval Dyfed
30 Cenarth - National Coracle Centre Georgian/Victorian Dyfed
31 Castell Henllys Iron Age Dyfed
32 Talley Abbey Medieval Dyfed
33 Dre-fach Felindre National Wool Museum Georgian/Victorian Dyfed
34 Strata Florida Abbey Medieval Dyfed
35 St Winefride's Chapel/Well Medieval Clwyd
36 Beaumaris Castle Medieval Clwyd
37 Llandudno Pier Georgian/Victorian Clwyd
38 St Asaph Cathedral Medieval Clwyd
39 Llanberis, Dinorwic Slate Quarry Georgian/Victorian Gwynedd
40 Conwy Castle and Town Walls Medieval Clwyd
41 Tre'r Ceiri Hillfort, Nefyn Iron Age Gwynedd
42 Penrhyn Slate Quarry Georgian/Victorian Gwynedd
43 Holyhead Mountain Hut group Prehistoric Gwynedd
44 Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Wrexham Georgian/Victorian Clwyd
45 Plas Mawr, Conwy Tudor/Stuart Clwyd
46 Ruthin Gaol Georgian/Victorian Clwyd
47 Pembroke Castle Medieval Dyfed
48 Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber Prehistoric Dyfed
49 Tenby Tudor Merchant's House Tudor/Stuart Dyfed
50 Fishguard Harbour Georgian/Victorian Dyfed
51 Lampeter, St David's College Georgian/Victorian Dyfed
52 Kidwelly Castle Medieval Dyfed
53 Llanelly Town House Georgian/Victorian Dyfed
54 Dinefwr Park, Newton House Georgian/Victorian Dyfed
55 Aberglasney House and Gardens Medieval Dyfed
56 Carreg Cennen Castle Medieval Dyfed
57 Liberty Stadium & Copperopolis, Swansea Modern Mid Glamorgan
58 National Waterfront Museum, Swansea Multiple Periods West Glamorgan
59 Aberfan Memorial Garden Modern Mid Glamorgan
60 Rhondda Heritage Park Georgian/Victorian Mid Glamorgan
61 Caerphilly castle Medieval South Glamorgan
62 Barry Island Modern South Glamorgan
63 St Fagans National History Museum Multiple Periods South Glamorgan
64 Cardiff United Synagogue Georgian/Victorian South Glamorgan
65 National Museum of Cardiff Multiple Periods South Glamorgan
66 Llandaff Cathedral Medieval South Glamorgan
67 Cardiff Bay Coal Exchange Georgian/Victorian South Glamorgan
68 National Library of Wales Multiple Periods Dyfed
69 Principality Stadium, Cardiff Modern South Glamorgan
70 Snowdon Mountain Railway Georgian/Victorian Gwynedd
71 Cyfarthfa Castle, Merthyr Georgian/Victorian Mid Glamorgan
72 Big Pit, Blaenavon Georgian/Victorian Mid Glamorgan
73 Tiger Bay, Cardiff Modern South Glamorgan
74 Caerleon Museum and Roman Fortress Roman South Glamorgan
75 Erddig, Wrexham Modern Clwyd
76 Llyn Cerrig Bach Iron Age Gwynedd
77 National Mining Memorial Modern Dyfed
78 The M4 and the Severn Bridges Modern South Glamorgan
79 Bryn Celli Ddu Iron Age Gwynedd
80 Cardiff Castle Multiple Periods South Glamorgan
81 The Welsh Assembly Building, Cardiff Modern South Glamorgan

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