Pen y Bryn, Manor house and peel tower in Abergwyngregyn, Wales
Pen y Bryn is a manor house with a four-story stone tower located in Abergwyngregyn in Wales. The two-story main building has roughly dressed stone corners and slate roofing, overlooking the Menai Strait toward Anglesey.
Construction took place between 1303 and 1306, involving large-scale works with imported broken stone and lime mortar at this location. The structure was later substantially modified and received new roofing and other improvements, reflecting its long history of use and adaptation.
The site sits within Garth Celyn, which means Holly Enclosure in Welsh, and you can still see traces of the double banks and ditches that once surrounded this fortified place. These earthwork features help explain how important this location was to the people who lived here centuries ago.
The building sits about 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of Bangor and 8 miles (13 kilometers) west of Conwy on the coast. You can view it from outside as it combines residential and defensive features, though the interior is not open to the public.
Tree-ring analysis revealed that the current roof timbers were installed around 1624, showing a major renovation of the building. This scientific investigation uncovered a transformation period that reveals how the owners adapted the structure to their needs in the 17th century.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
