Scheduled MonumentsWalesBarland Motte and Bailey
Medieval · Motte and Bailey

Barland Motte and Bailey

Radnorshire, Wales
Cadw SAM RD143
Period
Medieval
Site type
Motte and Bailey
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM RD143
Authority
Cadw
Designated
1989-03-22
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Barland Motte and Bailey is a medieval motte and bailey castle situated in Radnorshire, Wales. The monument comprises a substantial earthwork consisting of a motte, or raised mound, accompanied by an associated bailey enclosure, typical of Norman fortifications established in the Welsh Marches during the late eleventh and twelfth centuries. The site represents the type of expedient military construction favoured by Norman settlers and their successors for territorial control and defence in the frontier region between England and Wales. Though no masonry structures remain visible, the earthwork survives as a significant testimony to medieval defensive strategy and the Norman penetration of Welsh borderland territories.

Barland Motte and Bailey is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD143. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Barland Motte and Bailey?

Barland Motte and Bailey is a medieval motte and bailey castle situated in Radnorshire, Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference RD143.

What period does Barland Motte and Bailey date from?

Barland Motte and Bailey dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a motte and bailey. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Barland Motte and Bailey?

Barland Motte and Bailey is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is RD143.

What other scheduled monuments are near Barland Motte and Bailey?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Churchyard cross in St Mary the Virgin's churchyard (5.2 km), Castle Twts (6.4 km), Lyonshall Castle (7.5 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Barland Motte and Bailey

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Barland Motte and Bailey's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Barland Motte and Bailey

Barland Motte and Bailey stands on Wenlock Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.