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Castell y Bere is a medieval castle situated in the Meirionnydd region of north Wales, built in the early thirteenth century as a stronghold of the native Welsh princes. The castle occupies a naturally defensible hilltop position and features the characteristic stone architecture typical of Welsh princely castles of the period, with remains including a gatehouse and substantial curtain walls that command views of the surrounding valleys. Constructed during the reign of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, the castle served as an important administrative and military centre for the Principality of Gwynedd until its capture and destruction during Edward I's conquest of Wales in the late thirteenth century. The site remains substantially ruined but preserves sufficient masonry to demonstrate the scale and sophistication of medieval Welsh military architecture.
Castell y Bere is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME023. View the official record →
Castell y Bere is a medieval castle situated in the Meirionnydd region of north Wales, built in the early thirteenth century as a stronghold of the native Welsh princes. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference ME023.
Castell y Bere dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a castle. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Castell y Bere 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 ME023.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Alltwyllt Slate Quarry Incline (2.4 km), Craig yr Aderyn Hillfort (2.9 km), Water Powered Chain Incline at Bryneglwys Slate Quarry (4.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Castell y Bere's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Castell y Bere stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Ordovician, bedrock that formed in the Ordovician. The rock here is felsic tuff.